Cowboys’ Micah Parsons Doesn’t Believe NFL Should Ban Eagles’ ‘Tush Push’

[CowboysJames69]

I don't know, before the season i watched a youtube video of every eagle tush push and the OL go so low at knee level the the DL basically have to fall right on top of then so they dont get their knees blown out. This is not rugby in my opinion. And why are the eagle linemen allowed to lunge before the snap many times?

 

[BrassCowboy]

Parsons is right

 

[KingCorcoran]

I believe it was illegal at least at one point. I remember watching an old game on Youtube, maybe from about 1968, and they penalized a player for pushing his running back through. If the league sees the "tush push" as a dirty trick, I guess they could make it illegal again. If they keep it legal, teams will adapt their defenses to be able to stop it.

The rule was changed to allow pushing the running back forward after the 2005 season. Pushing the ball carrier would have to be deemed a “dirty trick” to initiate a change. The rules committee, which includes some owners, discussed it this past off season and recommended the rule not be changed.

 

[EST_1986]

I disagree with him only from the aspect that it is a safety issue. Players should not be pushing other players, especially QBs, forward for yardage. In an age when the league does just about everything it can to protect QBs, this play increases the risk of injury IMO. However, it will likely take a QB getting injured doing it for the league to put some kind of protections in place.

its self inflicted so if the QB gets injured its their own fault

 

[Cowboys1966]

I agree with him to a certain extent, but the reason people have called for a ban on the play is not because no one can stop the Eagles when they run it. The reason is safety. The concern is with offensive and defensive linemen getting low and ramming into each other, there is a concern for the health of the linemen. Supposedly a lot of rugby players injure their necks in scrums like that. NFL linemen are bigger and stronger so it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt badly.

At least that is the argument against the play. I don't really know how they can make it illegal. QB sneaks have always been legal and pushing runners from behind happens a lot as well. I do think they should enforce the rule against pulling the ball carrier forward. I have seen that a few times and they seem to let it go. Pretty soon someone will run a play where the offensive line carries the ball carrier on their shoulders, like a crowd surfer, into the end zone.

I don’t know of any injuries that have occurred during that play.

 

[Cowboys1966]

The rule was changed to allow pushing the running back forward after the 2005 season. Pushing the ball carrier would have to be deemed a “dirty trick” to initiate a change. The rules committee, which includes some owners, discussed it this past off season and recommended the rule not be changed.

I suspect that Hurts would be just as effective in the normal qb sneak.

 

[Cowboys1966]

The Eagles' “Tush Push” QB sneak is one of the most unstoppable plays in the league, as it seems like they convert every short-yardage situation. Philadelphia’s success with the play has been so dominant, that some have called for the league to ban it.

However, as more teams have tried to execute the play, it’s become clear that the Eagles are just the best at it. Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons said it would be a bad idea to ban a play just because the Eagles are great at it.

Full story attached
https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/10/03/d...Hl4TkJPt3LSsL6IYKGZQvI4T8iqVE&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

No it is not…at least the play itself is not unstoppable…

 

[cowboyed]

If we try it, hopefully no one's hand will slip off a butt cheek and end up elbow deep on the Hershey highway.

 

[Pola_pe_a]

On a QB sneak, the QB has more freedom of movement. If he's knocked backward, he can go that way. If he has to slide off to the side, he can. On the push, he can get caught between the defenders and the ones pushing him, which can lead to the body being put into some awkward positions.

For what it is worth, I don't believe offensive linemen should be able to ram into a pile holding up a running back and knock it forward, either. The offensive player should get the yardage he is able to get on his own without being thrust forward by anyone pushing on him.

It’s the same thing as a QB sneak injury risk wise. Once everyone crashes together no one is moving all that much. It’s much slower speed contact than typical and everyone is falling forward so the chance of really getting twisted up is pretty low. Can injuries occur sure but they can happen on any play.

Regarding your statement about pushing a ball carrier. No one is “ramming into a pile holding a ball carrier”. And if a ball carrier get’s hit but doesn’t go down other defensive players attack the pile try and knock the carrier down or back? Why shouldn’t offensive players be able to push this same pile forward?

