What's going on? Are they bringing those back? I guess that old logo doesn't match the logo that's, you know, made out in the 200 level of the teams' stadium.
Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; WF Center 10/21/13; WF Center 10/22/13; Baltimore 10/27/13; WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
They were waiting for the helmet rules to change to bring back the old-school Kelly green unis (rule used to be iirc that you could only use one helmet). That change happened last year, so here we are, they now have Kelly green w/ gray/silver alternate unis. I'm sure a formal announcement is coming in the offseason.
My hope is this ultimately erases the shitty unis of the last 27 years.
They were waiting for the helmet rules to change to bring back the old-school Kelly green unis (rule used to be iirc that you could only use one helmet). That change happened last year, so here we are, they now have Kelly green w/ gray/silver alternate unis. I'm sure a formal announcement is coming in the offseason.
My hope is this ultimately erases the shitty unis of the last 27 years.
So at this point those "alternates" will be for just a couple games, right? I mean, they never needed a helmet rule change to actually just go back to our beloved kelly greens.
Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; WF Center 10/21/13; WF Center 10/22/13; Baltimore 10/27/13; WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
I'd guess right now the Kelly green merch is close to 50/50 of sales, or as close to that for a color that hasn't been used other than once in the last 27 years. Again, iirc, I think this is how the Giants ended up transitioning to the 'NY' on their helmets over 'Giants', which looks way better imo, so hopefully the same move makes a change end up being permanent.
Just rip the band aid off and make kelly green the primary uniforms already. Nike screwed up the midnight green color ten years ago. Looked better with Reebok.
I will say though....if the current unis had silver pants, it would be a pretty big improvement.
That's my only beef at all, though. I'll take a crisp white over the silver, but I'm nitpicking.
Silver > White. I feel strongly about this.
While we're talking uniforms....I hate how there are no stripes in most teams socks (which are basically compression pants) nowadays. I also hate how they socks are now usually the same color as the pants, which makes it look like they're wearing leotards. I also hate how the pants now barely reach their knees. Most of them are basically wearing shorts.
I vote for silver pants. Or shorts or whatever they are.
Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; WF Center 10/21/13; WF Center 10/22/13; Baltimore 10/27/13; WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
In the span of a little over a year our sports teams drafted Carson Wentz, Mickey Moniak, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, and somebody named Patrick Nolan with top 1-3 picks.
Nolan Patrick - the Flyers' "lottery" pick. That tells you everything you need to know. Charlie O'Connor did an analysis that the Flyers should've picked someone else based on knowledge at the time. Oh well, maybe in my kids' lifetime that franchise will win the Stanley Cup.
Anyway...
Brian Johnson is officially the new OC. Seems obvious right.
Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; WF Center 10/21/13; WF Center 10/22/13; Baltimore 10/27/13; WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; WF Center 10/21/13; WF Center 10/22/13; Baltimore 10/27/13; WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
People are having a major whine festival about the Eagles' QB sneaks. I mean, what's wrong with a play that looks like rugby? Anyone else can do it if they want. Pathetic.
At the Super Bowl, I asked a Chiefs defensive coach about the Eagles’ stunning success rate on quarterback sneaks, particularly the new-look sneak they wound up running six times in the Super Bowl, including two for touchdowns. It’s a play that I’ve coined the two-cheek sneak, when two, and sometimes even three players line up behind Jalen Hurts to push him forward.
“That’s a gray area,” said Alex Whittingham, a defensive quality control coach for Kansas City. “Not a rule that they’re breaking right now, but they are pretty much unstoppable when they do that.”
This take turned out to be some astute foreshadowing, as the NFL competition committee met at the NFL Scouting Combine this week with a long list of items to discuss, including the two-cheek sneak. On Sunday, the first of four days of competition committee meetings, the group had their initial conversation about the future of the play. The committee will revisit the topic later this month at the league meetings in Phoenix, where they’ll decide whether to put it in front of the owners for a vote.
One person briefed on the matter said the committee watched several examples of the push sneak, mainly the Eagles’ variations of it, then discussed whether this play that closely resembles a rugby maul belongs in the NFL game. This person and another briefed on the matter said the league office put the play on the competition committee’s agenda this week mainly because of how it looks.
“It’s an ugly play,” the first person said.
