(Orlando) The NFL has decided to ban a type of tackle that is made at the ball carrier’s hips.
Published at 12:47 p.m. Updated at 3:00 p.m.
Rob Maaddi
Associated Press
NFL owners voted unanimously Monday in favor of a rule that prohibits defensive players from using a hip pivot technique to slow down a ball carrier.
A player who flouts this rule will receive a 15-yard penalty, and could be exposed to a hefty fine.
Jeff Miller, an NFL executive, noted that the dangerous tackle was made 230 times last season, and that 15 players were on the injured list because of it.
The NFL Players Association strongly opposed these new regulations.
“It’s not used often, but when it is, the risk of injury to the running back is very high,” noted NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay. The ball carrier simply can’t protect himself. And I’ve heard the defensive players before, and I still hear them today, telling me: “Hey, you’re putting me in a very difficult position. You tell me I can’t tackle a player like that. What am I supposed to do?” And my answer has always been: “Well, it’s forbidden, because the player you’re tackling simply can’t protect himself.” So we have to protect him, and you’ll have to find new ways to stop him, and you know what? They succeed. »
The league released a video during the press conference to illustrate six specific plays where this type of tackle was used. In this video, Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, Bengals wide end Tyler Boyd, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith and Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill were all victims of this controversial type of tackle, which is now banned.
NFL teams will continue to receive videos to illustrate these illegal tackles, as well as suggestions for the tackles to be tolerated by the league.
“It’s a new rule, so no one will have applied it before,” McKay said in reference to the referees who will have to award a penalty for this type of tackle. It has never been tested; no one practices this in training. No player wants to practice this technique against a teammate in training, so it’s never happened. This only happens during a match. We’ll tell them, ‘Look, there’s a penalty for that kind of tackle. You can apply it. We must find the three elements that we identified beforehand. We need to see him grab it. We need to see him take control. We must see him make a pivot, without his feet touching the ground. If you do not see these three elements, then do not issue a penalty.
“We’re going to take all these videos… we’ll send them to all the teams so they understand: we don’t want to see this anymore. This is a penalty,” he continued.
A significant change to the kickoff procedure was not put to a vote Monday, but McKay said it’s not out of the question for owners to consider it Tuesday rather than waiting for the league meeting in May.
All NFL rule changes must be approved by a minimum of 24 of the 32 owners.
Two other proposals were adopted by the owners, including one allowing teams to get a third opportunity to challenge a decision after winning at least one first. Previously, teams had to win each of their two preliminary challenges to get this third opportunity.
2024-03-25 16:47:30
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