The NFL has released the formal language of the Packers’ proposal to change league rules to outlaw the tush push.
Rule changes will be debated and possibly voted on at the upcoming owners’ meeting, and the Packers’ proposal, which would ban the Eagles’ highly effective version of the quarterback sneak, will get most of the attention.
The NFL’s brief summary of the proposal reads as follows: “By Green Bay; amends Rule 12, Section 1, to prohibit an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap.”
If the Packers’ proposal passes, Rule 12, Section 1 would be amended to say, “No offensive player may . . . immediately at the snap, push or throw his body against a teammate, who was lined up directly behind the snapper and received the snap, to aid him in an attempt to gain yardage.”
Pushing the quarterback forward on a sneak would become a 10-yard penalty.
For the rule change to pass, it would need 24 “yes” votes. The Packers will obviously vote yes; the Eagles will obviously vote no. If the Packers can convince 23 teams to join them, the tush push will be banned. The Eagles will try to persuade at least eight teams that the way to stop the tush push should be with their defense, not with a rule change.
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