“It’s not football,” said a person who works in analytics for an NFL team.
The competition committee makes rules changes with the entertainment value of the product in mind, so the interest of the fans is the top priority when the 32 owners ultimately vote on any proposals. There is no specific rule proposal associated with the push sneak; it was on the agenda as a topic for review and conversation.
The second person and a third briefed on the matter said that they don’t anticipate any change to the pushing this year because no one in the room has voiced a strong enough opinion yet, and the competition committee is typically slow to move on an issue the first time it is raised. “We’re not losing sleep over this,” said the second person briefed on the matter.
But the play is bothering enough people that the second person said there were multiple teams that listed the two-cheek sneak as a top-three most important issue on the competition committee survey that teams submit to the league office following the Super Bowl. One team staffer told me that their team put the push sneak on their three-item list, citing the play’s nearly automatic, predictable result as the reason why it isn’t “good for the game.” He compared it to owners voting to increase the difficulty of the extra point by moving the kick back from the 2-yard-line to the 15-yard-line.
Pushing an offensive teammate has been legal in the NFL since 2005, when the league clarified blocking rules to help officials with their judgments in games. The second person briefed on the matter said when the league removed the language that prohibited pushing, it never anticipated the unintended consequence that teams would design plays around pushing players forward. And no team has schemed up the push quite like the 2022 Eagles did, with 41 sneaks for a 90.5 percent conversion rate. By season’s end, the Bills, Ravens and Bengals had all lined up in a push formation or had run a variation of the push themselves.
In January, I reported that some teams around the NFL had complained to the NFL officiating department during the season about the legality of the Eagles’ revolutionary pushing, and the officiating department responded by circulating a video after Week 8 that confirmed the Eagles were in fact following the rules in pushing (barring the two times this season when they pulled).
Following that reinforcement of the rule, what is the issue with this perfectly legal play? NFL coaches have an established pattern whenever a team exploits an advantage in the rulebook a little too well: Complain, then copy. This play had seemingly entered the copy stage but is still facing scrutiny.
From conversations with coaches around the NFL, the main reason I heard for the questioning of this play was game aesthetics, that the players lining up so close together and pushing each other forward is somehow offensive to the viewer, that it looks too different from football, too much like rugby, although last time I checked, football is a product of rugby.
NFL owners have always been concerned about optics and the entertainment value of their product. Look no further than the emphasis on taunting penalties and the stringent uniform sock specifications. But when I asked scouts, coaches and NFL club staffers at the combine, none could remember a play that had been banned mainly because of the way it looked.
Another aspect of the play that the competition committee discussed and will watch is the injury risk. There isn’t any injury data related to the play, as no player has been hurt on a push sneak. Commanders head coach and competition committee member Ron Rivera said in his combine news conference Tuesday that injury potential is one of the “ramifications” of the play.
“I don’t know if people are necessarily against it as much as people are trying to see what the ramifications are going to be going forward,” Rivera said. “But you have to have a full discussion, and that’s what we’re looking forward to once we get to Arizona, is to have a full discussion with the entire membership.”
Later that day, as Rivera left a competition committee meeting, I asked which way he leaned on the play. “I’m right down the middle,” he said.
Nick Sirianni, the head coach responsible for this controversial play, stressed Tuesday that the two-cheek sneak is not just the same play every time. It’s not boring, or predictable, because the Eagles proved several times this season that they can threaten the push sneak and run a completely different play off of it.
“That’s kind of what football is, right?” Sirianni said at his combine news conference. “The defense thinks it’s this play, so we run the exact opposite play, and it ended in a touchdown, right? …
“Some of the wrinkles that were off of it, I thought it was good for the game.”
Sirianni found a supporter in Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who appreciates rugby’s influence on football and who said if there is no change, his team will be designing plays like the push sneak.
“This is an opportunity for the game to evolve,” he said. “ … Other people might think it is such a departure from what we have done in the past, like, oh we can’t do that! I don’t think like that. I think it could be a really cool thing.
“It would change the game, though. The fact they are entertaining the thought of not allowing it to happen, I can get that. We cling to what we know and not go into areas we don’t know. I was excited about it, and I thought it was cool. I felt like it was worth praising their initiative to go that far. It looked like rugby, and rugby is a great game, and it has a lot to do with what football is all about.”
