How much of a push is there to ban the tush push?
The time to put the cards on the table is coming very soon, with the league’s owners due to meet next week in Florida. That’s when proposed rule changes get a vote (or, if they’re going to fail, they get pulled or tabled).
After news first surfaced of the Packers proposing a change to the rule that allows a ballcarrier to be pushed from behind, we asked several coaches and General Managers about it at the Scouting Combine. None had a problem with it — other than Bills coach Sean McDermott, whose team uses a version of it (effectively) but who acknowledges the safety concerns.
The injury data, to the extent there is any, doesn’t show it. Obviously, it’s a high-intensity play. Former Eagles center Jason Kelce has said he’d scream “fuck my life” every time they ran it.
The question becomes whether 24 total teams are willing to un-eff the lives of current and future Eagles centers. More specifically, the question becomes whether 24 total teams will vote for a flawed proposal, which bans only the “immediate” pushing of the ballcarrier.
If the league wants to get rid of the tush push, the simplest fix would be to revert to the pre-2006 rulebook, which prohibited both pulling and pushing of the ballcarrier. Alternatively, pushing of the ballcarrier could be banned within the tackle box. Or within two yards of the line of scrimmage.
We’re mentioning it because of this observation about a tush-push ban from Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com: “I feel like it’s getting more momentum in terms of those opposed to it than I’ve ever heard before.”
That’s all relative, of course. If there’s never been much momentum against the play (and there hasn’t been), any momentum would be more than ever before.
All that matters for present purposes is 24. Is there a proposal, any proposal, that would get 24 owners to support it. Most importantly, would that proposal truly ban the maneuver?
The Packers’ proposal would merely delay it. If there are 24 owners who want to get rid of it entirely, it would be very easy to do it. The fact that there’s no clean and simple and direct proposal that would ban the play suggests that the league remains a long way away from having the requisite 24 votes.
