OK so maybe it’s not “unanimous” since there are always going to be contrarians on any side of an issue, but the NFL owners’ decision to ban hip drop tackles that was made official on Monday is certainly not popular amongst current and former players. Nor do fans dig it.
Let’s not pretend like any of us are going to BOYCOTT the NFL because of this rule change. Some of the player safety modifications the league has made over the years have been sensible and smart.
This newly christened hip drop tackle infraction, where a player can get penalized 15 yards and get tagged with a hefty fine, simply ain’t it. When the NFLPA stands in solidarity in opposition to something, it just might not be the right thing to do.
Referees catch enough grief and criticism for how they do their jobs already. I can’t imagine they’ll be able to make sense of such an arbitrary call in real time while accounting for everything else that happens in a matter of seconds on every play.
I guess Roger Goodell wants to hammer the Overs during the 2024 season or something. KIDDING. The players’ reactions are telling, though:
In dark times like these, us football fans need to be lifted up by the power of humor. Thankfully, fans on Twitter who oppose this new hip drop prohibition have delivered the goods.
Yours truly is a Bengals fan. I watched Tyler Boyd go down in the first quarter of an AFC Championship Game that Cincinnati only lost by three points in Kansas City. It was because of a hip drop tackle. You can see it on the video assembled by the league to justify the new rule. Maybe just threaten a big fine to discourage such behavior, but to call a 15-yard penalty on any of these plays with a game hanging in the balance is an indefatigable controversy waiting to happen.
Football is a violent, brutal sport. To ask these players to contort their bodies in unnatural ways to try to make a tackle, or to deter them from doing their jobs to their maximum capabilities, is nonsensical to me. I think for the most part, the days of players legitimately targeting each other will ill intent are over. I mean, the GOAT himself Tom Brady spoke on this last season. Gardner Minshew’s bad throw injured Michael Pittman Jr., not some intentionally dirty hit by Damontae Kazee that got him suspended for the rest of the season.
I don’t know. I just hope this hip drop thing doesn’t pop up in a big spot deep in the playoffs. At least there will be a trial run of sorts during the preseason to see how it’s policed. Praying that NFL Media insider Tom Pelissero is correct in his assessment of how the rule change will ultimately play out.