“I’m a little jealous we didn’t come up with the idea,” new Broncos coach Sean Payton said Tuesday at his press conference.
Several NFL club staffers I spoke to argued that getting to 24 votes to ban pushing on sneaks will be challenging. As the victims of rules changes typically do, the Eagles are working their connections to the committee, and former Eagles offensive coordinator and competition committee member Frank Reich is known to be an ally of the two-cheek sneak.
Some free advice for the Eagles, if they want to preserve the power of the push sneak for the long term future: Stop running it on first and second down, and stop running it multiple times in a row. Multiple people briefed on the matter pointed out that if this play was a more significant part of a team’s offense, such as it being called on first down or on consecutive plays, that would create some stronger opinions and push the committee to act.
Once this past season, the Eagles ran three consecutive sneaks, converting two of the three, the third for a touchdown.
“All I know is everything we’re doing is legal and it works, and just because people do something that’s really good, doesn’t mean it should be outlawed,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Tuesday at his combine news conference.
And there’s the catch. If the Eagles were a little worse at this play, or ran it a little less often, it wouldn’t even be on the agenda at all.
Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; WF Center 10/21/13; WF Center 10/22/13; Baltimore 10/27/13; WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
The obvious answer is anyone is capable of doing it, as much as the 3rd QB (or lack thereof) isn't a rule. But, yes, they'll certainly do something stupid to outlaw it for some dumb made-up reason. I would love if there was more rugby in football - namely getting rid of helmets and pads.
It wasn't against the rules....do it every play if you like. Dumb to whine otherwise. That stated, I think they should outlaw it. It is sort of a rugby play. Until rule(s) changed I would expect teams to do it.
I mean football is an extension of rugby. I understand pulling a guy as being a disadvantage, and thus outlawing that. But there's nothing wrong with pushing a guy. I think this has more to do with a an allpro O-line and QB that can squat 600 than a couple wideouts playing flanker. Personally, I look forward to the scrum coming to the NFL.
"Another aspect of the play that the competition committee discussed and will watch is the injury risk. There isn’t any injury data related to the play, as no player has been hurt on a push sneak. Commanders head coach and competition committee member Ron Rivera said in his combine news conference Tuesday that injury potential is one of the “ramifications” of the play."
I don't like it just because I don't want to watch the scrum be a play 10 + times a game No injury worry or thoughts on it being unfair or whatever.
Should share that I clapped and cheered for the Bush Push. As a USC alum, that play will forever have a place of love in my heart. Causing ND fans anguish is right up there with the best feelings in the world.
I can't think of a time when they have banned a play just because people don't enjoy how it looks. That seems weird to me. Football is about adjustments. Sooner or later defenses will figure out a way to stop it.
If other teams don't have a power lifting QB - if I were them I'd consider running the play with a RB or something. Maybe throw a defensive tackle out there to take the snap. Sports needs to be fun!
Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; WF Center 10/21/13; WF Center 10/22/13; Baltimore 10/27/13; WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
If other teams don't have a power lifting QB - if I were them I'd consider running the play with a RB or something. Maybe throw a defensive tackle out there to take the snap. Sports needs to be fun!
That is actually a great idea. Defense knows it is coming anyway.
If other teams don't have a power lifting QB - if I were them I'd consider running the play with a RB or something. Maybe throw a defensive tackle out there to take the snap. Sports needs to be fun!
That is actually a great idea. Defense knows it is coming anyway.
Keep your QB back there to keep up the possibility of a fake. Only problem is the DT or whoever doesn't typically take snaps, so there's some risk there. Oh well, there's only one Jalen Hurts!
Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; WF Center 10/21/13; WF Center 10/22/13; Baltimore 10/27/13; WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
Comments
The jerseys from that Cunningham Era are a thing of beauty
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
My hope is this ultimately erases the shitty unis of the last 27 years.
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
When they did the Kellys in 2010 that was before the rule was put in place:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34232639/tracking-all-new-uniforms-helmets-2022-nfl-season
I'd guess right now the Kelly green merch is close to 50/50 of sales, or as close to that for a color that hasn't been used other than once in the last 27 years. Again, iirc, I think this is how the Giants ended up transitioning to the 'NY' on their helmets over 'Giants', which looks way better imo, so hopefully the same move makes a change end up being permanent.
