Two New York Giants Stars Get Hurt on ‘Tush Push’ Play Against Seattle Seahawks
Two New York Giants Stars Get Hurt on ‘Tush Push’ Play Against Philadelphia Seahawks
Two New York Giants Stars Get Hurt on 'Tush Push' Play Against Philadelphia Seahawks
During Monday night’s 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, two New York Giants players were injured on a single play.
On the Giants’ opening drive, center John Michael Schmitz and tight end Daniel Bellinger left the game after a failed fourth-and-one rush. The “tush push” rush play is widely recognized as being popularized by Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
It was revealed by Giants head coach Brian Daboll that quarterback Daniel Jones’ failed attempt to gain a first down resulted in injuries to both Schmitz’s shoulder and Bellinger’s knee. On Tuesday, both will be tested.
Daboll also noted that the “tush push” was not a play that had been practiced in a game setting.
To paraphrase, “You walk through it,” he remarked. It’s not the same as a real practice session. We were able to accomplish this. Not on that particular one, though.
The play call “just felt that was the right thing to do,” Daboll said when asked about the choice. Those are topics we discuss frequently during the week. We discussed the situation as we traveled to our destination. I was at peace with the choice I’d made. I enjoyed the play and found it relaxing.
In order to gain ground or score a touchdown, the play has been executed as a sneak with men lined up in the backfield pressing the quarterback forward.
Former players like Richard Sherman have called the NFL’s treatment of the “tush push” a double standard, while Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has told teams that aren’t fans to simply halt the play.
Former NFL player J.J. Watt thinks the Eagles wouldn’t be impacted by a rule against the play.
The Eagles were the most successful team in history at using the “tush push” to advance the ball and score a touchdown, going 37 for 41 on such plays last season.
Can we expect to see more of this play? The amount of talk about it has increased, but the league shows no signs of wanting to make a change. Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL Competition Committee, has said that there is not enough information about injuries caused by the “tush push” for the topic to be discussed at the owners’ meeting.
Since the “tush push” is here to stay, teams should heed Sirianni’s counsel and figure out how to stop it.
