It appears that the NFL is willing to all but ban the Philadelphia Eagles Tush Push. NFL leadership is in fact openly in discussions about banning the unstoppable play for next season. Some are claiming safety, others aesthetics. Either way, what was looking to be a scoring drive ,to put the Philadelphia Eagles up 14, is looking now like it could have proven the difference.
Philadelphia Eagles False Start Penalty
It was a routine gain to be had, Philadelphia Eagles coach, Nick Sirianni, considers his offense to always be ahead of the sticks. He has even said that his offenses’ drives always start as first and nine. So when a third and one suddenly became a third and six, a lot of questions had to be asked.
Why was such a small shift by Jason Kelce flagged? Is this how the NFL is looking to add to ways to penalize the Tush Push without actually taking a public stance on it?
On the Gridiron Podcast with his brother, and Kansas Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, really looked like he was about to go on a tirade about the NFL league office or about the often criticized referees. Jason Kelce clarified for the listeners.
They’ve been warning me of that for years. I had a tendency to do that in the past so they’ve warned me before. I’ve got to be smarter, especially in that situation.
In an admirable display of self accountability, it would have been easy for the Philadelphia Eagles center to place the blame on officiating. If he doesn’t reveal that he had been warned, fans would likely remain aligned criticizing what appears to be a ticky tack call.
Philadelphia Eagles Center Explains His Stance
Jason Kelce would go on to explain in the episode that his set up is consistently close to the ball. And because of where he stands, he is then forced to move the ball slightly forward in order get the snap off. While centers are often seen tilting the ball or even negotiating an inch here and there right before the snap, it looks like the recent scrutiny of the Tush Push is what allowed officials to feel comfortable calling this infraction on Sunday.
Jason Kelce would go on to add the following.
I think if that’s a full yard to gain, probably not as much, but because it was so short, if I move it forward at all it’s going to be called, and I’ve got to be smarter than that.
And that is the reality of the situation. Small infractions that likely could be found on every play will now be called. And of course the closer the Philadelphia Eagles get to the end zone, even more scrutiny will come, as this is a more critical area of the field.
The silver lining for the Philadelphia Eagles is that it happened at this point of the season. Jason Kelce knows that the door is open for this to be considered a penalty onevery down, and he is too intelligent of football player to let it to happen again. Luckily, this got out of the way now, and was not called for the first time during a playoff game.
