A hip drop tackle is a specific tackling technique in football where a defender wraps up a ball carrier and uses their body weight to bring the player down by dropping onto their legs.
Understanding the Hip Drop Tackle Technique
According to the NFL, a hip-drop tackle "occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier's legs during the tackle." This description highlights the key elements that define this type of tackle:
- Defender Wraps Up: The tackle begins with the defender having a grip or control of the ball carrier.
- Rotation/Swivel: The defender actively turns or pivots their hips.
- Unweighting: By rotating and dropping, the defender effectively removes their own weight from their feet or upper body, transferring it downwards.
- Dropping onto Legs: The critical final motion where the defender's body (specifically their hips or lower body) lands on the legs or ankles of the ball carrier.
This combination of actions creates a leverage point that can forcibly bring the ball carrier down, often in a sudden and uncontrolled manner, particularly impacting the lower body.
