Ravens' John Harbaugh Backs NFL's Hip-Drop Tackle Ban, Says It 'Needed to Be Out'

Defensive players may not be happy about the NFL's ban of the swivel hip-drop tackle, but Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh came out as a major proponent of the change.

"When you drop down on the back of his legs, it's a mass ... and it's 25 times more likely to have a serious injury," Harbaugh told reporters Tuesday. "So, it's really a bad play, and it needed to be out. And guys are going to tackle just fine without the quote-unquote hip-drop tackle, because they tackled just fine without it for 100 years of football before that, when you never saw it, really."

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews fractured his fibula last season when Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson performed a swivel hip-drop tackle. Andrews missed Baltimore's final seven regular-season games.

The NFL Competition Committee pushed for the ban, citing player safety. Defensive players had an overwhelmingly negative reaction to the rule change, with former Pro Bowler J.J. Watt saying the league should just "fast forward to the belts with flags on them."

Players said they have transitioned to the hip-drop tackle as they look to avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. Harbaugh did not buy the excuse.

"When did you ever hear about the hip-drop tackle until like two years ago, three years ago, right?" Harbaugh said. "That's because it was discovered, probably, in rugby and started being executed as a standalone technique. It's a three-part movement, [and] you've got to execute that play. You've got to be close enough to that ball carrier to actually get him around the hips, pull him close to yourself, swing your hips through and drop on the back of his legs. If you're that close, wrap him up, tackle him and take him to the ground, like Ray Lewis used to do and everybody did for 100 years before that."