Lavonte David: Keep The Tush Push
March 28th, 2025
So defensive players can’t line up behind their linemen and shove them into opposing offensive linemen, but the opposite is just fine.
It’s a quirk in NFL rules, and it’s part of what’s made Philadelphia’s famous “tush push” play successful and controversial.
At next week’s NFL owners meetings in swanky Palm Beach, owners will vote on whether to ban the play.
Lavonte David says don’t do it. It’s a football play and teams should just work on stopping it.
That’s what he told The Rich Eisen Show this week. Eisen told David that he’s in the camp that thinks the play is unfair to defenses and made the point Joe referenced above: the defense can’t line up and shove its own players, so why should the offense be allowed?
David paused and acknowledged it’s a fair point, but Eisen couldn’t budge him off his stance. David says leave the tush push alone.
Joe’s not sure how owners will vote. Most likely, the tush push will disappear when someone ends up injured because of it.
March 28th, 2025 at 9:11 pm
I have a feeling if the defense stacked up and pushed a D lineman through the O-line, an offense could exploit that for big yards. Love to see it allowed and attempted though. It might work once for a sack due to the confusion it would cause.
Probably never again.
March 28th, 2025 at 9:34 pm
Man, this SOOOOooo reminds me of Tudor Electric Football from my childhood. All it needs is that one dude who goes in circles
March 28th, 2025 at 9:42 pm
Whiners!
Leave it alone!
The push is a concentration of force. Football offense is all about contriving to concentrate force so as to either gain superior power for the main effort or to misdirect the opponents into creating places of vulnerability as the try to counter the perceived concentration of effort.
March 28th, 2025 at 9:51 pm
When Jalen Hurts missed a season with a compound fracture, the rule will change by the following week. It’s not a football play. It’s a rugby play.
March 28th, 2025 at 9:51 pm
Misses*
March 28th, 2025 at 11:24 pm
I agree with Lavonte.
This is pansie talk
March 29th, 2025 at 12:03 am
I don’t understand why defenses aren’t allowed to line up and shove their own players. Was this a safety rule?
March 29th, 2025 at 5:42 am
I remember KJ Britt stopping it by pulling Hurts’ facemask and not getting a penalty. That seems fair.
March 29th, 2025 at 6:47 am
Good one Beeej! Awesome comparison.
March 29th, 2025 at 8:27 am
Years ago it got to the point that the running back had handles on his uniform so the team mates could grab him and push, pull or drag him. That’s why for years you weren’t allowed to push or pull the RB. So why not put the handles back on the RB and let ‘er rip.
March 29th, 2025 at 9:31 am
Years ago that tush push was not legal. But we were allowed to grab them by the top of their shoulder pads(horse collar) and then drop all our weight (hip drop) to yank them down! It was the combined horse collar hip drop. Highly effective. And then you’d jump up and try to find somebody to “cherry pick”. Those were the good old days!
March 29th, 2025 at 12:37 pm
Draft the Gators 450 lb Dlineman Desmond Watson and put him next to VV and they will stop it every time.
March 29th, 2025 at 1:06 pm
It’s obviously a very effective play when executed properly. If they keep it legal I will be very suprised if at least 6 teams don’t perfect the play and add it to their regular short yardage play book for 2025.
Hopefully the Buccaneers will !!
Go Bucs 2025 !!
March 29th, 2025 at 2:44 pm
It is a boring play
March 29th, 2025 at 4:31 pm
I’m with Todd! Obtain a 7th rounder and get Desmond
March 29th, 2025 at 9:19 pm
This is a ridiculous play! The Tush Push favors the offense in so many ways. It is a rugby play not a football play as others have stated. What I have noticed is that some O-line, (particularly the EAGLES)move slightly before the ball is even hiked. This gives the O-line a huge edge coming off the ball. This play is not entertaining for the fans and isn’t a real football play. Lineup and run the ball like it should be as a FOOTBALL PLAY!
March 30th, 2025 at 4:56 am
Lavonte is right on. Keep it. Plus, there have been no injuries reported from the tush push.
Beeej – Great reminder about Tudor electric football, and it is still going strong in some groups of fans.