Bill Belichick says there’s ‘no room’ for hip-drop tackling in NFL

Patriots

“There’s really no room for that and it’s good to continue to keep the game safe for the players,” Belichick said.

Bill Belichick spoke with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for a segment on The Pat McAfee Show.

During the appearance, Belichick and Goodell discussed their opinions on the hip-drop style tackle, which NFL teams voted unanimously to ban before the upcoming season.

“I think over the years the NFL has done a great job of making the game safer for players — the targeting, the collar tackle, the hip-drop,” Belichick said. “There are really not many of them. I think there were maybe only a dozen last year, but it’s a good thing to get rid of them.

Goodell said he agreed with Belichick’s point of view, pointing out the number of serious injuries that occur during hip tackles.

“We use data a lot to try to identify what rules we want to change and whether what we’re doing is effective,” Goodell said. “When you see a game that has over 20 times the injury rate, and as you know, most of those injuries are pretty serious – ending a career or a season, you have to make a change. As you know, coach, the players adapt and I think we managed to make our game safer and more exciting at the same time.

Some Patriots players, including offensive lineman David Andrews and safety Jabrill Peppers, have expressed concern about banning hip tackles in the past.

“It’s the defense’s job to go after guys, and I don’t think people do it with malicious intent,” Andrews said last December. “Eventually you keep removing some games, removing some games, removing this, removing that, what’s going to be left of the game? »

“Look, it’s a sad reality of this game, and no one wants to see that,” Andrews added. “Guys on other teams don’t want to see guys get hurt. We don’t want to see guys get hurt. But it’s a sad reality of playing in the NFL: playing football at any level.

Peppers called the NFL “soft” and said he had questions about how the rule would be enforced.

“I don’t understand why players don’t have a say in these rule changes.” he wrote in a social media post last month. “While they’re at it, they need to change the name of what (we’re playing) because it’s not football anymore.”

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson was injured on a hip tackle against the Chargers last season. He missed New England’s final five games of the season after playing in the first twelve.

Although such tackles occur less frequently than others, this one in particular cost the Patriots their starting running back for an extended period of time.

“There’s really no room for that and it’s good to continue to keep the game safe for the players,” Belichick said.