Horse-collar tackle likely to be banned

It's unofficially called the Roy Williams rule, damn I didn't realize how many guys he put out of commission with this tackle, 4 guys in 2004!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2063722&num=0

LaVar uses this technique too! I think changing the rules on this is a good thing. Seriously, dragging someone from the back and slamming them just doesn't seem right when you can tackle them. The only exception I would make is if the player is about to get a first down.

i wouldn't make any exceptions. you can seriously injure players like that, its not like grabbing them by their legs and pulling them down, you could even put their career in jeopardy. im glad they are banning that tackle.

U guys remember the face mask tackle Ulracher made on Portis...I think they should address that too.

Being a former defensive player, I am kind of getting sick of all these new rules that protect the star offensive players and nothing is done to protect the players on defense.
The offensive lineman (Broncos in particular) get away with injuring defensive player every year and nothing gets done. Most of these injuries are borderline cheap shots.
But the first big QB or WR in this case (T. Owens) gets hurt and change the rules.
Not enough TD's? Change the rules to favor the WR's.
At some point this has got to stop. Soon it will be two hand touch on QB's, WR's and RB's.
I am Ok with rule changes that protect players health, just make it fair and even.

Being a former defensive player, I am kind of getting sick of all these new rules that protect the star offensive players and nothing is done to protect the players on defense.
The offensive lineman (Broncos in particular) get away with injuring defensive player every year and nothing gets done. Most of these injuries are borderline cheap shots.
But the first big QB or WR in this case (T. Owens) gets hurt and change the rules.
Not enough TD's? Change the rules to favor the WR's.
At some point this has got to stop. Soon it will be two hand touch on QB's, WR's and RB's.
I am Ok with rule changes that protect players health, just make it fair and even.

Earlier this year, when the NFL banned certain peel-back blocks against unsuspecting defenders, few specifically singled out Denver Broncos (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=den) offensive tackle George Foster (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6356) as a culprit. Unless you live in a cave, though, and never viewed any of the thousands of replays that graphically illustrate the cheap shot Foster used against Tony Williams (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=4087), which broke the ankle of the Bengals defensive lineman, you know whose indiscretion served as catalyst for the new rule.

I don't like the banning of the horse collar tackle. It's a very effective technique when running people down from behind. There aren't that many ways to pull people down from behind and they took one away. Players aren't always close enough to grab much else, now they're supposed to let them run by? That's stupid. I don't like the NFL turning football into soccer. I can agree that QB's should be protected, but anyone else should be fair game when they have the ball.

The main beef I have is the "defenseless receiver" rule. I hate that. It's such crap. You don't wanna get laid out, don't go over the middle. Don't run downfield directly at a safety. Don't go for the football. Be Todd Pinkston. How, when players have a fraction of a second to make a decision about a hit are they supposed to evaluate what will be within the rules? I really hate the defenseless receiver rule. It takes the hitting out of the game. People get hurt, blah, blah, blah. This is football, not soccer. You don't wanna get hit, don't go for the ball.

I don't even hate the banning of the horse collar tackle, I just think it's kinda stupid. I understand the league's stance, they don't want people hurt, but now players are gonna have to ride people down. That's gonna cause a lot of injuries too. The bottom line is when you have 200+ lb guys throwing themselves into each other people are gonna get hurt no matter what rules you make. This is football, let em play.

you could always pull them down by the back of their legs or the ankles, you don't have to pull them down by the collar, because then you bend their knees forward and you risk injuring them seriously.

Anyone remember the horse-collar tackle Sean Taylor put on McNabb? It was on the Sean Taylor highlight video.

I'm all for letting players play, after all it is a violent game, but at the same time you have to protect the players from unnecessary injury. That's why headslaps are illegal, and that's why these horse-collar tackles are on the way out as well.

Roy Williams single handedly injured 4 players last year all by himself, and serious injuries at that. I say ban it before he busts one of our guys' legs. Could you imagine seeing Portis going down like that? Talk about a nightmare.

It's a shoddy tackling technique that doesn't need to be a part of the game.