I will say though....if the current unis had silver pants, it would be a pretty big improvement.
While we're talking uniforms....I hate how there are no stripes in most teams socks (which are basically compression pants) nowadays. I also hate how they socks are now usually the same color as the pants, which makes it look like they're wearing leotards. I also hate how the pants now barely reach their knees. Most of them are basically wearing shorts.
Grinds my gears. Really grinds my gears.
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
In the span of a little over a year our sports teams drafted Carson Wentz, Mickey Moniak, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, and somebody named Patrick Nolan with top 1-3 picks.
This tweet is hilarious though:
Anyway...
Brian Johnson is officially the new OC. Seems obvious right.
https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/eagle-brian-johnson-hire-offensive-coordinator-20230228.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news_alerts_02_28_2023&sfmc_id=0031U00001WQquDQAT&sub_source=news-alert-newsletter&list_name=DE34_Newsletter_News_Alert&int_promo=newsletter&et_rid=228154786
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/eagles-defensive-coordinator-sean-desai-nick-sirianni-20230228.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news_alerts_02_28_2023&sfmc_id=0031U00001WQquDQAT&sub_source=news-alert-newsletter&list_name=DE34_Newsletter_News_Alert&int_promo=newsletter&et_rid=228154786
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
https://theathletic.com/4266025/2023/03/02/eagles-qb-sneak-rules-committee/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983
At the Super Bowl, I asked a Chiefs defensive coach about the Eagles’ stunning success rate on quarterback sneaks, particularly the new-look sneak they wound up running six times in the Super Bowl, including two for touchdowns. It’s a play that I’ve coined the two-cheek sneak, when two, and sometimes even three players line up behind Jalen Hurts to push him forward.
“That’s a gray area,” said Alex Whittingham, a defensive quality control coach for Kansas City. “Not a rule that they’re breaking right now, but they are pretty much unstoppable when they do that.”
This take turned out to be some astute foreshadowing, as the NFL competition committee met at the NFL Scouting Combine this week with a long list of items to discuss, including the two-cheek sneak. On Sunday, the first of four days of competition committee meetings, the group had their initial conversation about the future of the play. The committee will revisit the topic later this month at the league meetings in Phoenix, where they’ll decide whether to put it in front of the owners for a vote.
One person briefed on the matter said the committee watched several examples of the push sneak, mainly the Eagles’ variations of it, then discussed whether this play that closely resembles a rugby maul belongs in the NFL game. This person and another briefed on the matter said the league office put the play on the competition committee’s agenda this week mainly because of how it looks.
“It’s an ugly play,” the first person said.
“It’s not football,” said a person who works in analytics for an NFL team.
The competition committee makes rules changes with the entertainment value of the product in mind, so the interest of the fans is the top priority when the 32 owners ultimately vote on any proposals. There is no specific rule proposal associated with the push sneak; it was on the agenda as a topic for review and conversation.
The second person and a third briefed on the matter said that they don’t anticipate any change to the pushing this year because no one in the room has voiced a strong enough opinion yet, and the competition committee is typically slow to move on an issue the first time it is raised. “We’re not losing sleep over this,” said the second person briefed on the matter.
But the play is bothering enough people that the second person said there were multiple teams that listed the two-cheek sneak as a top-three most important issue on the competition committee survey that teams submit to the league office following the Super Bowl. One team staffer told me that their team put the push sneak on their three-item list, citing the play’s nearly automatic, predictable result as the reason why it isn’t “good for the game.” He compared it to owners voting to increase the difficulty of the extra point by moving the kick back from the 2-yard-line to the 15-yard-line.
Pushing an offensive teammate has been legal in the NFL since 2005, when the league clarified blocking rules to help officials with their judgments in games. The second person briefed on the matter said when the league removed the language that prohibited pushing, it never anticipated the unintended consequence that teams would design plays around pushing players forward. And no team has schemed up the push quite like the 2022 Eagles did, with 41 sneaks for a 90.5 percent conversion rate. By season’s end, the Bills, Ravens and Bengals had all lined up in a push formation or had run a variation of the push themselves.
In January, I reported that some teams around the NFL had complained to the NFL officiating department during the season about the legality of the Eagles’ revolutionary pushing, and the officiating department responded by circulating a video after Week 8 that confirmed the Eagles were in fact following the rules in pushing (barring the two times this season when they pulled).