 

[Captain-Crash]

Maybe put pink dresses on the defensive players. if they are not strong enough to push them back oh well, it is what it is. sheesh

 

[Jarntt]

For a long time you couldn't push one of your offensive teammates and it makes sense from a football perspective to not be able to do so. It should be banned IMO. It just doesn't look like Football. But that's an offseason discussion.

As far as Philly goes, Hurts and Philly will still be the best in the NFL at QB sneaks by far. With Hurts' strength and their great OL, I'm not really sure it would be all that different. I think the idea of the "tush push" has outgrown the actual incremental benefit over a regular QB sneak at this point. On most plays the QB is already stopped or past the yards to gain by the time a teammate behind him touches him. It's usually almost an immediate thing. Philly will still dominate on 4th and 1.

 

[Creeper]

I don’t know of any injuries that have occurred during that play.

As I mentioned, people against the Tush Push play claim injuries occur to RUGBY players. The argument to ban the play is for safety. I am not claiming it is factually or empirically correct.

Here is an abstracts of a study on the subject. I did not read the study because it requires payment but the study was conducted out of concern for injuries that occur in RUGBY scrums. This is the same concern voiced by those proposing a ban on the Tush Push play. Where heads and neck are concerned, the NFL has tended to be very cautious lately.

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/7/425

 

[Retro88]

Lmao @ the folks crying bc he doesn't share their opinion

 

[MarcusRock]

Lmao @ the folks crying bc he doesn't share their opinion

I just think it's funny because all year people scream up and down that football's gotten soft but here want to outlaw a play our rivals are good at because players might get an owwie.

 

[gimmesix]

It’s the same thing as a QB sneak injury risk wise. Once everyone crashes together no one is moving all that much. It’s much slower speed contact than typical and everyone is falling forward so the chance of really getting twisted up is pretty low. Can injuries occur sure but they can happen on any play.

Regarding your statement about pushing a ball carrier. No one is “ramming into a pile holding a ball carrier”. And if a ball carrier get’s hit but doesn’t go down other defensive players attack the pile try and knock the carrier down or back? Why shouldn’t offensive players be able to push this same pile forward?

Have you really never seen the defense holding up a ball carrier while he's still struggling for yards and an offensive lineman come up and try to knock the pile forward? They are certainly ramming into a pile. The scenario you give is the problem with it and the problem with the tush push IMO. You are fighting for yardage with all your strength against players trying to push you back. Eventually your body gives against the pressure being put on it instead of snapping. However, when it is not just your body fighting against the pressure, there is less give for it. Eventually IMO someone is going to be pushing the QB while defenders are trying to shove him back and we're going to see a knee buckle because his body can't naturally react to the pressure by giving or releasing against it.

We're not made for the force of contact that NFL players receive, which is one of the main reasons why there are so many injuries in the league. When you increase that force, you increase the chance of injury. The tush push increases that force on the QB sneak.

Now, note that I am not talking about blocking. I'm talking about pushing. If defenders come up to gang-tackle a running back and an offensive lineman tries to dislodge them with a block, that's different than pushing. There are examples of both in this video:

 

[gimmesix]

I just think it's funny because all year people scream up and down that football's gotten soft but here want to outlaw a play our rivals are good at because players might get an owwie.

There are plays that I initially hated that they outlawed for that reason, such as the horse collar that Roy Williams mastered. However, looking back on them, I think they were good decisions.

I don't expect the league to do anything about this until it ends up causing an injury ... and don't think that it should. No harm, no foul. I just believe that it will because of the nature of it. We'll see.

 

[Virginia-Dave]

The reason it works is because of their O-line, but mostly because of Hurts. There aren't many QB's that can squat 600 lbs, which is why this play really only works for the Eagles. Everyone is trying to replicate the play, but not many are having success.

 

[coult44]

Any fan , any fan at all saying make this play illegal because you’re concerned about player safety YOU’RE a fraud!!! You don’t give a rats arse about player safety. Neither does the nfl

 

[Cmac]

Shut up Parsons.

I wish Micah wouldn't declare himself a spokesman on everything.

 

[StuckMojo]

Only thing that should be stopped on that play is the guards firing off the just a split sec before ball is snapped. At least the couple times I’ve seen it.