Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh sounded off on the hip-drop sort out approach when he was requested whether or not there was a problem to educating correct tackling.
The NFL determined to ban the approach in the course of the annual assembly, amongst different adjustments. It drew a number of blowback from the gamers, however Harbaugh was within the camp that supported the tackle ban.
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Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh seems on in the course of the second quarter of the sport in opposition to the Miami Dolphins at M&T Financial institution Stadium on Dec. 31, 2023 in Baltimore. (Todd Olszewski/Getty Pictures)
“When did you ever hear concerning the hip-drop sort out till like two years in the past, three years in the past, proper? That’s as a result of it was found, in all probability, in rugby and began being executed as a standalone approach,” Harbaugh stated. “It’s a three-part motion, [and] you’ve obtained to execute that play. You’ve obtained to be shut sufficient to that ball provider to truly get him across the hips, pull him near your self, swing your hips by way of and drop on the again of his legs.
“If you happen to’re that shut, wrap him up, sort out him and take him to the bottom, like Ray Lewis used to do and everyone did for 100 years earlier than that. However you’re speaking a few sort out that the ball provider has no technique of escape from; he can’t escape. So, whenever you drop down on the again of his legs, it’s a mass … And it’s 25 occasions extra more likely to have a severe damage.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks to the media in the course of the NFL Mix on the Indiana Conference Heart on Feb. 27, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Stacy Revere/Getty Pictures)
“So, it’s actually a foul play, and it wanted to be out. And guys are going to sort out simply superb with out the quote-unquote hip-drop sort out, as a result of they tackled simply superb with out it for 100 years of soccer earlier than that, whenever you by no means noticed it, actually.”
The controversial sort out, the place a defender wraps the ball provider with their arms or arms, after which drops their hips, inflicting the opposite participant’s legs and ft to get trapped, has been a scorching matter across the league.
The sort out has brought on accidents to quite a few gamers, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has led the best way for the rule to be voted on.
One of many principal examples getting used for the hip-drop is former San Francisco 49ers security Jimmie Ward’s sort out in the course of the 2022 postseason in opposition to then-Dallas Cowboys operating again Tony Pollard. Ward’s sort out compelled Pollard to endure an ankle damage that ultimately wanted surgical procedure to restore.
Mark Andrews, #89 of the Baltimore Ravens, is tackled by Logan Wilson, #55 of the Cincinnati Bengals, in the course of the first quarter of the sport at M&T Financial institution Stadium on Nov. 16, 2023 in Baltimore. (Patrick Smith/Getty Pictures)
Baltimore Ravens tight finish Mark Andrews was additionally a sufferer of the hip-drop sort out this season. He suffered a big damage in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals, and it value him most of his 2023 season.
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Since then, the NFL has discovered 105 hip-drop tackles out of 20,000 tackles reviewed since 2022, per Professional Soccer Speak. They’ve additionally discovered the sort out will increase the danger of damage 25 occasions the usual sort out damage fee.
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