Ten NFL teams voted against banning the Tush Push today, leaving the Philadelphia Eagles free to convert short-yardage plays at will. Somewhere inside of a Tilted Kilt, a freshly extended Nick Sirianni busts out his finest shit-eating grin in exultation.
As befitting the play itself, the Eagles had to grind this one out. The Tush Push was in grave danger of being outlawed two months ago when the Green Bay Packers had seemingly amassed a quorum of votes (24 were needed) to get their No Butt Stuff proposal approved at the NFL owners meetings. At the time, Packers coach Matt LaFleur derided the Tush Push as being too “rugby”-ish to belong in football (American football has its origins in rugby). The organization also considered the play a safety risk (competition committee chairman Rich McKay said there was no statistical evidence that the play is more dangerous than any other) and caused “pace of play” issues (uh, OK). No sane person bought any of those arguments. Whether the Packers were acting on their own behalf or at the nudging of commissioner Roger Goodell, who is rumored to abhor the Tush Push, the intent was always transparent: We can’t keep letting the Eagles get away with this. Given what I know about the Eagles and their fans, that’s normally a sentiment I’m down with. But not this time.