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• McKay stated that it is difficult to observe every aspect of a hip drop in one fluid motion. Therefore, their primary focus was implementing a rule that could be applied on Monday to help eliminate this technique from the game.

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  Kevin Seifert, a journalist, focuses on reporting about the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL for ESPN. He has been covering the NFL for more than 2 decades and began working for ESPN in 2008. Before that, he was a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia. You can stay updated with his work by following him on Twitter @SeifertESPN.

The rule proposed by competition committee chairman Rich McKay was designed to specifically target a particular type of rugby tackling technique that has become more common in the NFL. Under this rule, a defender will receive a 15-yard penalty if they use both hands to grab the runner or if they wrap their arms around the runner’s body, while unweighting themselves by twisting and lowering their hips and/or lower body, and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”

On Thursday, the NFL officials addressed the concerns about a potential ban on the “hip-drop tackle.” The league claims that this technique has led to a significantly higher injury rate compared to tackles that do not use it, up to 25 times higher.

However, McKay and Vincent hinted that the regulation may be applied similarly to the “use of helmet” rule, which usually results in notices and penalties during the week after a game instead of being enforced through penalties during the game.

Vincent expressed confidence that the competition committee’s proposal to overhaul kickoffs will garner sufficient backing to be approved at the upcoming meeting.

The NFL Players Association, along with numerous former and current players, expressed disapproval of the proposal this week. The rule requires approval from 24 owners to be implemented. In a statement shared on social media, the NFLPA stated that the rule would bring about confusion for players, coaches, officials, and fans.

Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, stated during a conference call with reporters that it is our responsibility as game officials to eliminate this issue.

In addition, on Thursday:

• McKay stated that if the proposal is accepted, there could be a 3 to 5 yard increase in field position for kickoffs, potentially leading to an increase in scoring. The average scoring per game in the league has decreased for the past three seasons.

Reworded: Kevin Seifert, an employee at ESPN, wrote this.Mar 21, 2024, 04:30 PM ET