The hip-drop tackle in the NFL: Dangerous or necessary? 

The league is studying whether to keep the technique or ban it

The NFL is very good at getting rid of situations that will keep lawyers as far away from their shield as possible.

Attorneys are all around the functionality of the game. Rules, safety issues, concussions, player contracts, alumni benefits, financial investing, and suspensions all come under their umbrella at some point.

Back in the 1990s-2000s, defensive players who were beaten on a play used a technique where they would extend their closest hand and grab their opponent with a natural equipment handle, which was the back inside of the shoulder pad. With a firm grasp, the defender could then be yanked down on the shoulder pad to bring the offensive player to the ground.

The problem with this action was the act of pulling the ball carrier down in a downward motion with complete control of his head and neck pulled his feet from underneath him which became an activity for injury. Repeatedly.

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It became known as a “horse collar tackle” because the U-shaped over-the-shoulder pads resembled an actual horse collar complete with padding. The technique has always been involved in the game ever since shoulder pads became standard issue equipment way back in the 1950s.

Princeton University student L.P. Smock invented the first shoulder pads for American Football back in 1877 during the infancy of the sport and the number of injuries involving the player’s shoulders being knocked out of socket upon impart with the turf. Unlike the plastic ones in today’s game, Smock’s version was made of leather and wool and subsequently was too thin to provide much protection.

The 2004 NFL season saw an uptick in these tackles and the ensuing injury rate. The main culprit was Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams. In 2005, the NFL banned the tackle from the game and made it a 15-yard penalty which is labeled “The Roy Williams Rule.”

And now, there is another form of tackling that has the league concerned: the “hip-drop tackle.” Currently, there are two camps – one to ban the action, and the other to keep it.

Geoff Blankenship for The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

This tackling style is blamed for several player injuries in recent years. Because of this, some are calling for the league to crack down on the “hip-drop tackle” or completely do away with it.

The technique is a result of the steady decline of how defensive players can bring down opposing players. The league has increasingly taken away tackling methods such as helmet use, landing and striking quarterbacks, and the force necessary to bring down a ball carrier, so alternate methods have sprung up as an inevitability.

How does the hip-drop tackle actually work?

The defender is encircling tackling the runner and then grabs the shoulder while he swings his weight and then falls on the side of the opposing player’s leg while pulling downwards, generally onto their knee or ankle.

Once the defender latches on, he pulls the ball carrier down using his entire weight. The method to bring down the player is to buckle his knee which then lands on his knee, ankle, or foot. Injury doesn’t always happen as with any other tackle, but the procedure deals directly with these three parts of the body on every hip-drop tackle.

This tackling technique is usually done by a smaller player taking on a larger man, but not always. It gives the smaller athlete an avenue to use the bigger player’s size against him. After all, getting the ballcarrier down is the object of the game of football.

Troy Vincent, the NFL’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations, explained:

“As gatekeepers of the game, this is something that we have to remove.”

The league states the injury factor is 25% greater than a standard tackle. The National Football League Player’s Association (NFLPA) says it is a necessity for defensive players, especially since the league has chipped away so many tackling techniques over the years.

Where did this method originate?

This type of tackle was invented in 2002 by the Melbourne (Australia) Storm rugby team, members of the National Rugby League. As tackling techniques became more restricted in rugby, especially with the use of the head (and helmet in American Football), this type of tackle began to become popular. It was conceived to eliminate leading with the head.

The act of the tackle basically renders the ball carrier defenseless. They aren’t able to detach from the defender or kick their way out which creates the concern and where most of the injuries occur because the ankle gets trapped underneath the weight of the defensive player as they both fall to the turf.

Proponents of the technique say it is just one of many practices defenders must use to take down the much larger tight ends and running backs featured in the league today. A cornerback who is 6’-0” and just 190 pounds is no match for a guy who stands 6”-4” and weighs 256. The hip-drop works once the smaller player can get both hands and is able to latch on before beginning the process of the tackling move.

Isn’t this allowing a select few to set policy over the wishes of the majority?

The league needs less penalties – not more. The defensive side of the ball is already becoming too problematic and restrictive. If defensive players aren’t allowed to tackle, one would assume the game will evolve into what the Pro Bowl has become and attach flags to player’s belts.

Others are saying the tackle is an injury waiting to happen every time it is utilized even though it does not have malicious intent.

NFL Executive Jeff Miller said this at last year’s October league meeting:

“It is an unforgiving behavior and one that we need to try to define and get out of the game.”

The NFL Competition Committee already has a rule drawn up to eliminate the act. It will need a vote of 24 of the 32 club owners to pass once it is brought up, seconded, and then voted on at the next owner’s meeting.

If the move is eventually banned, just like the horse collar tackle, when used during a game it would be a 15-yard penalty. Some are saying there needs to be more teeth into the change as well by adding a player fine to the act, and maybe even more serious actions that would involve repeat offenders.

The NFLPA joined many current and former players in objecting to the proposal this past week. In a statement posted to social media, the NFLPA said the rule would confuse players, coaches, officials, and fans. Not sure why they assume this, after all, does the horse collar tackle confuse anyone? Maybe they mean to represent confusion about the “use of helmet rules” in which nobody has a clue when it is a bad tackle or what is allowed.

According to NFL Competition Committee Chairman Rich McKay:

“We are very quick to say, ‘Listen it’s hard to see all of the elements of the hip-drop,’ in one continuous action,”. “So, the number one thing we had to do is get a rule on the books that we can enforce and try to get the technique out of the game.”

Because the hip-drop tackle has been identified as enhancing the risk of injury, it has been referred to as a “cousin” of the horse collar tackle.

Although the league is not banning the tackling technique at the moment, it appears it is inevitable by instituting this into a new rule.

Miller stated:

“To quantify it for you, we see an injury more or less every week in the regular season on the hip-drop.”

Currently, nobody from the NFL pushing for the banishment of this tackling technique is giving any other effective options of how to take down running backs such as Brandon Jacobs, Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare” Okoye, Marion Motley, Jerome Bettis, Larry Csonka, Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, Kevin Mack, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, Mike Alstott, Bronco Nagurski, or John Riggins.