Sean McDermott is talking out of both sides of his mouth with his stance on the NFL's most controversial play
The "Tush Push," "Brotherly Shove," or whatever you want to call the nearly unstoppable quarterback sneak play that the Philadelphia Eagles have perfected almost to the point of an unfair advantage in recent years has been a big point of discussion. Several teams have come forward looking to outlaw the play, citing health and safety […]
The "Tush Push," "Brotherly Shove," or whatever you want to call the nearly unstoppable quarterback sneak play that the Philadelphia Eagles have perfected almost to the point of an unfair advantage in recent years has been a big point of discussion. Several teams have come forward looking to outlaw the play, citing health and safety concerns.
The league has decided to table conversations about the play for now, with reports coming out that the vote in the room was an even split. The member of the NFL's Competition Committee that most surprisingly was against the play is Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott, especially since the Bills heavily use the same play.
“My biggest concern is the health and safety of the players, first and foremost. It’s added force and then the posture of the players being asked to execute that type of play. That’s where my concern comes in,” McDermott said, according to The Athletic.
“That’s not a healthy posture, to me. Then, when you add force to that posture, that’s concerning for me as to the health and safety of the players," McDermott added. "To me, (the Green Bay proposal) takes away the force. Traditional quarterback sneaks have been around for a long time. That’s the context of it that’s important. Then the pushing adds the force piece, and it exponentially raises my concern.”
Here's where I call foul. If McDermott is concerned first and foremost about the health and safety of the players, and he believes that the force of the added push from behind "exponentially raises his concern," then why is he utilizing it?
I love the quarterback sneak for what it accomplishes on the field. The Bills are really, really good at it. The Bills, much like the Eagles, have been wildly successful running their version of the tush push, and they've run it a lot. Philadelphia and Buffalo have run it a combined 163 times over the last three years. The rest of the league combined hasn't run it that much.
So, which one is it? Is the play safe and legal and dominant so you're going to keep using it, or is it a significant health and safety concern that would cause you to stop calling it entirely?
McDermott is talking out of both sides of his mouth. If he truly believes it's a concern, then every time he calls the push, he is directly saying with his actions that winning is more important than player safety. And that just doesn't sit right.
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