NFL owners should be embarrassed for wanting to ban the tush push

The NFL has very few doldrums throughout its offseason thanks to how plentiful the calendar is, but we were just in the middle of one and it is thankfully over.

What saved us, you ask? The league’s owners are meeting in Florida to discuss how awesome it is to preside over a multi-billion dollar corporation. Oh, they are also talking about some football stuff as well.

These events provide commentary and quotes from the league’s dignitaries and that is important as they are ultimately the people who shape the league and game we all love.

We here at The Skinny Post, Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa, have some thoughts on everything they have had to say so far and are prepared to share them.

We’re starting something new this week too, because we want to hear YOUR takes on these issues. So as you’re reading along, be sure to take our short one-question surveys embedded in the post, explain your take in the comments, and check back later this week to see how your fellow fans responded.

Let’s begin.

It is embarrassing that anyone would want to ban the tush push

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

RJ:

In case anyone forgot or does not know… I cover the Dallas Cowboys around here.

With that context applied, it brings me no pleasure to tell you all that I think it is the lamest thing in the world that people want to outlaw the tush push. Reports continue to swirl that this could happen and that owners at their fancy meetings are starting to pick up steam as a group for it… that is incredibly embarrassing.

The Philadelphia Eagles are really good at this play. That is the end of the story.

Other teams can try it (some have!). Nothing is stopping anyone else from doing the work involved to get as good at it as Philadelphia is. Wanting to outlaw the play because the Eagles are significantly better than anyone else is humiliating for anyone on that side of the argument and even as a Cowboys fan I will stand up and defend the Eagles for doing nothing wrong.

I hate this timeline.

Michael:

We’re starting things off with a bit of conflict!

I am in favor of banning the tush push for a number of reasons. Some are practical, in my opinion, and some are much more subjective.

One of the grossest sequences I’ve seen in the NFL in recent years was the most recent NFC Championship game between the Eagles and Commanders. The Eagles had the ball near the goal line and lined up for the inevitable tush push. Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu attempted to time the snap by jumping over the line but pulled the trigger too early as he sailed into Jalen Hurts before the whistle. On the next play, Luvu did it again as the Eagles continues with a longer snap count.

After the second offsides penalty by Luvu, the referees announced to the crowd that they could award the Eagles with a touchdown if the Commanders continued to receive penalties for jumping early, all of this in the name of safety because Luvu was hurdling into players that were standing still on the other side.

In this moment, all I could think about was “What else are the Commanders supposed to do?” Washington NEEDED to stop this play to give them a chance at winning the game. It was a pivotal play in the game. One of the only ways they could stop the play was by jumping the snap perfectly and getting a body to weigh down Hurts so he couldn’t push through into the end zone.

This whole sequence was gross because it was the encapsulation of what the tush push has done to the league. It looks like a cheat code when the Eagles do it and because another team was doing EVERYTHING THEY COULD WITHIN REASON to stop it on the other side, the refs were just going to award the Eagles the score anyway? Nothing about this string of events seemed healthy for the game of football.

The tush push, in a vacuum, is not a crazy concept that deserves banning with no context. But the discussions about banning it stem from what it has seemingly done to the landscape of the game. The 31 other teams in the league could also simply build their team to mimic the Eagles and their success, but it’s been several years now and no one has come close. Yes, all the other teams should just hunker down and stop it. Simply be the better team, but that just hasn’t happened and it doesn’t look like it’s happening anytime soon.

So as it stands, something is either done about it this offseason or we are going to continue to hear about the tush push, the “brotherly shove”, or whatever the newest nickname is over and over and over again.

I’m just tired of it. End rant.

Speaking of rule changes and such, do you think the dynamic kickoff should be here to stay?

Michael:

As an avid fan of spring football leagues, I got my first taste of the dynamic kickoff structure during the 2023 spring season of the XFL. Over a year later, the NFL decided to adapt that structure as well and it turned into a big success during the 2024 regular season. Kickoffs were exciting again and it made a play that people have begun to tune out for exciting once again.

As far as the rumblings from this year’s league meetings have gone, it seems like the dynamic kickoff is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

This rocks. The NFL does not get a lot right when it comes to changing the league, but this has been a home run.

RJ:

Honestly I do not have a passionate stance or take on this.

I suppose that I miss the pageantry of the old kickoff, but I am in favor of doing what keeps players as safe as possible and this was sold as being that.

Outside of KaVontae Turpin in Washington I cannot recall an incredible kickoff return moment. Maybe the play in general is just a lost art as the NFL has progressed and evolved.

Ultimately I’m good with where we are as a society here.

Describe Stefon Diggs joining the New England Patriots in one word

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

RJ:

Last week brought with it the news that the New England Patriots were signing wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a 3-year, $69M deal. That is a lot of money.

That is a lot of money in general, but especially for a player of Diggs’ age (31) and coming off of a torn ACL. New England had basically a billion dollars in salary cap space so them spending is not hurting them in the big picture, but I am pretty unmoved about this as an NFL fan.

Does Diggs make the Patriots better? I suppose it is fair to say that he does.

But does Diggs make the Patriots a challenger? Will Drake Maye now reach franchise quarterback status? I doubt either of these things.

Michael:

I think my word is…hope?

By handing Diggs a contract worth $23 million APY, the Patriots are sure hoping that Diggs can return to form after his torn ACL took most of the 2024 season away from him. Before the injury, Diggs had hauled in 47 passes fro 496 yards and three touchdowns. That pace put him roughly on the path to his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season.

Diggs is 31 years old and a torn ACL is no joke, especially at that age. Recovery takes longer and for a receiver like Diggs that relies on his shiftiness and savvy route-running, there’s a chance he’s just not the same from here on.

Giving Drake Maye a receiver like Diggs definitely raises the floor of the Patriot offense, but I think the move just gives them an average offensive ceiling this season.

What would be the most chalk NFL final four?

Michael:

The NCAA Final Four was set over the weekend with all four No. 1 seeds surviving up to this point for just the second time in tournament history. Now when it comes to the NFL playoffs, it’s much more likely that the higher seeds end up making it deeper. Upsets still happen, but not nearly as often.

With that in mind, what would be the most chalk NFL final four to see on championship weekend?

I think I’d go with the Chiefs-Bills for the AFC and Eagles-Lions for the NFC at this very moment.

RJ:

Ultimately I agree with these four teams, so in the spirit of being a little different I will do it through the lens that college athletics are often viewed – bluebloods.

In my mind the most “blueblood” final four that the NFL could have would be the Pittsburgh Steelers meeting the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game with the Dallas Cowboys meeting the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

This features four of the league’s oldest teams and four of their most decorated champions. It is a perfect answer and if you disagree then I disagree with your disagreement.