The post-Super Bowl celebrations of the Philadelphia Eagles suffered a hiccup after the Eagles saw their famous tush push tactic come under intense scrutiny. The Green Bay Packers had proposed a ban on the tush-push, putting forth player safety as their main concern–-even if statistics say otherwise. Amid the uncertainties surrounding the Eagles’ tush push play, Saquon Barkley had some words of advice for the naysayers.
NFL teams, after countless failed attempts to stop the play on the pitch, decided to deploy other means in stopping the Eagles. As a result, the proposal to ban the play is clearly more of an envious move than one done for safety purposes, as the Green Packers have made everyone believe.
Truthfully, the Eagles have been exceptionally successful at the play since they got hold of it, so much so that it has been nicknamed “the brotherly shove” by Eagles fans. The play, which involves pushing Jalen Hurts forward during a sneak, was one of the major weapons that fired them to Super Bowl glory this year, accounting for 11 scores and 32 first downs in their Super Bowl run.
Over the past three seasons, the Eagles have scored 27 touchdowns and recorded 92 first downs using the tush push.
After it was tabled at the league meetings in Palm Beach last month, the play will be looked into later this month and will only be banned if 24 of the league’s 32 owners vote against its continuity.
In an interview at the Met Gala, Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley, was asked about the tush push and his thoughts on the ban. His response, like that of other Eagles, was expected: a clear message to NFL teams to learn to defend it rather than wail about their failures.
“If you don’t like it, get better at stopping it,” Barkley told ESPN.
“It’s not like a play that we only can do. Everybody does it. Everyone tries it. We’re just super successful at it.”
Barkley, who hit the ground running in his debut season in Philadelphia, also pointed out that the team had experienced similar success with the tactic long before he joined them last year.
“They were super successful at it before I was there. I know what it does to a team, how it breaks down a team. And now being on the team, you’re lining up and everyone knows what you’re doing and it’s like, ‘Stop me.’ And they can’t, so they’re gonna get in their feels about it. They’re gonna try to make changes, but I don’t see that happening. And if it doesn’t, just get better at stopping it.”
Hopefully, the NFL owners would take Barkley’s advice and would desist from banning the play when they meet on May 20-21 in Minneapolis to consider a revised proposal that will ban pushing or pulling a ball carrier in quarterback sneak situations and all other plays in football.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
