EXCLUSIVE: Ravens coach John Harbaugh supports NFL’s ban on hip-drop tackle: ‘It needed to be out’

has expressed his approval of the NFL’s decision to outlaw the hip-drop tackle, a controversial technique that has been linked to player injuries. The league recently adopted a rule that penalizes the tackle, which involves a defender grabbing a ball carrier and twisting them to the ground while falling on the runner’s legs.

“When did you ever hear about the hip-drop tackle until like two years ago, three years ago, right? That’s because it was discovered, probably, in rugby and started being executed as a standalone technique,” Harbaugh explained in an interview with ESPN.”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,” he detailed