Following that reinforcement of the rule, what is the issue with this perfectly legal play? NFL coaches have an established pattern whenever a team exploits an advantage in the rulebook a little too well: Complain, then copy. This play had seemingly entered the copy stage but is still facing scrutiny.
From conversations with coaches around the NFL, the main reason I heard for the questioning of this play was game aesthetics, that the players lining up so close together and pushing each other forward is somehow offensive to the viewer, that it looks too different from football, too much like rugby, although last time I checked, football is a product of rugby.
NFL owners have always been concerned about optics and the entertainment value of their product. Look no further than the emphasis on taunting penalties and the stringent uniform sock specifications. But when I asked scouts, coaches and NFL club staffers at the combine, none could remember a play that had been banned mainly because of the way it looked.
Another aspect of the play that the competition committee discussed and will watch is the injury risk. There isn’t any injury data related to the play, as no player has been hurt on a push sneak. Commanders head coach and competition committee member Ron Rivera said in his combine news conference Tuesday that injury potential is one of the “ramifications” of the play.
“I don’t know if people are necessarily against it as much as people are trying to see what the ramifications are going to be going forward,” Rivera said. “But you have to have a full discussion, and that’s what we’re looking forward to once we get to Arizona, is to have a full discussion with the entire membership.”
Later that day, as Rivera left a competition committee meeting, I asked which way he leaned on the play. “I’m right down the middle,” he said.
Nick Sirianni, the head coach responsible for this controversial play, stressed Tuesday that the two-cheek sneak is not just the same play every time. It’s not boring, or predictable, because the Eagles proved several times this season that they can threaten the push sneak and run a completely different play off of it.
“That’s kind of what football is, right?” Sirianni said at his combine news conference. “The defense thinks it’s this play, so we run the exact opposite play, and it ended in a touchdown, right? …
“Some of the wrinkles that were off of it, I thought it was good for the game.”
Sirianni found a supporter in Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who appreciates rugby’s influence on football and who said if there is no change, his team will be designing plays like the push sneak.
“This is an opportunity for the game to evolve,” he said. “ … Other people might think it is such a departure from what we have done in the past, like, oh we can’t do that! I don’t think like that. I think it could be a really cool thing.
“It would change the game, though. The fact they are entertaining the thought of not allowing it to happen, I can get that. We cling to what we know and not go into areas we don’t know. I was excited about it, and I thought it was cool. I felt like it was worth praising their initiative to go that far. It looked like rugby, and rugby is a great game, and it has a lot to do with what football is all about.”
“I’m a little jealous we didn’t come up with the idea,” new Broncos coach Sean Payton said Tuesday at his press conference.
Several NFL club staffers I spoke to argued that getting to 24 votes to ban pushing on sneaks will be challenging. As the victims of rules changes typically do, the Eagles are working their connections to the committee, and former Eagles offensive coordinator and competition committee member Frank Reich is known to be an ally of the two-cheek sneak.
Some free advice for the Eagles, if they want to preserve the power of the push sneak for the long term future: Stop running it on first and second down, and stop running it multiple times in a row. Multiple people briefed on the matter pointed out that if this play was a more significant part of a team’s offense, such as it being called on first down or on consecutive plays, that would create some stronger opinions and push the committee to act.
Once this past season, the Eagles ran three consecutive sneaks, converting two of the three, the third for a touchdown.
“All I know is everything we’re doing is legal and it works, and just because people do something that’s really good, doesn’t mean it should be outlawed,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Tuesday at his combine news conference.
And there’s the catch. If the Eagles were a little worse at this play, or ran it a little less often, it wouldn’t even be on the agenda at all.
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
Dumb to whine otherwise.
That stated, I think they should outlaw it. It is sort of a rugby play.
Until rule(s) changed I would expect teams to do it.
Complete bullshit.
No injury worry or thoughts on it being unfair or whatever.
Should share that I clapped and cheered for the Bush Push. As a USC alum, that play will forever have a place of love in my heart. Causing ND fans anguish is right up there with the best feelings in the world.
To me, it looks like football.
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
WF Center 4/28/16; WF Center 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; WF Center 9/7/24; WF Center 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
Also, the defense is free to load up the entire line with all 11 guys if they wish.