Another month comes off the calendar, and all things considered, any month where Valentine’s Day is the big holiday is a good month. Then, I saw the headline on the banner at the bottom of the TV screen while watching ESPN: An unidentified NFL team has submitted a proposal to ban the “tush push” quarterback sneak. The whistle-blowing team turned out to be the Green Bay Packers…the Packers?!? Their greatest player was two-time Super Bowl winning QB Bart Starr, an Alabama grad, who scored legendary touchdowns with the conventional sneak – it was boring then, and nowhere near as effective, or fun, as the tush push.
Come on, football fans, in the name of competitive fairness, this is nothing but grasping at straws. It is simple in execution: players in front blocking, with players behind the ball carrier pushing – and the tush push is a scoring super weapon – at least for two teams. An article on ESPN.com pointed out that the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills have run a combined 163 tush pushes over the last 3 seasons, and successfully got a first down or the touchdown on 87% of the attempts. The rest of the NFL, 30 teams, had success only 71% of the time.
So, it seems anytime the NFL wants to amend the rules, the discussion is based on player safety, and apparently, the tush push does come with some issues that will be revealed during March meetings. I get that, safety first, but the tush push is not, in my opinion, as dangerous as the kick-offs were before the current rule changes [of which I am not a fan, and I hope they get discussed as well]. But from a branding standpoint, the tush push is a marketing bonanza. In Philadelphia, for example, their tush push is now ‘The Brotherly Shove’; Buffalo is playing with ‘Snow Plow’ and ‘Buffalo Stampede’.
To me, a good comparison for the tush push controversy is how factories compete to have the #1 selling vehicle in America – they build a great product, market it well, and buyers love it. The other brands can compare side-by-side, whatever, but the best-selling vehicle garners the top spot. In other words, stop whining and go build your own great vehicle.
The Green Bay Packers crossed the ‘whine’ line. First of all, being unidentified is not a sign of courage. But will the challenge be successful? Mark down this moment: SB 59 – 6:15 1st Quarter, former Alabama QB Jalen Hurts scores on tush push from the 1-yard line, New Orleans Superdome, February 5, 2025. Who would have thought by my being there, I may have witnessed the last tush push in football history.
Outlaw the tush push? The only play an average fan could ever possibly run in a game?
Whiners gonna whine, but don’t let them win!