One of the biggest offseason topics has been the surrounding controversy play that was invented by the Philadelpha Eagles: The infamous tush push play. It’s a play that they can run effectively because of the way their offense is set up. The Eagles have a massive offensive line and they have both a quarterback in Jalen Hurts and running back in Saquon Barkley that have the strength to push the ball an extra 2-3 yards.
The Green Bay Packers were the team that filed for the tush push play to be banned and now it’s up for a vote. The NFL’s Annual League Meeting is currently taking place down in Palm Beach, Florida and this is where head coaches and general managers are giving their opinions and news on their own team news, as well as storylines surround the NFL which includes the potential ban of the tush push.
Mike Garafolo from NFL Network spoke with Bills head coach Sean McDermott and McDermott expressed his strong opinions about the potential ban of the tush push. According to Garafolo, per McDermott, it looks like McDermott is on the side of banning the tush push. “We’re going to always act in a way that’s best for the health and safety of the players” wrote Garafolo per McDermott.
Garafolo also wrote that McDermott said that “being proactive” on banning the tush push to prevent any injuries is the way to go, even if there is no current data.
Banning the tush push play means banning a Josh Allen-favorite play
The Eagles weren’t the only team to run their version of the tush push last season. The Bills also managed to utilize this play in short-yardage situations last year. Having a quarterback like Josh Allen makes this play easy because of the size of Allen. He’s a quarterback who has the size of a linebacker, and he had one of the best offensive lines last year too.
Now if this play does indeed get banned, this takes away a play that is almost guaranteed to work for the Bills in crucial situations.
With the perspective of avoiding potential injuries, it is totally understandbale to have it banned. At the same time, the data isn’t there just like McDermott said. Not to mention, any play that is ran in the NFL is always a risk for injury.
McDermott has always been about the player’s first and he’s doubling down on it. At the same time, his opinions on the banning could greatly affect how the Bills’ offense is operated in short-yardage situations.