(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Throughout their history, the Baltimore Ravens have won with defense whenever they have been a good team, and these days, they have a really good team.
They were expected by many to reach the Super Bowl, if not win it, late last season, and while they fell a bit short of that expectation when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, they did finish first in points and rushing touchdowns allowed.
For the 2024 season, the NFL has banned the hip-drop tackle, which has led to some major injuries, and it has led to criticism from some who feel the league is becoming too soft.
But per ESPN via JPAFootball, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh isn’t concerned about the rule change and says players will be “just fine” following the new ban.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: #Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh says that #NFL defenders will be “just fine” without hip-drop tackles, he told ESPN.
“It needed to be out … they tackled just fine without it for 100 years of football before that.”
Read More Here: https://t.co/OvbyFn2yJp… pic.twitter.com/PHzMsjpW4v
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) April 9, 2024
Critics have accused the NFL of going soft over the past decade or so because of various rule changes on defense, such as the changes in pass interference rules and the outlawing of helmet-to-helmet collisions.
On the other hand, it’s a very violent game that causes brain trauma — a recent Boston University study found that 345 out of 376 former players studied had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and thus the game needs to be made safer.
The Ravens bounced back strong in 2023 after a 2022 season in which they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card round of the playoffs after quarterback Lamar Jackson suffered a knee injury late in the schedule.
Last year, Jackson seemed revitalized after getting a huge new contract, and he won his second league MVP award.
Now, the challenge for him and his team is to win the Ravens’ third Vince Lombardi Trophy, regardless of what the rulebook says about what types of tackles are permitted.
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