Matt Eberflus Explains Why Controversial Hip-Drop Tackle Rule Won’t Affect Bears
The NFL always has reactionary tendencies when big-name players start getting hurt. They start looking for reasons why the injuries happened. Last season is a perfect example. Running back Tony Pollard and tight end Mark Andrews were lost to nasty tackle attempts that saw defenders land on their ankles as they were going to the ground. This became known to the masses as the “hip-drop tackle.” Sure enough, after the season ended, league decision-makers immediately input a rule change that banned this tackle. Any instance of it happening would result in a 15-yard penalty and likely a fine. Lots of defensive players and coaches were upset with the ruling. One would think Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus would be one of them.
After all, he’s the de facto defensive coordinator and a former linebacker himself. It is already difficult enough to play defense in today’s NFL. This rule only makes life harder for them. Surprisingly, Eberflus didn’t seem bothered at all when asked about it by Colleen Kane and Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. Tackling is something he has heavily researched since his days as an assistant coach in college. Over the years, he has never taught anything close to the hip-drop technique. So in his mind, this rule won’t affect the Bears.
Eberflus, who was in favor of the rules change, detailed tackling technique research performed at the University of Toledo in 1995 when he was an assistant coach working under Gary Pinkel.
“Coach Pinkel talked to us, ‘Hey, how do we take guys and knock them sideways or backward so they don’t fall forward?’” Eberflus said. “We did a study. We pulled all the tape we could from the NFL, the college game, high school tape, all that. We came up with parameters and we came up with his thing called the hamstring tackle. I’ve been using that since ’95. To me, it’s pretty easy. I don’t have to change or adjust (my coaching). We’ve never taught that type of (now illegal hip-drop) tackle.”
Matt Eberflus understands there is more than one way to play the game.
Tackling technique is an art form. Great defenses don’t need to rely on the hip-drop to get the job done. One thing about Eberflus’ scheme is it demands all 11 players fly to the football. Rather than rely on one player to make the tackle himself, it rests on everybody to make the play. The same was true when Lovie Smith was in charge. Bigger players might be able to shrug off one tackler but not three or four. Not if they’ve been well-trained on how to do it properly. This is a big reason the Bears had one of the best run defenses in the NFL last season.
The truth is defenses always find a way to adjust. Despite the rules being against them, they’ve managed to force offenses to score fewer points recently than in a long time. This is likely another reason why the NFL chose to implement the rule. Less points equals less money, apparently. Whatever the case, the hip-drop tackle was never part of Matt Eberflus’ philosophy. This team will always be about forcing turnovers. Instead of focusing on getting players on the ground, it remains about the ball.