As the NFL offseason gets underway, more than just player movement will be on the table. This is the time of year when rule changes are proposed -- and sometimes enacted -- and once again the legality of the 'Tush Push' is being called into question.
It's not the first time the play has been called out. Ever since the Philadelphia Eagles perfected what is essentially a cheat code play, teams have been trying to get it banned, but so far, all discussions about potentially doing so have led nowhere. That's something the Green Bay Packers are trying to finally change, though.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed that the team submitted a propsal to get the 'Tush Push' banned, which prompted an all-time trash talk moment from Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.
Todd Bowles takes a shot at other NFL teams while defending the 'Tush Push'
While at the NFL Combine this week, Bowles was asked about his feelings on the 'Tush Push' and not only defended it but took a shot at all of the teams trying to get it banned.
"When a team gets something they're good at, you gotta learn how to stop it. I don't think the first thing you do is take it out of the ball game," Bowles said.
It's hard not to read that as at least a subtle shot at the Packers since they're the face of the latest campaign to ban the play. Bowles' comments are more wide-ranging than that, as it essentially calls out anybody who has complained about the play over the year.
Tampa Bay is in an exclusive club as a team that has figured out how to stop the play. A year ago in the Wild Card round, the Eagles tried to score using the 'Tush Push' and failed -- something that has been a point of prode for Bowles' defense ever since.
The Bucs aren't the only team that has figured out how to stop it, either. Philly doesn't have a 100 percent success rate with the play, and other teams that have tried it have found it's not as invincible as it seems. In the AFC Championship Game, the Buffalo Bills were repeatedly stopped when trying to run the play, something that ended up making the difference between them making the Super Bowl or not.
Coincidentally, an alteration to the way NFL officials mark first downs could be coming thanks to controversey that arose stemming from a failed "Tush Push" play by the Bills. So, the common thread here seems to be less about changing rules for fairness and is more about complaining about not being good enough to stop teams who are outsmarting the other ones.
Maybe more teams should be like the Bucs and simply play better, and all of this would solve itself.
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