Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith left Monday night’s win over the Giants in the first half after hurting his knee on a play that saw him dragged down from behind with a hip-drop tackle by Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
Smith was able to return in the second half and called it a dirty play after the game was over. Head coach Pete Carroll didn’t use the same words, but he agrees with his quarterback that the tackle shouldn’t be part of the game.
Carroll said on Seattle Sports 710 that the Seahawks are “so lucky” that Smith was not seriously injured and that he wants to see that type of tackle eliminated from the sport.
“I don’t even care about the penalty,” Carroll said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “We’ve just got to get that out of ball. It’s so dangerous.”
There was some talk about moving to forbid hip-drop tackles this offseason, but the NFLPA opposed the idea and there was never a proposal to change the rules. We’ll see if Monday night’s developments lead the Seahawks to decide to make such a proposal next offseason.
