While many people have voiced their frustration with the NFL banning what is known as a hip-drop tackle, one former player is defending the league.
During his weekly On the Line Podcast, former Green Bay Packer O-Lineman Evan Smith said that the NFL needs to do a better job explaining what exactly the hip drop tackle is.
The NFL definition of hip drop tackle is “when a defender grabs the runner with both hands or wraps him with both arms, then drags down the offensive player by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body.”
Evan elaborated, saying it is a tackle that is done by a defender who is chasing a ball carrier.
The 10 year veteran of the NFL explained that what a player performs the hip-drop tackle he “swings his legs around and take the momentum of his lower body…and drops his weight right on the back of that guy’s legs.”
He compared the rule change to when the league outlawed the horse collar tackle.
The NFL has made many rule changes over the past several years in the name of player safety, but Smith said they really only have a few players in mind.
Smith said, “They implement these rules because they don’t want their star players, the guys that they are backing a dump truck full of money up to every single week, they don’t want those guys out of the game.”
Another rule change the league approved Tuesday would be a revamping of the kickoff system.
The change is similar to what the XFL has used in recent years, where the kicker and returner are lined up in the same spots, but the blockers will line up on the 35-yard line, and the kickoff team will line up on the 40-yard line.
The kick must land between the 20 and the goal line, or else it is placed at the 40-yard line as an illegal kick.
This change is designed to bring the return back to the game of football while also keeping players safe.
Smith said in the podcast that he is looking forward to seeing the idea implemented in the NFL.
Click here to listen to the full episode, which also features Manitowoc Lincoln Gymnastics Coach Jacque Bartow.