The Tush Push has been Tush Pushed into May. With no clear consensus on if and how the Tush Push should be banned, the proposal will be tabled until the next round of owners meetings in May, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and multiple media insiders.
The Green Bay Packers officially proposed to ban the play that’s become a staple of some offenses, primarily the Philadelphia Eagles, in recent years. Reports indicate there was growing support to ban the play though it was unclear how that would be accomplished. Either explicitly or implicitly, disallowing players to line up in certain positions that make the play work.
With so much discussion over the issue, the league will take more time to evaluate. Per (soon to be ESPN’s) Peter Schrager, the play is creating strong opinions on both sides and might be one of the true debates teams are having.
Per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, 16 teams were in favor of banning the Tush Push. It needs 24 votes to pass.
Weighing in on the play during a Monday media scrum, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin sounded mixed. While he’s shown reservations about the Tush Push in the past and brought up potential safety concerns during yesterday’s session, he also noted not wanting to take away a successful and innovative, though primitive, play.
If eventually banned, the Steelers wouldn’t be highly impacted. While they’ve used some variations of the Tush Push in recent years, it’s hardly been a staple of their offense. Given their short-yardage struggles, perhaps it should have been.
There were several other rule changes decided on Tuesday. Regular season overtime will guarantee both sides possession, touchbacks will move to the 35 instead of the 30, and replay assist has been expanded to pick up (but not throw) incorrect calls. One proposal rejected was the Detroit Lions’ suggestion of no longer making defensive holding/illegal contact an automatic first down.
