The hip-drop tackle has been a hot topic as of late since the NFL decided to ban the tackle for the 2024 season and beyond.
Players on offense are all for the new rule because it protects them. On the other hand, players on defense may have to change how they tackle bigger players for example.
Cleveland Browns S Rodney McLeod is one of those defenders who is frustrated by the new ban. He joined 92.3 The Fan to talk about it.
“It’s frustrating," he said on 92.3 The Fan's Afternoon Drive. "Our job is to defend, is to tackle and is to allow opponents not to score. We do it at a fast rate. We do it without thought. Because we’ve been trained to do these things for so long. Again, the plays that they’re highlighting all resulted in unfortunate injuries from two great players, but we can’t allow that to dictate the way that we play the game and the integrity of the game to the point where you’re making players more cautious, more hesitant. Because that in itself creates more injuries. You’re also not allowing guys to do their job effectively.”
McLeod played 10 games with the Browns last season before he suffered a season-ending injury. Cleveland brought him back for another season as a free agent recently.
"I think that’s the hard part about it for me, is being able to do my job at a high level," McLeod said. "And the result of that is you’re telling me that a tackle I’ve done a million times is now a penalty and I can jeopardize and put my team in a bad position and also my family – taking money from them. Those are just my biggest concerns. When we get to these moments, the highest moments, playoffs, Super Bowl, how are you going to be able to measure that sort of tackle in that moment and be able to make that call? Because we know the margin of error is so small. So I don’t know where we go from here."
The frustration is understandable from both sides of the view. It is going to be a tough thing for officials to call and it is going to hurt teams and players at times.
We’ll see how the Jim Schwartz-led defense with the Browns approaches the hip-drop tackle in 2024. Teams are going to try to stay away from it as much as they can.
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