In reply to: I can always try posted by jt
but at the speed of the game, with the Mr. Magoos they have out there trying to make calls who can't even see blatant holding penalties? Not really. That's why they're going to try and fine their way out of it.
They ran about 15-20 plays out on a video that would be a penalty now, and I cannot make a clear determination on each one on the legal vs illegal moves.
it gets more attention and then loses its focus as the season moves along. Kind of like the flop in NCAAB that was called a couple years ago. It's still rule and I haven't seen it called the last year and a half.
That didn't look like a penalty to me either. Unfortunate, yes, but certainly not blatant.
...but on balance, I think it's a good idea. While it may be difficult to see at speed, the hip-drop tackle is basically a jujitsu technique that uses the tacklers weight to unbalance the ball carrier. It's a learned and practiced maneuver, not just something that happens in the heat of battle. The league is telling the teams that their defensive players need to "unlearn" the technique and take it out of their repertoire.
I view it as similar to the refinements to roughing-the-passer penalties to eliminate the most dangerous plays. Two examples in particular to come to mind. Defensive players used to sack QBs while deliberately allowing their full weight to compress the QB into the turf. In other cases, sometimes pass rushers that were either blocked or arriving late would lunge at a QB's lower legs to "put a lick" on them. Both types of hits were once thought to be legal ways that a defense could exhibit physicality or intimidation. Unfortunately, they could also lead to injury. When a blitzing Bernard Pollard dove at Tom Brady's knees early in the 2008 it cost Brady reconstructive surgery that ended his season. It might have ended his career. The league concluded pretty quickly that that type of hit had to go.
Similarly, we've seen the hip-drop technique injure a number of high-profile players recently. The Mark Andrews and Tony Pollard injuries have received a lot of recent attention. Patrick Mahomes got knocked out of a playoff game for a half and was hobbled in the AFC championship game and the Super Bowl because of a hip-drop tackle. When the NFL sees star offensive players put at risk of getting knocked out of games, they have no problem putting a greater burden on defenders to alter their approach.
Will the zebras screw this up? Of course, they will. But defenders will adjust until the technique withers away from the game.
the league will protect offensive players.
I do agree that the qb's needed to be protected from low hits; John Teerlinck was famous for actually teaching guys to do that when he was the DL coach in MN and it's one of the reasons that I dislike the Vikings to this day. It finally got so bad that when he had moved onto Detroit and kept teaching it, the league called him in for a meeting to tell him to knock it off. Still, it wasn't outlawed for another 10 years.
The full force on the qb is very tough to call properly and almost never is. It's a terrible rule and it's only a rule because Aaron Rodgers acted like a baby. The defenseless receiver rule is also tough to call but I understand why it is needed and I support it.
I do not believe that this hip swivel drop tackle is taught. Maybe I'm wrong. I also don't believe that it is always intentional; sometimes a big TE catches the ball over the middle and the pursuit coming from the side catches up but he drags them along and in the process, said pursuit loses his feet. His choice now appears to be to either let go and let him gain more yards/score or get a 15 yard penalty for using his body weight to take the guy down.
These assholes can't even call holding, and we're going way too far with this rule, IMO. Football is a dangerous game, I completely know and understand that. You can't try and make it danger free and still keep the essence of the game.
how the hell is this a penalty?