The Tush Push’s future may be in peril. There was momentum building for the play’s banishment ahead of the NFL’s Annual League Meetings. However, owners did not officially vote on the play’s legality at the beginning of the month. Instead, they kicked the can slightly down the road – to May – for the owners’ spring meeting.
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Much of the hubbub surrounding the Tush Push is a defense’s ability to stop it. Critics compare it to a rugby scrum and believe it’s not a true football play. The Philadelphia Eagles – the creator of the infamous tactic – have dominated with it, particularly in goal-to-go scenarios. Despite their success, one of their former rivals doesn’t believe the scheme should be outlawed.
NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, who spent his entire 15-year career with the New York Giants, spoke about the play on Carmelo Anthony’s 7 in Brooklyn podcast. He reiterated his disdain for the Eagles as he dove into the topic, but then admitted it’s hard to punish a team for strong execution. Then, he offered up what he’d recommend as a counter to the play. If teams take his advice, penalty flags will fly.
“Do I like Philadelphia? No. Do I like the Eagles? Hell no! Can’t stand them. But the Tush Push? I’m like, ‘if everybody could do it as effectively, they wouldn’t be trying to ban it’… [and] the way I would try to stop it would probably get a fine… ‘just put your helmet right on that quarterback’s head. I don’t care what you got to do, just send a message.'”
The NFL has cracked down on such hits over the past decade. Policing them in a scrum would admittedly be harder to do effectively, but it’s unlikely the league would allow such actions to transpire without ramifications.
Carmelo Anthony: NFL defenders used to be “trained to kill”
Carmelo Anthony never played in the NFL. Basketball doesn’t feature the same level of physicality as football, but his professional experiences in that sport reflect the transition the league has made in the last 20 years. The NBA – like the NFL – has legislated rougher play out of the game since its 1990s heyday.
As the physical nature of football has declined, its composition has changed. Gone are the dominant enforcer types, like Ray Lewis and Kam Chancellor. In their stead, younger, sleeker, and smoother operators – Fred Warner, Minkah Fitzpatrick, etc. – have taken over. But Anthony and others will never forget how things used to be.
“[Defensive] lines… the way that they were so aggressive and physical back then, they wouldn’t even be able to play today. They [were] too aggressive. And the way they understood the game of football? They was trained to kill… that physicality on today’s front line in the trenches [can’t be matched].”
Anthony is far from the only fan who sheds a tear when thinking about the older days of football. There’s no denying, though, that most rules instituted these days are necessary for better player safety. The men who lay their bodies on the line for our entertainment each week deserve to have good, happy lives after their playing days are done. Regardless, no true football fan will ever not get a little giddy about a bone-crunching hit.
