Harrison Smith gets brutally honest about recent NFL rule change
By Adam Patrick
Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith has been in the NFL for over a decade, so he's very used to the league making adjustments to their rule book almost every offseason.
On Monday, the NFL revealed a new addition to their rule book when they announced that a ban on the hip-drop tackle had been approved by the league's owners. After the new rule was announced, Smith shared his very honest reaction to the news with a post on his personal Twitter account.
As a human: mostly indifferent
— Harrison Smith (@harrismith22) March 25, 2024
As a business person:
The NFL is protecting the merchandise. National audience tunes in to see offense. Further protect offensive players/potentially weaken tackling attempts(win-win)
As Hitman: Dislike, more defensive fines, true sport weakens https://t.co/NL65TPWlFU
Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith claims NFL is "protecting the merchandise" with new rule
Given his experience in the league, Smith knows the NFL is always going to be looking for new ways to prevent star players from getting hurt, especially if those guys make a living on the offensive side of the ball.
As a defensive player, he also knows that his job is about to get even harder next season, and the new rule could even result in some additional fines for himself and other defenders around the NFL.
Whenever a rule change like this is made, the league typically makes sure to emphasize that it was made in an effort to improve the safety of the players in the NFL.
Former Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks knows these so-called safety measures are usually looking out more for offensive players than defensive players, so, like Smith, he shared his opinion online with a post on his Twitter account on Monday.
Let’s ban the double team block, too many injuries on the d linemen. 600-680lbs on one persons knee is far too dangerous. Let’s minimize the risk for potential injury! 😂 https://t.co/J4WLrbprCC
— Eric Kendricks (@erickendricks6) March 25, 2024
Everything mentioned by Smith and Kendricks is completely fair. It's already very difficult to play defense in the NFL, and every offseason, it seems like the league finds more ways to make life even harder for defensive players.
However, it was recently revealed that the NFL seems to currently be concerned by the amount that scoring has gone down during the last few seasons. In 2020, teams were averaging a combined 49 points per game, and then this past season, that average dropped all the way down to 43.5 per contest.
A rule change like the one that was made on Monday is certainly one way to potentially help offenses score more points out on the field next season. It might not have a tremendous impact, but anything to increase the likelihood of scoring always seems to be a big motivator whenever some of these rules are approved.
Will this ban on hip-drop tackles ultimately help improve the amount of scoring around the NFL next season, or will defenders like Smith and Kendricks just find new ways to stifle their offensive counterparts?
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