The Green Bay Packers’ proposal to outlaw the Philadelphia Eagles’ famous (famous if you’re an Eagles fan, infamous if you’re not) “Tush Push” play is so controversial that it led to “heated” debate at the league’s annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman and Assistant General Manager Jon Ferrari reportedly entered into an “animated side conversation” with two head coaches on the completion committee: Buffalo’s Sean McDermott and Rams’ head coach Sean McVay, ESPN reports.
The foursome quarreled over the proposed outlawing of the rule in a hallway outside a meeting room.
Last year, both the Rams and the Packers lost to the Eagles in the regular and postseason, and the Tush Push factored heavily into their defeats all four times. McDermott’s Bills did not face the Eagles last year.
Lest anyone try to minimize the role the Tush Push played in Philly’s Super Bowl run last year, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni reached out to three of his former assistants, now head coaches, informing them he expected their support in preserving the play because the Tush Push helped them win their jobs.
“We’ll see how it goes. All I will say about it is (Jonathan) Gannon, (Shane) Steichen, and (Kellen) Moore better vote for it,” Sirianni told NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on Sunday. “They are in the (head coach) position right now because of that play. So all three, I’d better have those three votes right there and the Eagles’ vote. I at least know we have four.”
The Packers proposed banning the play because it endangered defenders to have that mass of humanity – a center, tight end, running back, and quarterback – all crashing down at one point. However, evidence that the play has led to increased injuries seems lacking. Former Steelers head coach and current CBS analyst Bill Cowher said the play should be banned simply because it is not a football play. The act of a scrum of players pushing another forward looked more like a rugby play than a football play.
While Cowher’s objection may make more sense, the league may be more sensitive to injury concerns than outward appearances.
For Green Bay’s proposal to succeed, twenty-four of the thirty-two NFL teams would have to vote to eliminate the play.
