Every year, the NFL announces several new rule changes for the upcoming season. They did so again this week, and they sure outdid themselves this time. The NFL announced the hip-drop tackle is now illegal, essentially making it exponentially more difficult for anyone playing defense in the league.
Former Seattle Seahawks star Richard Sherman took to Twitter, in response to Robert Griffin III’s tweet on the issue, to give his two-cents.
He’s not. He’s just supposed to let them score and cost his team. They are taking the Defensive players money. All these fines for defensive players doing their job. They could not coach him on how to get a 270lbs TE down while running. Smh https://t.co/SyHvp848QP
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) March 25, 2024
Sherman is absolutely right. It is unfortunate the tackle above resulted in injury, but Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson tackled him cleanly. Now Wilson’s job – as well as every other linebacker in the NFL – becomes virtually impossible when it comes to stopping tight ends or running backs.
When this rule was announced, everyone’s mind went to the same place: how many games are going to be ruined by a correct – or incorrect – hip-drop tackle call? How many 4th down stops will suddenly turn into a first down because of an official’s interpretation of the rule on a given play? How many game-winning drives will be engineered as a result of this? How many playoff games will be decided on such a call?
The NFL’s long march towards flag football just took another step this week.
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