NFL could soon ban tackling technique it says creates '25 times' the injury risk

NEW YORK — Momentum is building for the NFL’s next on-field rule change.

The league’s competition committee, as well as its health and safety committee, are discussing how to respond to a tackling technique that their data says “results in about a 25 times rate of injury as a typical tackle,” executive vice president Jeff Miller said.

The league calls the tackle in question a “hip-drop tackle.” If that doesn’t clarify the play to you, you’re not alone. The league is trying to better define what does and doesn’t constitute it.

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NFL competition committee chair Rich McKay called the tackle a “cousin” to the horse-collar tackle, which consists of grabbing the inside collar of the back or side of an opponent’s shoulder pads or jersey, or the jersey at the name plate or above, to pull a runner toward the ground. A hip-drop tackle similarly involves a tackler grabbing a ball carrier from behind and pulling him down in a manner that prevents self-defense.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-could-soon-ban-tackling-technique-it-says-creates-25-times-the-injury-risk-050441627.html