Matt Eberflus provides insight on controversial hip-drop technique
Another talented NFL player had their season cut short on Thursday Night Football due to issue the league brought upon themselves. Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews left the game early on Thursday and has since been diagnosed with cracked fibula and an ankle ligament injury following his MRI on Friday, according to Ian Rapoport. The […]
Another talented NFL player had their season cut short on Thursday Night Football due to issue the league brought upon themselves.
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews left the game early on Thursday and has since been diagnosed with cracked fibula and an ankle ligament injury following his MRI on Friday, according to Ian Rapoport.
The injury was caused by both a freak accident, but also a technique that the league gave defenders no other choice but to utilize. The technique, known as the "hip-drop" is now expected to be the next banned tackling technique used to protect player's safety when the season comes to a close.
The same technique used to tackle Andrews was later used on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson later in the game by Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. While it's not a "dirty" play and neither is Wilson, it's clear to see why the league wants to eliminate this technique going forward.
The NFL released a piece back in October that the league is looking to eliminate the hip-drop tackle technique after league executive Jeff Miller said "the hip-drop tackle increases risk of injury by 25 times the rate of a standard tackle."
The technique has caused multiple injuries to many players throughout the season but enforcing disciple for players using the technique will only add more frustrations for defensive players.
The league has already banned multiple defensive tackling techniques, such as helmet to helmet contact, over the recent years making it more and more difficult to make an instinct play without being penalized for it. The new league rules have forced defenders to tackle lower, but now even that is starting to cause major injuries.
Chicago Bears head coach and long-time defensive mind Matt Eberflus addressed the controversial technique while speaking with reporters following Friday's practice and provided his awareness toward what's happening around the league.
"I've seen a lot of videos on it," he said. "And they've talked about it at the league meetings. We've talked about it at different spots, certainly here and I've talked about it a bunch of times but you know, first and foremost you got to really think about the player safety."
"If something is hurting the players and you know, it's like the old horse collar and guys hit with a helmet, obviously we'll talk about that," he added. "If that is something that ends up significantly hurting the players and there's data to suggest that, then we ought to take a look at it."
Eberflus then went on to discuss how his staff in Chicago teaches their players to tackle in order to still make a play while trying to stay on the fine line of what's an acceptable tackle and what's not.
"In terms of the way we tackle, we're low tackling group," he explained. "So we don't really tackle by the hips. We tackle lower than that and we focus on that. We're doing it right and it looks right."
However, by stressing players to tackle low, the hip-drop tackle is seemingly unavoidable according to defensive players and coaches around the league. After Andrew's injury on Thursday, Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen addressed the technique and how impossible it is to avoid.
"I mean, at the end of the day, we play football," Queen said. "And I hate that Mark’s hurt. Prayers for him. But, at the end of the day, we play football, we play a tackling sport. I don’t think a hip-drop tackle is that bad of a thing. How else do you want us to tackle them?"
The issue with the hip-drop play comes when the defender wraps up the ball carrier and then drops his weight down to bring down the player. However, by doing so, the defender can inadvertently drop his weight down on the opposing player's legs or ankles which is where the injury occurs. Take a look at how that type of unfortunate scenario could occur by viewing Andrew's injury up-close from last night.
It's easy to see why the league wants to consider banning this type of defensive play from the sport going forward. However, it's a tough balance to consider given all of the other major rule changes the league has already made toward protecting the ball carrier. The league will have to make an important decision and one that will be met with negative reactions no matter what the decision is.
Bears head coach addresses awful NFL trend with firsthand experience
He should know what it’s like
