Commanders Coach Jack Del Rio Is Calling For The Eagles ‘Tush Push’ To Be Banned

Jack Del Rio, the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, is conflicted. On the one hand, he feels the contentious “tush push” play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles over the previous two seasons should not be authorized. On the other hand, it is currently lawful, and he must prepare his case for it to be used against them twice in October.

Commanders Coach Jack Del Rio Is Calling For The Eagles ‘Tush Push’ To Be Banned

For those who don’t know what “The Tush Push” is, it’s a variation on the basic quarterback sneak play that you’ll see from most teams on any given week.

Instead of letting the quarterback cross the line on his own, the Eagles had a man behind quarterback Jalen Hurts shove him from behind for a lift. They pulled this move off for a touchdown in their Week 3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio remarked about the Eagles’ defining play earlier this week, labeling it a “Rugby play” and that he would like to see it banned.

“I would personally like to see it eliminated, not just because they run it better than anybody, although they do run it better than anybody, but I don’t think that’s a football play,” Jack Del Rio said on Pro Football Talk. “I think it’s a nice rugby play, and it’s not what we’re looking for in football. But until it’s outlawed, we’ll prepare for it and get ready to do our best to stop it.”

What explains the Eagles’ ability to perfect the play? Because they have Jalen Hurts, a quarterback with outstanding lower body power, who gets to push behind an offensive line that features All-Pros Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. To be honest, Philadelphia’s offensive line is so powerful that it seldom need any help from behind Hurts to go past the first-down marker.

There are certainly many supporters who agree with Del Rio and want it to be outlawed. It’s evident that this isn’t the most exciting game to watch. However, some of the fault definitely falls on NFL defenders for failing to come up with a means to stop the very basic play call.

However, as Del Rio pointed out, the strategy is still legal, despite considerable thought being given to prohibiting it last offseason. Perhaps enough votes will be cast this offseason to prohibit the play. Meanwhile, Del Rio and opposition teams will have to be inventive in order to slow down what appears to be an unstoppable short-yardage play right now.

 

 

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