NFL to examine eliminating hip-drop tackles this offseason; kickoff play, tush push, fumbles out of end zone also to be reviewed
As the regular season enters its final month, NFL leaders are already looking ahead to how they might adjust the game in the years to come.
Two items atop the list: eliminating hip-drop tackles and changing kickoffs for the better.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters on Wednesday at the conclusion of the December League Meeting in Irving, Texas, that he would prefer to see the hip-drop tackle eliminated.
"Hip drop, I would tell you, I think we all should work to get that out of the game," Goodell said. "You see it escalated in the number of times it occurred this season. The injury can be very devastating. We saw that also. It's not just happening at the NFL level. It's also happening at other levels. (It's) something I feel like we've got to work very hard to get that removed this spring."
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent echoed Goodell's stance when addressing the media earlier Wednesday.
"I think we have to now," Vincent said of removing the hip-drop tackle...."One thing that we can do today is define what that is. It is the grip, it's the rotate and it's the drop. Those three mechanics show up on that play."
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Vincent referred to kickoffs on Wednesday as "a dead ceremonial play today" following rule changes to increase the safety of kickoffs.
"I think kickoff stats, they speak for themselves," Vincent said. "This is one where we spent a lot of time from February last year meeting with the coaches -- give us an alternative, like give us other solutions. But the injury rate was so significant when we go back to 2018, 2019 when we removed the trap block, the wedge block, the cross block, attack block and made tremendous progress in getting those plays that nobody wanted in the game anymore out.
"We went back to those numbers again last year, from a head impact standpoint, which I think is all of our responsibilities as gatekeepers not to see that trend go back to where it was. We understand that there is space and speed issues that come along with the kickoff. This is why we were asking the coaches what we can do. But what we can't do is stay where we are. So we're hoping they come back with some alternatives."
Goodell told reporters that the league wants to see increased kickoff attempts while also maintaining player safety.
"We believe the foot is part of the game and kickoff returns are an exciting play," Goodell said on Wednesday. "We see it at 20 percent this year. We'd like to see that higher. But we also want to make sure that the injury rate is addressed, and so we're going to have to innovate. We're going to have to be smart. We're going to have to do what we've done before, which is make the game more exciting and make it safer at the same time. We've proven we can do that and we're going to do it."
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Goodell told reporters on Wednesday that he has not "taken a position" on the tush push.
"I want to hear how people feel about it," Goodell said. "A lot of it's 'I like' or 'don't like,' I think we want to look at, is there enough data to talk about the safety of it? Are there other aspects that we need to think about? A lot of coaches talked last year about innovation would come off of that play. I'd like to take a look back at that. Has that really occurred? Listen, I think in anything it's important to hear the different perspectives. Let the committee do their work. I'll be able to participate in that, and I'm sure we'll have a position by March."
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As for another disputed ruling -- fumbles through the end zone resulting in touchbacks -- it's not a frequent occurrence, but can serve as a bit of a lightning rod for discourse when it does happen. Vincent admitted the current rule "may be too punitive," opening the door for potential changes.
"It doesn't happen very often," Vincent said. "But it's a significant – as many would say on the football side, he should've held the ball in the right hand, that's his fault. And then others would say give him a chance again, maybe do something else. So that may be something that we should be taking a look at."
Full article:
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-to-examine ... y-tush-pus 
