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Le'Veon Bell Impacted Steelers Decision on Rule Change
The Pittsburgh Steelers voted to ban the hip drop tackle, with experience of their own on what it can do.
ORLANDO -- The NFL Competition Committee officially banned the hip-drop tackle, making a controversial call that had the support of many across the league, including the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The removal of the tackle comes with the following guidelines:
- Grabbing a runner with both hands/arms while attempting to make a tackle. "Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body." Then landing on or trapping a player's leg(s) at or below the knee.
Steelers President Art Rooney II told local media the decision was supported by the team, and when addressing why they felt it was the right move, pointed to an injury they dealt with several years ago because of the tackle.
"As you may recall, we lost Le'Veon Bell for a whole season because of a tackle like that way back. We've had concerns about it for awhile now," Rooney said. "The biggest question is, our officials have a hard enough job. It is a hard foul to call so it'll be interesting to see how it gets called. There's no question it can be a dangerous play."
The injury Rooney is referring to is in Week 8 of 2016, when Bell tore his ACL against the Cincinnati Bengals after a hip-drop tackle.
The ban came with some disapproval from players, including Steelers inside linebacker Patrick Queen. Still, owners believe it will benefit the game, leading to less injuries moving forward. If called, the result of the penalty will be a 15-yard gain for the offense and an automatic first down.
