The topic of the “tush push” is a divisive one.
The controversial goal-line play made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles and utilized by the Buffalo Bills is back on the agenda at NFL owners meetings this week, where a vote could effectively ban it.
Advertisement
Both sides are making their cases in anticipation of the vote. Per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Eagles officials are making calls around the league to make the case that the play should not be banned.
Will NFL owners ban the ‘tush push?’
The play has already been on the agenda once and was given a reprieve. Owners opted to table the topic during spring meetings in April following a charged debate. Owners will meet again in Minneapolis starting Wednesday and are expected take up the subject again. Any rule change will require 24 of the 32 NFL owners to vote in support of it.
The “tush push” involves multiple players lining up behind a ball carrier and pushing him forward toward a line of gain in short-yardage situations. The Super Bowl champion Eagles have repeatedly and effectively utilized it for multiple seasons to push quarterback Jalen Hurt over the goal line with opposing defenses nearly helpless to stop it.
The Philadelphia Eagles have utilized the “tush push” to great success. (Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Bills have also adopted the play to take advantage of the size and strength of quarterback Josh Allen near the goal line. They’ve both done so with great success. Per ESPN research, Philadelphia and Buffalo have utilized the play more than the other 30 teams combined in the last three years to an 87% success rate in terms of converting either a touchdown or a first down.
Is player safety really at stake here?
Some teams — most notably the Green Bay Packers — don’t think this is fair. The Packers proposed the rule change that would prohibit “an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lineup directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap.”
Advertisement
The cited reason for the proposal? “Player safety; pace of play.”
There’s no data to support that player safety is further risked by the “tush push,” a point that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made in April while simultaneously suggesting — without data — that the “tush push” does offer an increased risk of injury.
“We have very little data from it, but beyond data, there’s also the mechanism of injury that we study …that leads us to show the risk involved in a particular play or particular tackle,” Goodell said on April 2. “There are a lot of plays where you see someone pulling or pushing somebody that are not in the tush push formation that I think do have an increased risk of injury.”
‘It’s a cheapo play’
The real reason appears to simply be that that play is almost impossible to stop. Washington Commanders linebacker Franki Luvu notably demonstrated the difficulty in attempting to stop it in a playoff loss to the Eagles when he drew multiple penalties for jumping early over the line of scrimmage with the Eagles in “tush push” formation.
Advertisement
Luvu candidly discussed on Monday why “I think they should ban it” during an interview with NFL Network.
“But I know the argument’s going to be about like, hey, you guys have to stop it, Luvu said. “Don’t get us in short yardage, and what not. I mean, it’s kind of like a cheapo play. …
“It’s pretty much a scrum in rugby. That’s how I kind of look at it. And we’ve got to have a scrum, too, on the other side. An the scrum is, we have a cadence where we all go at once. It’s not like you hard count and this and that, where now you’re getting us — or myself — jumping over the pile thinking that you’re going to snap the ball. That’s just my own personal opinion, and I’m going to leave it at that.”
There weren’t enough votes in April to ban the ‘tush push.’ Will that change this week as owners vote behind closed doors?
