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Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles have been arguably the best short-yardage team in football the last few years, and much of the success is due to the tush push. Their nearly unstoppable quarterback streak with Jalen Hurts carrying the ball, a great offensive line blocking up front, and a push from the back from players like Saquon Barkley has become a symbol of the Super Bowl champions’ dominance.
Now, there’s a push to completely ban the play from the NFL, led by the Green Bay Packers. On Tuesday, Sirianni spoke out about the anti-tush push sentiment, pushing back on those who want to see the play banned.
The tush push, while not quite as effective statistically as it was a few years ago when Philadelphia started using it, was, in practice, just as effective as ever this year. While the conversion rate was down to just under 80%, that’s because the Eagles are using it more aggressively further from the sticks. Jalen Hurts ran for 14 touchdowns and 62 first downs, with the bulk of that coming on the tush push.
News broke on Monday that the Green Bay Packers were submitting a proposal to ban the play. Nick Sirianni had this to say on Tuesday at the NFL Combine.
Nick Sirianni shared his thoughts on the difficulty of the “tush push” after the Packers reportedly filed a proposal to the NFL’s competition committee to ban the play ⬇️
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Nick Sirianni makes a good point. It’s a hard play to practice and it’s a hard play to execute. If it was so easy, wouldn’t the other 31 teams be doing it to convert more short-yardage situations themselves?
The proposal by the Packers, a proposal that we’re not exactly sure what exactly it entails, needs 3/4ths of the league’s teams to approve it to ban the play. Will that happen? It remains to be seen.