An enormous story of the offseason was the NFL eliminating the hip-drop deal with, a harmful play that led to some high-profile accidents.
The issue, maybe, is that it is robust for officers to determine what’s a hip-drop deal with in actual time.
There have been some performs that weren’t known as that seemed to be hip-drop tackles. Buffalo Payments quarterback Josh Allen thought he was the sufferer of 1 in Week 1 and argued with the officers, however did not get the decision. Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase argued with officers after a deal with, getting a 15-yard penalty, and he might need been upset {that a} hip drop wasn’t known as. Chase did not remark after the Bengals’ loss to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs.
And the play by which Houston Texans working again Joe Mixon was injured on Sunday evening in a 19-13 victory in opposition to the Chicago Bears positive appeared like the kind of play the NFL mentioned can be penalized this season.
Mixon was dragged down, his foot pinned beneath him, by Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards. It appeared like a textbook hip-drop deal with. Mixon limped off the sphere and was taken to the locker room. No flag was thrown.
Mixon returned to the sport shortly after, and he was fortunate the damage wasn’t worse.
In a while Sunday, Mixon took to social media to specific his frustration in regards to the play. He mentioned that he and the referee disagreed in regards to the nature of the deal with, regardless of the NFL making it a precedence within the offseason. “Time to place your cash the place your mouth is,” Mixon wrote.
After I acquired up I requested the ref the place is the flag that was a hip deal with. & his reply was no it wasn’t 🤦🏽♂️ https://t.co/A5fWjguzGH
— ⚡️Primetime!!!⚡️ (@Joe_MainMixon) September 16, 2024
It is laborious to take a look at that play and never suppose it was the outlawed hip-drop deal with. Each NBC announcers on the Sunday evening broadcast thought it was.
“The wrap, each legs swinging off the bottom and behind the leg,” NBC shade analyst Cris Collinsworth mentioned.
“Wrap, swivel, unweight, land on the legs,” play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico continued. “These are the 4 indictors all collectively that make that hip-drop deal with they’re making an attempt to take out of the sport. All 4 of these indicators there on that play. So laborious for the officers to name dwell on the sphere. However one thing that’s fineable later within the week.”
It is laborious to determine all of the mechanisms of a hip-drop deal with given the velocity of the sport. However it was added to the rulebook for a purpose, and officers want to have the ability to spot it when it occurs. It would not have helped Mixon and his damage, however maybe it will discourage it sooner or later, which was the NFL’s intent.