The Packers have proposed a rule change that would attack the so-called “tush push.” With the annual league meetings only days away, it’s looking like there’s not nearly enough of a push to get 24 total owners to vote for the proposal.
On Tuesday, Mark Maske of the Washington Post posted this on Twitter: “It’s unclear whether the Packers’ proposed ban of the tush push will get the 24 votes among the 32 NFL owners necessary to be approved, source says: ‘Not sure it can get 24.’ The sentiment is mixed on the NFL competition committee about the proposal. The owners meet next week.”
Frankly, the fate of the proposal looks more than “unclear.” If the “sentiment” in the Competition Committee is “mixed,” that’s not a good sign for securing a supermajority when it’s time for the owners to vote on the change.
When news of the proposal first emerged early in the week at the Scouting Combine, nearly every coach and G.M. who was asked about the tush push on PFT Live had no problem with the play. Yes, Bills coach Sean McDermott — whose team uses a version of the maneuver — has expressed concern about the impact of the play on player health and safety. But no one has publicly seconded his position. And no one else has said, on- or off-the-record, that the change must be made.
Part of the problem is the formulation of the proposal. The wording doesn’t ban the pushing of the tush. It prevents it from happening “immediately” at the snap. Which makes for an easy workaround. Apply the push as part of the second effort to shove the ball past where the offense is trying to move it. Which is what the Eagles typically do, anyway.
It’s definitely unclear whether a better-worded proposal would have a chance to get 24 votes. The Packers’ proposal seems to be dead in the water due at least in part to the fact that their proposed change won’t really change anything.
Which points to this potential outcome: A withdrawal of the proposal or at most a tabling of it until May.
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