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Paulo Massini escolhe técnico do Brasileirão “muito diferente”
Paulo Massini em participação em podcast (Divulgação PodPorco) Em programa esportivo “G4”, da Bandsports, o comentarista Paulo Massini analisou a situação do Palmeiras no Brasileirão. Após mais de 4 anos no comando, o treinador Abel Ferreira foi alvo de elogios pela ofensiva da equipe e a liderança na competição. Massini rasga elogios a Abel Ferreira Durante a análise, o jornalista destacou que o Verdão apresenta bom futebol na maioria das partidas e mesmo naquelas em que não brilha, garante bons resultados. Massini destacou a importância da vitória por 2 a 1 contra o Red Bull Bragantino e o aproveitamento impressionante no Campeonato Paulista. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE Massini abriu o jogo sobre a importância de Abel Ferreira no elenco: “O Palmeiras teve a montagem desta proposta para o ano sendo construída e acho que com atraso, sendo que poderia ter sido montada […]
Do the Boston Celtics need to make major changes this offseason? | Speak
Video Details Paul Pierce explains why the Boston Celtics don’t need to make any major changes this offseason despite being eliminated by the New York Knicks, saying the current core is still built to win 2 MINS AGO・speak・1:52
NHL referee Chris Rooney OK after taking stick to the face in Panthers’ Game 7 win over Maple Leafs
NHL referee Chris Rooney is OK after leaving the Florida Panthers’ Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night with a scary looking eye injury.Rooney took an inadvertent stick to the face just a few seconds into the second period of the Panthers’ 6-1 win at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Sunday. The stick, which belonged to Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola, grazed Rooney’s face and nearly knocked his helmet off completely.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRooney went down and immediately reached for his face and his right eye, which was gushing blood. He was eventually walked off the ice with some assistance and a bloody towel held up against his face. He didn’t return.Rooney received stitches on the cut, which was just above his eye. He was left with a black eye, but sustained no lasting damage, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. […]
Em um jogo cheio de reviravoltas, Internacional e Palmeiras ficam no empate no Brasileirão Feminino
Em um jogo movimentado, Internacional e Palmeiras empatam pelo Brasileirão Feminino (Reprodução/Lara Vantzen/Internacional) Em um duelo válido pela 11ª rodada do Brasileirão Feminino, Internacional e Palmeiras fizeram um jogo cheio de emoção para as duas torcidas. Mesmo estando em situações distintas na tabela, as equipes mostraram o porquê são consideradas fortes candidatas ao título do campeonato nacional. O 1º tempo da partida começou agitado, com um gol logo aos dois minutos. Após cobrança de escanteio, Amanda Gutierres subiu bonito e testou para o gol, colocando o Palmeiras na frente. Porém, aos 13 minutos, o Inter devolveu na mesma moeda. Depois de uma cobrança de escanteio, Bruna Benites deixou tudo igual. Dali em diante, o jogo ficou amarrado, com os dois times se segurando um pouco mais. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE No começo do 2º tempo, as duas equipes voltaram a todo vapor […]
Power conferences working on contract to bind schools to new enforcement rules, with strict punishments
On May 1, in perhaps an intentionally quiet signing, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee scrawled his name across the bottom of a six-page state bill.Tennessee Senate Bill No. 536, its details unearthed last week, paves the way for state schools — University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Memphis, etc. — and their affiliated collectives to break House settlement-related rules and prevents college sports’ new enforcement entity from penalizing those schools.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn layman’s terms, the law is a launched missile toward plans from the NCAA and power conferences to police the revenue-sharing era of college sports, taking aim at the athlete compensation cap, the severe penalties for rule-breakers and the policies that prevent phony booster-backed name, image and likeness deals to players.But power conference executives have plans to combat such laws.Officials from the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC are circulating a draft of […]
Bears rookie Luther Burden III bemoans NFL Draft slide, says teams ‘gotta pay’ for passing on him
Getty Images Luther Burden III spent the final year of his college football career as a projected first-round NFL Draft pick. Even after his production tumbled in his final season at Missouri, the 2023 All-American wide receiver still figured to be a Day 1 selection. Instead, Burden slipped out of the first round and the Chicago Bears scooped him up with the No. 39 overall pick. The underwhelming result did not sit well with Burden, he said after the draft.Four wide receivers flew off the board before Burden. Tetairoa McMillan, Emeka Egbuka and Matthew Golden each heard their names called in the first round, while Jayden Higgins preceded the former SEC standout in the second round. In turn, Burden had a message for the teams that looked elsewhere for a rookie pass-catcher."That's staying with me forever," Burden said. "Everybody who […]
