Current:Home > MarketsStop whining about Eagles' 'Brotherly Shove.' It's beautiful. Put it in the Louvre. -FundSphere
Stop whining about Eagles' 'Brotherly Shove.' It's beautiful. Put it in the Louvre.
Benjamin Ashford View
Date:2025-04-11 04:39:47
Rarely in the history of the NFL has such a simple and smart play caused so much consternation, examination and whining. Seriously, it's time for everyone to shut up and stop complaining about the Brotherly Shove.
Yes, I'm telling you to shut up as I write about it. What I mainly mean is there seems to a large swath of the league ecosystem looking down its nose at the play. Like it's that uncle who comes to the barbecue and drinks too much. Or, others in the NFL who want it banned, only because they can't stop it.
The play is actually a genius coaching tactic that takes advantage of the best offensive line in football and a brilliant quarterback who can bench small cars. Check that. Big cars.
Some people actually get what the play is. It's a cheat code. A really good one.
"The Eagles have the best offensive line in football, so yes it’s a cheat code," Cowboys defensive star Micah Parsons told Bleacher Report. "They’re unstoppable at it. They have a quarterback who is squatting 600 and knows how to move his legs. So yes, it’s OD. We just have to deal with it. We have to adjust, we have to prepare to stop it."
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Parsons understands but others apparently don't. There's been constant complaining about it from all parts of the NFL world. From fans. From ex-game officials. From others. If your team was doing it, you would love it. But it's not so people complain.
"I think the league is going to look at this, and I’d be shocked if they don’t make a change," said Dean Blandino, a rules analyst for Fox Sports and The 33rd Team, in February.
Blandino, the league's vice president of officiating from 2013 to 2017, added this: "It amounts to a rugby scrum. The NFL wants to showcase the athleticism and skill of our athletes. This is just not a skillful play. This is just a tactic that is not an aesthetically pleasing play, and I think the competition committee is going to take a look at it."
What the NFL wants to showcase are teams that win and the Eagles are 5-0. They are unbeaten because of a great pass thrower, talent across the roster, and a coaching staff that knows how to deploy that talent. But also in part because of the Brotherly Shove. It is the special forces of offensive plays.
It is a tactic. That's true. But so is a screen pass. Or a running play. Football is full of "tactics." Some work. Some do not. Not all are pleasing to the eye. Football isn't played in the Louvre. But put this play in there.
Brotherly Shove: Undefeated Eagles plan to run successful play as long as it's legal
ESPN's Adam Schefter, the information guru, reported on Sunday that the NFL and NFLPA plan to examine all of the injury data related to the play. However, there's no indication the play causes excessive injury risk. It's possible the play might and we just don't know it yet. There were two New York Giants players injured on a failed such sneak but that wasn't about the play being dangerous; it was because the Eagles have spent years doing it, practicing it, and using their unique personnel to execute it. And by the way, the Giants coach admitted the team didn't practice the play before using it.
If you're unfamiliar with the Brotherly Shove, it's also commonly called the "Tush Push." It's a variation of the quarterback sneak where two players line up behind the quarterback and literally push his backside forward. Again, this play isn't as simple as some make it out to be. That's why Giants players got hurt on it. It does require some skill and practice. It's the football equivalent of deadlifting. You can be strong but it really helps to have technique as well.
If it's banned, it will be only because teams don't know how to stop it (yet), or because they can't replicate it as skillfully as the Eagles do (yet), or perhaps both.
I'm also highly suspicious of talk about the league doing things for player safety, when the NFL plays games on fields that aren't safe.
To me, so much of this smacks of pettiness and jealously. There may be people genuinely concerned about safety issues but this seems more about what Blandino said. How some in the league don't like how it looks. An even bigger reason is that teams can't do it as effectively as Philadelphia does and they want it gone because of that.
I'd want it gone, too, if I had to play against it. It's a huge force right now. The Eagles used the play several times against the Rams on Sunday and even with one of the best interior linemen of all time in Aaron Donald trying to stop it, the Rams, like other teams, were completely helpless.
The Eagles have crafted a huge advantage. Good for them.
Don't whine. Don't ban it. Figure out a way to stop it.
veryGood! (6765)
Related
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Caitlin Clark returns to action: How to watch Fever vs. Wings on Sunday
- Murder on Music Row: Corrupt independent record chart might hold key to Nashville homicide
- Giving up pets to seek rehab can worsen trauma. A Colorado group intends to end that
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Brionna Jones scores season-high 26 points as Sun beats Storm 93-86
- Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese sets WNBA single-season rebounds record
- Is the stock market open or closed on Labor Day? See full 2024 holiday schedule
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- American road cyclist Elouan Gardon wins bronze medal in first Paralympic appearance
Ranking
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- 4 killed, 2 injured in Hawaii shooting; shooter among those killed, police say
- Defending champion Coco Gauff loses in the U.S. Open’s fourth round to Emma Navarro
- Border arrests are expected to rise slightly in August, hinting 5-month drop may have bottomed out
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- College football schedule today: Games, scores for Saturday's Week 1 top 25 teams
- Is Usha Vance’s Hindu identity an asset or a liability to the Trump-Vance campaign?
- Why is ABC not working on DirecTV? Channel dropped before LSU-USC amid Disney dispute
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
ESPN networks, ABC and Disney channels go dark on DirecTV on a busy night for sports
Tyrese opens up about '1992' and Ray Liotta's final role: 'He blessed me'
Venice Film Festival welcomes Pitt and Clooney, and their new film ‘Wolfs’
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
Thousands of US hotel workers strike over Labor Day weekend
New page for indie bookstores: Diverse, in demand, dedicated to making a difference
2024 US Open is wide open on men's side. So we ranked who's most likely to win