The Packers have submitted a revised proposal to ban the ‘tush push’ with owners expected to vote on the issue this week.
Green Bay previously proposed outlawing the play – which has been popularized and used to great effect by the Eagles in recent seasons – in March, though it was tabled at the league meetings then to be voted on during the spring.
And as the Packers look to gain support for their proposal, they have changed some of the language from their initial submission, namely with regards to where on the field the rule would come into the play.
While the initial proposal referred to a ban on players pushing their teammate from behind ‘immediately at the snap,’ the new proposal does not specifically use the word ‘snap’ at all.
‘Prohibits an offensive player from pushing, pulling, lifting or assisting the runner except by individually blocking opponents for him,’ the proposal reads in the ‘Effect’ section.
The new proposal also entirely replaced one section – which referred specifically to the snap – with a more simplified line: ‘assist the runner except by individually blocking opponents for him.’
The Packers have proposed to ban the ‘tush push,’ which is frequently used by Philly
The Packers and coach Matt LaFleur will need 24 of 32 votes from owners for the proposal
The proposal calls for a loss of 10 yards for violation of the potential new rule, and also cites pace of play and player safety as reasons for a ban, though there is currently no conclusive data that the play leads to injuries.
The Packers will need the approval of 24 of 32 teams for the measure to pass.
The play, which was used frequently by the Eagles en route to their Super Bowl win last year, typically sees several Eagles line up in the backfield and push quarterback Jalen Hurts from behind after he receives the snap.
On Monday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said that his ‘educated guess’ was that the NFL would act against the play.
‘I expect there will be new language against any player pushing or pulling another… I’m not sure the league wants to specifically ban this play, just the mechanism used on this play,’ he said.
A similar sentiment was expressed by Eagles great Jason Kelce earlier this year, as he wondered how such a ban would be executed.
‘That’s gonna be a hard rule to enforce, like when is that enforced?,’ he asked on New Heights. ‘Are gang tackles outlawed? Are open field, like when big [Chiefs center] Creed Humphrey gets behind a running back and he’s pushing the pile forward, do we not want that?
‘Because I like that. I think it’s hard to know where do you stop this from occurring. You can’t just say like hey, you can’t do the ‘tush push’. That feels like a hard rule. It needs to be a rule that’s enforceable throughout football.’
The play has been frequently and often successfully by the Eagles in short-yardage situations
Philly and QB Jalen Hurts won a Super Bowl last year, beating the Chiefs in New Orleans
According to ESPN, 65 of the 101 ‘tush push’ calls last season came from the Eagles and Bills combined, and Philly has scored 27 touchdowns using it the last three years.
Nonetheless, Bills coach Sean McDermott told reporters in March that the play should be banned in the interest of player safety, and that the NFL should be ‘proactive.’
The Eagles, meanwhile, have unsurprisingly defended the play, with coach Nick Sirianni previously calling out his former Philly assistants to vote against a ban of the play.
‘All I will say about it is ( Cardinals coach Jonathan) Gannon, (Colts coach Shane) Steichen and (Saints coach Kellen) Moore better vote for it. They are in the (head coach) position right now because of that play. So all three, I better have those three votes right there and the Eagles’ vote. I at least know we have four.’
