Eagles coach Nick Sirianni pushes back against proposal to ban the tush push
INDIANAPOLIS — Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni pushed back against the Green Bay Packers' proposal to ban the tush push.
“I’ve seen some of the stuff that it’s an automatic play,” Sirianni said Tuesday at the NFL's scouting combine. ”I almost feel a little insulted because we work so hard at that play. The amount of things that we’ve looked into, how to coach that play, the fundamentals. ... I can’t tell you how many times we practice the snap. We practice the play because it’s not a play that was easy to practice in different ways. We figured out how to practice it.
"We work really, really hard and our guys are talented at this play. And so it’s insulting to say because we’re good at it, so it’s automatic.”
Philadelphia has used the play successfully behind Jalen Hurts for the past three seasons in short-yardage situations, including during a 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed Tuesday the team had submitted a proposal to ban the play, which is a modified quarterback sneak where two or three teammates line up behind Hurts and push him forward to help him try to gain the yardage necessary for a first down or touchdown.
“We really haven’t had very many discussions about it," Gutekunst said. "I’m sure we will over the next few weeks as we head into the owner’s meetings. So I’m aware that we did but really haven’t had many discussions about it.”
The Eagles beat the Packers 22-10 in a wild-card playoff game on their way to capturing the franchise's second Super Bowl title.
The NFL Competition Committee will review the proposal and team owners could vote on it when they meet next month in Florida. The play had been discussed previously, but there was never a formal proposal to eliminate it.
Several other teams have copied Philadelphia's use of the play, including the Buffalo Bills. Pushing Josh Allen in short-yardage situations has worked out for Buffalo except on a critical fourth down in the AFC championship game against Kansas City when there was also a controversial spot on the play.
The Packers have struggled to both stop and convert on the play.
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy called the tush push "bad for the game" in a message posted on the team's website after the Packers were eliminated by the Eagles in the playoffs.
“There is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less,” Murphy wrote. “I would like to see the league prohibit pushing or aiding the run.”
