College football has had a horse-collar tackle rule since 2008. In 2017, the text has two new words, which I’ve bolded in this passage from the NCAA’s rulebook:
All players are prohibited from grabbing the inside back collar of the shoulder pads or jersey, the area, or the inside collar of the side of the shoulder pads or jersey, and immediately pulling the ball carrier down. This does not apply to a ball carrier, including a potential passer, who is inside the tackle box.
For all of its existence, the rule has made it a penalty to reach inside the back of player’s jersey and yank him to the ground. Now, players also aren’t allowed to grab the outside of the jersey and pull the player down. The foul doesn’t require the tackler’s hand to slide inside the jersey and onto the bare shoulder pads of his opponent.
Just like before, a horse-collar tackle is a 15-yard personal foul and carries an automatic first down for the non-offending team.
Previously, this was what the illegal horse collar looked like:
ESPNThere, the defender reaches inside the runner’s uniform. That’s still a foul. But starting this season, it’s also a foul if he grabs the runner around the nameplate and hauls him down that way. That’s what the rule means by including “the area.”
The horse-collar rule first went into effect in college in 2008. The NFL made the horse-collar tackle a 15-yard personal foul in 2005, and it was known at first as the “Roy Williams Rule” after the former Cowboys safety. The college rule’s expansion brings it into line with the professional game, which also bans the nameplate-yanking tackle. In both college and the NFL, the rule doesn’t apply in the pocket or tackle box.
The rule’s broadening adds to what counts as a penalty, but it doesn’t change the goal: preventing injuries that could come from a dangerous kind of tackle.
horse col*lar tack*le
What Is The Definition Of A Horse Collar Tackle In Football?
1. This is a type of tackle in football in which one player grabs another player’s shoulder pads or jersey from the back before pulling them down to the ground. Due to the increased risk of injury, this tackle results in a 15-yard personal foul in the NFL and NCAA. This penalty is also known as the “Roy Williams Rule” due to the defensive player’s history of injuring opponents through horse collar tackles.
Examples Of How Horse Collar Tackle Is Used In Commentary
Roy Williams was a standout safety for many years in the NFL, earning himself five Pro Bowl invitations. However, Williams was also known for tracking down receivers and pulling them down from behind with this method. Williams started to earn himself a negative reputation for the horse collar tackle where he would repeatedly injure his opponents, including four during the 2004 season and two in one-game alone.
When a player is brought down with a horse tackle, they have a high risk of injury to their legs. The most famous of such an injury belongs to Terrell Owens in 2004 when he broke his leg from a tackle by Williams. On May 23 of 2005, the NFL owners voted in favor to ban the horse collar tackle and in 2006 that rule expanded to when a player is brought down by the back of their jersey.
Sports The Term Is Used
1. Football
Also Known As:
1. Roy Williams Rule
Page 2
horse col*lar tack*le
What Is The Definition Of A Horse Collar Tackle In Football?
1. This is a type of tackle in football in which one player grabs another player’s shoulder pads or jersey from the back before pulling them down to the ground. Due to the increased risk of injury, this tackle results in a 15-yard personal foul in the NFL and NCAA. This penalty is also known as the “Roy Williams Rule” due to the defensive player’s history of injuring opponents through horse collar tackles.
Examples Of How Horse Collar Tackle Is Used In Commentary
Roy Williams was a standout safety for many years in the NFL, earning himself five Pro Bowl invitations. However, Williams was also known for tracking down receivers and pulling them down from behind with this method. Williams started to earn himself a negative reputation for the horse collar tackle where he would repeatedly injure his opponents, including four during the 2004 season and two in one-game alone.
When a player is brought down with a horse tackle, they have a high risk of injury to their legs. The most famous of such an injury belongs to Terrell Owens in 2004 when he broke his leg from a tackle by Williams. On May 23 of 2005, the NFL owners voted in favor to ban the horse collar tackle and in 2006 that rule expanded to when a player is brought down by the back of their jersey.
Sports The Term Is Used
1. Football
Also Known As:
1. Roy Williams Rule
File:Bailey Johnson is called for a horse collar tackle mod.jpg
Example of a horse-collar tackle made by an Iowa State player. The tackler's right hand has grabbed the runner's collar and is using it to pull him down from behind.
The horse-collar tackle is an American football maneuver in which a defender tackles another player by grabbing the back-inside of an opponent's shoulder pads. The technique is most closely associated with Pro Bowl safety Roy Williams. This kind of tackle was banned from the NFL during the 2005 offseason. The rule forbidding it is often referred to in the press as "The Roy Williams Rule".[1] The rule, with modifications, was adopted in college football in 2008 and high school football in 2009.
History
The horse-collar tackle rose to infamy during the 2004 NFL season, in which it was implicated for six major injuries, four of which were caused by Williams, including two in one game. The injuries that season included broken legs for Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, Baltimore Ravens running back Musa Smith, and Tennessee Titans wide out Tyrone Calico. On May 23, 2005, NFL owners voted 27–5 to ban the tackle, with the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, and San Francisco 49ers voting against.[1] The first year of the ban, only two penalties were called by referees for the horse-collar tackle. Owners voted 25–7 in 2006 to expand the rule to include tackles by the back of the jersey in addition to tackles by the shoulder pads.[2]
Risks
The horse-collar is particularly dangerous due to the awkward position of the player being tackled, who will often fall backward in a twisting motion with one or both legs trapped under the weight of his body. This is exacerbated if the player's foot gets caught in the turf and by the additional weight of the defender. Potential injuries include sprains or tears to ligaments in the knees and ankles (including the ACL and MCL), and fractures of the tibia and fibula.[3]
The ban states that a horse-collar tackle is an open-field tackle in which a defender uses the shoulder pads or jersey to immediately bring a ball carrier down. The term "open field" means that horse-collar tackles committed near the line of scrimmage will be allowed; in addition, the stipulation of "immediately bringing the ball carrier down" means that, if a defender begins to bring a player down by the shoulder pads but lets go before the tackle is completed, he will not be penalized.[citation needed]
Punishment
In the NFL, the horse-collar tackle results in a 15-yard personal foul penalty and an automatic first down if committed by the defense (penalty also will be enforced even if the opposing offense gains yards). It will often also result in a league-imposed fine on the player. Roy Williams was the first player suspended for repeated violations of the rule. The one-game suspension was given following a horse-collar tackle on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb that occurred on December 16, 2007, and it was Williams' third violation of the rule of the 2007 season.[4]
The tackle was made illegal in the CFL for the 2007 season. [5] The horse collar tackle was legal through the 2007–2008 season in college football but was banned by the NCAA after criticism from pundits and coaches for the 2008–2009 season as part of a package that adopted several NFL rules into the college game.[6]
The National Federation of State High School Associations added a penalty for horse-collar tackles for the 2009 season.[7]