The NFL announced today that it is banning the swivel hip-drop tackle, a decision new Pittsburgh Steelers LB Patrick Queen did not exactly applaud.
“2 hand touch gone be next lmao,” Queen tweeted after the news was announced.
The rule to eliminate the hip drop will make it harder for defensive players to bring down opponents from behind. The play was banned due to the amount of lower-body injuries it would cause from players getting their legs trapped underneath themselves and/or their opponents, and it will now be a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down.
It certainly makes things more difficult for the defense and more offense-friendly, and defensive players don’t seem to be a fan of the rule change. Former NFL DE J.J. Watt tweeted essentially the same as Queen, except implying that the NFL might as well just go to flag football.
“Just fast forward to belts with flags on them,” Watt tweeted.
Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark also tweeted that it’s “getting ridiculous” with all the changes made to protect offensive players.
“Go ahead and outlaw bringing offensive players to the ground! Thats where it’s headed. Make every game the pro bowl! This is getting ridiculous,” Clark tweeted today.
One person who doesn’t seem fazed by the rule change is Steelers inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry, who will work closely with Queen this season. Curry tweeted out “Run ya feet! We good.”
Curry is going to have to help implement the new techniques to bring players down, but as long as players don’t swing or swivel their legs on top of the tackler, they can still obviously bring down the opponent from behind. While it won’t be as easy, if players chop their feet and break down without swinging their legs, then it’ll be a legal tackle. Likely, that’s going to be the way that defenders are taught to tackle from behind.
With the emphasis on player safety coming more and more into focus every year, it’s not a surprise that the hip-drop tackle was banned. It’s a play that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wanted out of the game, saying in December that it needs to be eliminated, and while it won’t be popular among defensive players, the hope is that it’ll decrease the number of lower-body injuries that have been occurring.
Queen was teammates with Mark Andrews, who was injured last season after a hip-drop tackle by Cincinnati Bengals LB Logan Wilson, but Andrews said that the play was just “unfortunate” and didn’t blame Wilson. We’ll ultimately have to see how the rule change affects the game, but the hope is that it’s for the better, although unfortunately, it comes at the expense of making things more difficult for the defense.
