When it comes to the tush push, the clock is ticking.
Owners meet in Minneapolis next week, with a revised proposal regarding the play expected to be on the docket. During a Thursday conference call with reporters, NFL executive V.P. of communications, public affairs, and policy Jeff Miller did not directly answer the question of whether the Packers have finalized and submitted a new proposal to remove the technique from the rulebook.
“[W]e tabled the push play conversation,” Miller said. “There had been some discussion [in March], and has been since with the Competition Committee, both around the push players as well as around aiding the runner, pushing and pulling him anywhere on the field. As I understand it, that rule prohibiting pushing or pulling players existed in the NFL rulebook dating back to the origins of the game in 1920 for the NFL, or even before, until about 2005, when it was taken out. So that, too, I anticipate, is going to be an interesting conversation among the clubs.
“I can’t sit here and tell you that I have a prediction on how it’s going to come out, but there was a lot that was discussed when we were together in March around whether, that is a football play, whether it is appropriate if one or two teams do effectuate a play extremely well to take that away from them. And then to look back at the history of the game over the last number of decades to see why that play — aiding the runner, assisting the runner, pushing or pulling was taken out from an officiating perspective. So all of those elements were discussed in March and that conversation has continued and we’ll see if there is a three-quarter consensus on any proposal, specifically the push play proposal that Green Bay put forward or any other amending it when we get together next week.”
The March proposal from the Packers focused on prohibiting an immediate push of the player who receives the snap. That was not a good proposal, since the question of what is, and isn’t, immediate would have become subjective and potentially inconsistent.
Since then, clear momentum has emerged toward the banning all pushing of the ball carrier — even though there has been no issue or concern regarding pushing away from the line of scrimmage.
The game that’s being played is obvious. Influential forces want the tush push to be deep-sixed. A focused effort has failed. A general ban on pushing solves the problem, even if there has been no problem when it comes to pushing away from the line of scrimmage.
The best solution continues to be eliminating pushing in the tackle box and within five yards on each side of the line of scrimmage. It’s unclear why that solution hasn’t been embraced. It’s possible that the goal is to get rid of the tush push while being able to say it’s about more than the tush push.
Even if it isn’t.
Lost in all of this effort and debate and discussion is a simple reality. Even without the tush push, the Eagles will continue to run a kick-ass quarterback sneak. Which the Eagles could run even more regularly and aggressively once the tush push gets shoved out of the rulebook.
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