The wait is over. The NFL spring league meetings of owners failed to pass the Packers and other teams’ dream of banning the tush push. Well, the meeting ended in 22 votes out of 32 on the opposite side of tush push, where the required votes were 24. It was actually a shock to those who wanted to ban it, as most of the teams were against it, citing ‘health’ as a strong backing point. But the narrative collapsed like a house of cards, and now the Eagles will be having their tricky play for another season.
If the 24 owners had voted for the ban instead of 22, the National Football League would have had to rule out the change from the 2025 NFL season. But the voters did not ban the play, which is also called brotherly shovel. After hearing the news, Colin Cowherd invited former NFL quarterback and analyst Chris Simms to give his take on the current voting behavior.
When he was asked, the former QB started, “I am a little surprised. I won’t lie. I really am because usually when we get to this point, and right, you hear all things about some of the powers to be the commissioner, everybody wants it banned.” First of all, it was reported that the NFL commissioner was against the ban. And if Roger Goodell takes a firm stance on something, things go his way. And the league has witnessed that in multiple changes. For example, more international games. That’s why Cowherd asked Simms what he thinks about the current decision taken by the NFL owners, despite the health committee and rules committee wanting to ban it.
He continued, “I think here’s the other aspect of it too, Colin, because one, there’s no injury data yet on it. So that’s like just it’s a bunch of BS made up by the NFL just to help their argument. The other thing in this too is Colin, what is what did the tush really have, the push part of it really have to push in a lot of the plays? I just watched you do it right there, and the highlights we showed on Fox Sports. There are a number of plays where the push from behind does nothing with the actual play.” The former QB asked a very crucial question here. There is no history of tush push where players have been injured.
Scientists like Neil deGrasse Tyson think that too much energy and force collide with each other when the offensive line tries to get the TD or yards from the opponent’s team. But the scientist himself is not against banning it, as that’s the beauty of football. There is no contact sport as fierce as this game. That’s why the way Simms called out the minority of NFL owners who think health and injury are the main concerns.
We have recently seen that Dan Quinn, the HC of the Commanders, did not support the ban. Instead, Quinn said that he is trying to find a way to tackle it. Actually, that’s the real answer to the Eagles’ brotherly shovel technique. But why are some teams against it? It’s not that easy to stop tush push. It’s as difficult as it looks. Jalen Hurts‘ teammates get that advantage in the fraction of a second to push Hurts. But let’s see if Quinn can find a way through it.
Meanwhile, former Eagles star center and superstar Jason Kelce is taking heat for lobbying the NFL owners. The accusations or calls are mounting against Jason Kelce for influencing the voting. Let’s dive in to know more.
Jason Kelce allegedly lobbied an NFL owner against a tush push ban
Jeffrey Lurie, the Eagles owner, entered the NFL owners’ meeting room with Jason Kelce on Tuesday. NFL Network reporter Tim Pelissero reported this. After a little backlash for fans’ accusations of lobbying the NFL owners, the former Eagles’ star justified his stance on the New Heights podcast. He said that he was there only to clear some misconceptions about tush push.
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 16: Jason Kelce before the game between the. Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons on September 16th, 2024 at. Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire NFL. American Football Herren, USA SEP 16 Falcons at Eagles. EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon240916002ll
Before the star center retired, he was a main pillar of this signature play of the Eagles. And as he knows the advantages of the play, he reportedly convinced NFL owners pretty well not to ban it. “I’ll come out of retirement today if you tell me all I’ve got to do is run 80 tush pushes to play in the NFL. I’ll do that gladly. It’ll be the easiest job in the world.” 37-YO Jason Kelce said this.
But did he really succeed in convincing the NFL teams? I don’t think so. The main reason this is, the teams that did not vote against the tush push were 9 teams, excluding the Eagles. Those teams are the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Miami Dolphins. Along with them are the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans. A possible explanation for the Eagles’ votes is the absence of regular-season games against them. So, the luck was also with the Eagles for not getting their signature play banned. Let’s see how those 22 teams are gonna tackle the Eagles.
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