Las Vegas Raiders LB is a Fan of Player Safety, Plans to Adjust to New Rule

The NFL Competition Committee recently made the hip-drop tackle a 15-yard penalty. Las Vegas Raiders LB Robert Spillane isn't worried about the new rule affecting his game.

The National Football League Competition Committee made the hip-drop tackle a 15-yard penalty earlier this offseason.

The rule states, "It is a foul if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground: (a) grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and (b) 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,” per NFL.com.

Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane understood the NFL Competition Committee's stance and supported the change. 

“At the end of the day, it's a rule,” Spillane told reporters on Monday. “We've had rules in this game forever. You either learn how to abide by them, or you get penalized. At the end of the day, I am somebody who's a big proponent of player safety.

“So, if the stats are true, if people are getting injured at a unnecessarily high rate because of a play that can be stopped, I believe it’s good for the game. I am all about the longevity of football as a whole. I love this game of football, and I want to see it played 100 years from now. And if it's for the betterment of the game, I'm all about it.” 

The veteran linebacker believes there will be a learning curve over the summer as teams learn the ins and outs of the rule itself. However, he expects the league to properly prepare the players with training videos, as the league often does to help players better understand the rules.

“I think there's still some gray in the area, and over the course of OTAs, minicamp, and training camp,” Spillane said. We’ll have so much video recognition of what can and can't be done that we should have a better idea come the start of the season.”

Spillane feels that although abiding by the rule could impact some players mentally, defenders who don’t usually incorporate hip-drop into their training won’t have much to worry about.

“It's definitely something that can enter your mind,” Spillane said. “At that point, hopefully, it's become so trained into how you play as a player that you're not just going to go out there and make a mindless mistake falling on somebody's legs.

“For me, it's all very micro-decisions, like you're making decisions every millisecond. And I believe that as an NFL player, you have the ability to make those decisions, yes or no. So, it comes down to the discipline and the training. We'll see how it plays out at the end of the day, but it will be interesting.”

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