NFL officials responded to criticism of the proposed rule change:

According to competition committee chairman Rich McKay, the proposed rule was written to address only a subset of the rugby tackling style that has spread around the NFL in recent years. It calls for a 15-yard penalty if a defender grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner's leg[s] at or below the knee."

But both McKay and Vincent strongly implied Thursday that the rule would likely be enforced in ways similar to that of the "use of helmet" rule, which typically leads to warning letters and fines in the week following a game rather than by flags during the game.

"We are very quick to say, 'Listen it's hard to see all of the elements of the hip drop,' in one continuous action," McKay said. "So the number one thing we had to do is get a rule on the books that we can enforce on Monday and try to get the technique out of the game."