The Philadelphia Eagles have been given permission to continue their controversial “tush push” play, but they will need to find a new center to execute it.
The Philadelphia Eagles are in a difficult predicament following Jason Kelce’s retirement. The NFL icon played an important role in the team’s “tush push,” also known as the “Brotherly Push,” approach, which has proven to be extremely successful.
However, with Kelce’s departure, it’s unclear whether they will continue to run this play. This maneuver has the quarterback pushed over the line by his teammates in order to score a touchdown or gain a first down. It is a move that head coach Nick Sirianni has “a lot of faith in.”
However, with Kelce’s retirement, it is unclear what the team’s attitude will be. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is still on the team, but Kelce’s departure creates a need that must be filled.
Interestingly, Fox Sports reporter Laura Okmin indicated on X that Kelce didn’t like the “Tush Push”. She alleged that he frequently said “F*** my life” throughout the contentious play.
After Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive VP of football operations, stated that he does not want to amend the rules. He told Pro Football Talk, “Don’t punish a team that strategically does it well,” and that “their success rate [is] just amazing.”
The NFL center has had enough of people fighting over whether the maneuver should be allowed or not, according to the podcast “New Heights”. On the “New Heights” podcast, he stated, “Listen, ban it.” At this point, I don’t care. I’m done talking about it.
“Prior to the surge, we were really proficient at running quarterback sneaks. I don’t think it’s an essential component of it. It absolutely helps, there’s no doubt about it, he added, while admitting he is tired of the debate, saying: “I don’t have the energy to care whether it gets banned or not.”
He went on to say: “We’re going to run it right now because we’re good at it and it’s effective and whatever they do next season, we’ll figure out a way to do something at a high level and make it effective.”
According to The Athletic, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell believes the “Tush Push” should not be authorized. However, Kelce was dissatisfied with how opaque people like Goodell are about why they oppose the idea.
“If it’s for health reasons, I don’t believe many guys are hurt on it. “So I don’t think that’s a good reason,” stated the well-known NFL player. “If it’s for an unfair advantage, we’ve seen other teams do it with lower success rates. So, I don’t think it’s a significant competitive advantage.”
