Hip-drop tackles are much more dangerous than other tackles, according to the NFL executive in charge of health and safety issues.
NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Miller said today that the injury rate on hip-drop tackles is about 20 to 25 times greater than on other tackles. Miller also said defensive players are using hip-drop tackles more than ever before.
Given those concerns, Miller said “it’s certainly my hope” that the NFL will ban hip drops this off-season, according to Judy Battista of NFL Media.
Still, there are real concerns about whether hip-drop tackles can be defined adequately to create a rule that the players understand and the officials call consistently. A hip-drop tackle could loosely be defined as when a tackler grabs a ball carrier and drops his body weight directly onto the ball carrier’s legs or back, but the precise language of the rule will be important.
The NFL Players Association has so far resisted calls to ban the hip-drop tackle. Even as the NFL insists that banning the move would be to the players’ benefit.
