The NFL team table votes to ban “Tash Push” during the annual League meeting

By Dianna Russini, Mike Jones, Jayna Bardahl and RJ Kraft

The owners of the NFL chose to lay down the vote on the opportunity to ban the “TUSH push” – the game made popular by the Eagles of Philadelphia – during the annual meeting of the League Tuesday in Palm Beach, in Florida.

No official vote was expressed, but an informal vote revealed that the teams were divided 16-16 on the issue, according to an individual in the room during the deliberations. It would have taken 24 teams to vote in favor of the ban on the game for the proposal to be adopted.

Green Bay Packers proposed the “Tash Push” league ban, a piece where the quarterrier takes the snap under the center and dives forward while the teammates push him from behind in a scrum similar to a rugby. The packers’ proposal was “to ban any offensive player from pushing a teammate who was aligned directly behind the Vivaneau and receives the SNAP, immediately at the SNAP”.

The Eagles organized the play, also known as “Brandoyal Shove”, for a great success in short-yarding situations under the coach Nick Sirianni with the quarter-Arrière Jalen Hurts. The Buffalo Bills – with the MVP quarter -rewarding Josh Allen – also used a variation in the part frequently.

Tuesday’s decision, however, is not a clear victory for the teams that use the game. The vote table means that the language of the part of the room could potentially be modified. Thus, although the play itself is not prohibited, it could still seem different in the future.

The president of the NFL competition committee Rich McKay stressed that the League was sensitive to the idea of ​​promulgating a change of rule which is aimed at one or two teams.

“This is not why it is discussed,” he said at a press conference after the decision to file the debate. Instead, said McKay, the discussion focused in part on security and partly on the history of the game.

Until 2004, NFL rules prohibited the thrust or shot of ball carriers, but the rule was deleted due to the challenges that those responsible were faced to determine whether the action at the bottom of the special parts involved a driven or advanced player.

This withdrawal of the rule opened the door to the push of Tash as we know it. But the room has undergone an evolution since the Indianapolis (with Sirianni as an offensive coordinator) colts began to organize a variation in the 2018 to 2020 room before Sirianni in 2021 brought it to Philadelphia and made the most popular room.

During the deliberations of the offseason, the opponents of the game raised security problems concerning the risks of injury to which a quarter-arre faces while being pushed from behind. Others have raised concerns about the potential face of head and neckline players while slamming against each other in the fray. There are coaches with a defensive spirit who want more answers on the risks of injuries to which line players face with this piece, according to a person informed of deliberations.

However, McKay confirmed that there were little or no data on injuries that suggest that the game is more dangerous than a traditional quarter-Arrière. He also confirmed that a large part of the disdain that some adversaries of the rule are due to the game come from a purist football state of mind.

“There are certainly people who have health and safety problems, but there are so many people who have football problems, and that was a bit of what happened in the room with the discussion,” said McKay. “So I wouldn’t say that it was because of a video or a discussion in terms of special health and safety. It was much more on the room, the aesthetics of the room:” Is it part of what football was traditionally, or is it more a rugby piece? “All these types of discussion.”

The owner of the Eagles, Jeffrey Lurie, said that his team was for health and safety and that if the game “were not (in complete safety), we would not push the push of Tash”. He added later that “it is difficult to do rules and could be and things.”

The discussion on the opportunity to prohibit or not the game was a huge speaker among the coaches and managers during the annual League meeting. The Director General of Packers, Brian Gutekunst, did not write the proposal that his team submitted, but he fully supported it.

“I certainly think that healthcare professionals have great concerns about the establishment of players who could lead to catastrophic injuries,” said Gutekunst. “I think it is something that must be discussed and we must be proactive with him rather than being reactive on this subject.

“I think we owe it to our players. It is not a question of success. It’s a matter of security here. “

Bills coach Sean McDermott believes that his team and Eagles can be just as good in a more traditional quarter.

“My biggest concern is the health and safety of players, first and foremost. It is an additional force, then the posture of the players invited to execute this type of game. This is where my concern intervenes,” said McDermott, which is part of the NFL competition committee, which examines the rule proposals and presents statistics supporting voters.

“It’s not a healthy posture for me. Then, when you add strength to this posture, it is worrying for me as to the health and safety of players.… For me, (Green Bay’s proposal) removes strength. The traditional quarter-Arrière has long added.

Others, such as Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, and Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen saw no reason to change the rules.

Stefanski said: “Data on injury is not there. I would therefore be in favor of maintaining the rules as they are. ”

“I am not in favor of withdrawing it. I think it’s good for the game,” said Steichen, who was the offensive coordinator of Philadelphia under Sirianni from 2021-2022. “What do (the eagles) do, they do it better than anyone. Other teams do it. Buffalo does it. I think it has been there for a long time, to be completely honest, because when you are on the half-meter line and you are bringing it.

Several rules of rules were adopted on Tuesday. The two teams are able to own the balloon during the regular season (regardless of the result of the first possession in overtime) with the extension period remaining 10 minutes. In addition, the league has approved the use of extended rereading assistance “to advise those responsible on the field on specific and objective aspects of a game and / or solve the problems of administration of the game when clear and obvious video evidence is present.” The dynamic kick -off is now permanent and the touchbacks on kicks will make the ball on the 35 yards line.

(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)