Related
Paulo Massini escolhe técnico do Brasileirão “muito diferente”
Paulo Massini em participação em podcast (Divulgação PodPorco) Em programa esportivo “G4”, da Bandsports, o comentarista Paulo Massini analisou a situação do Palmeiras no Brasileirão. Após mais de 4 anos no comando, o treinador Abel Ferreira foi alvo de elogios pela ofensiva da equipe e a liderança na competição. Massini rasga elogios a Abel Ferreira Durante a análise, o jornalista destacou que o Verdão apresenta bom futebol na maioria das partidas e mesmo naquelas em que não brilha, garante bons resultados. Massini destacou a importância da vitória por 2 a 1 contra o Red Bull Bragantino e o aproveitamento impressionante no Campeonato Paulista. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE Massini abriu o jogo sobre a importância de Abel Ferreira no elenco: “O Palmeiras teve a montagem desta proposta para o ano sendo construída e acho que com atraso, sendo que poderia ter sido montada […]
Do the Boston Celtics need to make major changes this offseason? | Speak
Video Details Paul Pierce explains why the Boston Celtics don’t need to make any major changes this offseason despite being eliminated by the New York Knicks, saying the current core is still built to win 2 MINS AGO・speak・1:52
NHL referee Chris Rooney OK after taking stick to the face in Panthers’ Game 7 win over Maple Leafs
NHL referee Chris Rooney is OK after leaving the Florida Panthers’ Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night with a scary looking eye injury.Rooney took an inadvertent stick to the face just a few seconds into the second period of the Panthers’ 6-1 win at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Sunday. The stick, which belonged to Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola, grazed Rooney’s face and nearly knocked his helmet off completely.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRooney went down and immediately reached for his face and his right eye, which was gushing blood. He was eventually walked off the ice with some assistance and a bloody towel held up against his face. He didn’t return.Rooney received stitches on the cut, which was just above his eye. He was left with a black eye, but sustained no lasting damage, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. […]
Em um jogo cheio de reviravoltas, Internacional e Palmeiras ficam no empate no Brasileirão Feminino
Em um jogo movimentado, Internacional e Palmeiras empatam pelo Brasileirão Feminino (Reprodução/Lara Vantzen/Internacional) Em um duelo válido pela 11ª rodada do Brasileirão Feminino, Internacional e Palmeiras fizeram um jogo cheio de emoção para as duas torcidas. Mesmo estando em situações distintas na tabela, as equipes mostraram o porquê são consideradas fortes candidatas ao título do campeonato nacional. O 1º tempo da partida começou agitado, com um gol logo aos dois minutos. Após cobrança de escanteio, Amanda Gutierres subiu bonito e testou para o gol, colocando o Palmeiras na frente. Porém, aos 13 minutos, o Inter devolveu na mesma moeda. Depois de uma cobrança de escanteio, Bruna Benites deixou tudo igual. Dali em diante, o jogo ficou amarrado, com os dois times se segurando um pouco mais. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE No começo do 2º tempo, as duas equipes voltaram a todo vapor […]
Power conferences working on contract to bind schools to new enforcement rules, with strict punishments
On May 1, in perhaps an intentionally quiet signing, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee scrawled his name across the bottom of a six-page state bill.Tennessee Senate Bill No. 536, its details unearthed last week, paves the way for state schools — University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Memphis, etc. — and their affiliated collectives to break House settlement-related rules and prevents college sports’ new enforcement entity from penalizing those schools.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn layman’s terms, the law is a launched missile toward plans from the NCAA and power conferences to police the revenue-sharing era of college sports, taking aim at the athlete compensation cap, the severe penalties for rule-breakers and the policies that prevent phony booster-backed name, image and likeness deals to players.But power conference executives have plans to combat such laws.Officials from the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC are circulating a draft of […]
Bears rookie Luther Burden III bemoans NFL Draft slide, says teams ‘gotta pay’ for passing on him
Getty Images Luther Burden III spent the final year of his college football career as a projected first-round NFL Draft pick. Even after his production tumbled in his final season at Missouri, the 2023 All-American wide receiver still figured to be a Day 1 selection. Instead, Burden slipped out of the first round and the Chicago Bears scooped him up with the No. 39 overall pick. The underwhelming result did not sit well with Burden, he said after the draft.Four wide receivers flew off the board before Burden. Tetairoa McMillan, Emeka Egbuka and Matthew Golden each heard their names called in the first round, while Jayden Higgins preceded the former SEC standout in the second round. In turn, Burden had a message for the teams that looked elsewhere for a rookie pass-catcher."That's staying with me forever," Burden said. "Everybody who […]
Be the first to leave a comment