With the fate of the Eagles’ signature play hanging in the balance, some Eagles seemed generally unbothered by the chance that it could be taken out of the game this week.
“In terms of them banning the Tush Push, I hate that name,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said on Tuesday afternoon ahead of OTAs. “So I hope they do ban it. It’s a stupid name.”
The Eagles obviously don’t want the Tush Push — maybe Mailata would prefer Brotherly Shove? — to get banned.
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SIGN UP HERE Their signature version of a quarterback sneak has been their most successful play in recent years and they’ve perfected it, while others simply haven’t. The Eagles could get all bent out of shape as the Tush Push remains under attack this week, but it’s out of their hands.
"We can’t control that so we don’t even worry about that," Mailata said. "Right now, we’re just installing our schemes. Whatever [offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo] is installing that day, that’s what we’re focused on. Because worrying about whether they’re going to ban the Tush Push or not ain’t going to win us another championship. What we do every day here matters."
NFL owners are expected to vote Wednesday in Minneapolis on a proposal from the Green Bay Packers that would prohibit any pushing or pulling of a runner, thus eliminating the Tush Push. This discussion was tabled in early April after the Packers didn’t have enough support at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Florida. Since then, the Packers changed up the language and the momentum seems to be on their side.
But the Eagles haven’t let the Tush Push go down without a fight.
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The Eagles were vocal this offseason about why they thought they play should stay. Both owner Jeffrey Lurie and head coach Nick Sirianni publicly voiced their support to keep it and the Eagles have reportedly been lobbying throughout the league recently to prevent the play’s demise.
But we’re in the 11th hour of the debate and it seems like they’re just ready to find out what happens.
“We’ll see. We’ll see where that goes,” Sirianni said on Tuesday. “We’re not waiting for very long to figure that out. It’s going to be public tomorrow. You know how I feel about it. I think obviously at the owners meetings, we talked about how we felt about it. I don’t think anyone could question what my sentiment is on it. We’ll see what happens with it tomorrow.”
The Tush Push has been an extremely effective play for the Eagles all over the field but especially on the goal line; and Jalen Hurts has scored a bunch of touchdowns with that extra push.
But the Eagles’ franchise quarterback wasn’t getting involved.
“I don’t necessarily have a comment on that,” Hurts said on Tuesday.
Similarly, star receiver A.J. Brown said he didn’t have any thoughts on the potential Tush Push ban either, but did add, “It’s only 1 yard.”
Sometimes, though, that 1 yard can be tough to get. And many feel like the Eagles are being penalized because they found an inventive way to get it.
But even if the push element is banned on Wednesday, the Eagles still figure to be pretty good at traditional QB sneaks behind a powerful offensive line and a very strong quarterback.
“I guess we just do it with no push then,” Mailata said. “I think that’s the solution.”