NFL needs to ban hip-drop tackle: Australian rugby legend

NFL

By Zach Braziller

Retired Australian rugby great and Fox League expert Matty Johns gets it.

He can see why there is a growing movement led by commissioner Roger Goodell to make a controversial change to the way defenders tackle in the NFL

He saw the same thing happen in the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia. The “hip-drop tackle” was leaving injured players all over the pitch.

The dangerous tackle had to be eliminated in his sport, and he thinks the same needs to happen in the NFL.

“Absolutely. Not a doubt in the world,’’ Johns told The Post. “What it’s doing is ruining people’s careers. It leads to really bad ACL injuries, broken legs, horrendous ankle injuries. So I think it’s a no-brainer.’’

The hip-drop tackle has become top of mind this NFL season as players such as Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith and Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill have sustained injuries as a result of the tackle.

It occurs when a defensive player uses his body weight on the legs of the ball carrier by leading with his hip. It is often a technique applied by smaller players to take down bigger players.

Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, has said that the injury rate for this tackle is 25 times higher than other tackling methods.

While at the owners meetings earlier this week, Goodell said, “We should all work to get that out of the game.”

Johns has been in Vegas, recently watching the NFL up close.

The NRL will be opening its season in the U.S. for the first time, playing a doubleheader at Allegiant Stadium on March 2, just a couple of weeks after the Super Bowl is played there.

The Manly Sea Eagles will take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the opener, exclusively broadcast on FS1. In the nightcap, the Brisbane Broncos meet the Sydney Roosters.

As he’s watched these games, Johns can understand why the NFL needs to follow the NRL’s lead.

But he also realizes implementing this change won’t be simple, especially in the beginning.

“In the early days, there were some of the most mean-spirited things that I’ve ever seen,’’ Johns recalled. “Quite like the NFL, they’ve got a players union. My thing was, I thought that the players union should have stepped in and basically stopped players doing it to their fellow professionals.

“We’ve had some horrendous injuries from the hip-drop tackle. I know you guys had clipping and all that stuff back in the day. But the hip drop, it’s been bad. We’ve had guys that have had…