The NFL has outlawed the hip-drop tackle. Monday night’s game between the Jets and 49ers included a clear example of the illegal maneuver, early in the third quarter.
Jets cornerback Michael Carter II, in bringing down 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings, did exactly what is now prohibited.
From the rulebook: “It is a foul if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground: 1. grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms; and 2. unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”
The tackle, which happened out in the open with no other players around, was not flagged. It was spotted immediately by Eli Manning during the ManningCast. During the game broadcast, Joe Buck mentioned that the rule has four elements and “that was pretty close.”
Per a source with knowledge of the league’s assessment of the play, it was a violation.
The NFL has instructed officials to throw the flag only when the foul is clear and obvious. If that one wasn’t clear and obvious, what is?
That should be the concern. By setting a high bar for calling the foul and not using expedited review to clean it up, the calls could be wildly inconsistent. And then, in a key moment of a key game, out comes a flag — and on go the tinfoil hats.
