Ban on Tush Push, one of the eight rule change proposals put forth by teams.
As customary, the NFL will take a look at all the proposed rule changes for the upcoming season at the end of this month. An annual meeting is held where proposals from teams require a 75% vote which means 24 of the 32 teams must agree in order for the proposal to pass through. Teams proposing rule changes also have to provide proper justification as to why they want to see it being implemented.
Multiple teams have put forth various changes they would like to see implemented by the league, but one of the most intriguing ones of all is the ban on the so-called ‘Tush Push’ or the ‘Brotherly Shove’ made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles. Let us dive deeper into all the rule changes proposed by teams for this year.
The Green Bay Packers have formally submitted their proposal to ban the “Tush Push”, a play that has worked wonders for the Eagles on short-yardage situations in 3rd and even 4th downs. Some of the other teams have also tried it, but haven’t had as much success as the Eagles.
In any case, the Packers have stated that “No offensive player may…immediately at the snap, push or throw his body against a teammate, who was lined up directly behind the snapper and received the snap, to aid him in an attempt to gain yardage.”
The reasoning behind this proposal by the Packers is “player safety” and “pace of play”. If this rule gets approved, then it would result in a 10-yard penalty which is the same penalty handed out for other violations in which an offensive player illegally assists the ball carrier.
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This proposal has been put forth by the Philadelphia Eagles who want the overtime rules in the regular season to mimic those in the postseason. The reasoning behind this is that in the regular season, if a team scores a touchdown with the first possession of overtime, the other team does not get a chance to touch the ball.
In the postseason, the league did away with this rule in the postseason in 2022, and now even if the first overtime possession results in a touchdown, the other team gets a chance to respond. If both teams score a touchdown, then the next team to score points is the winner.
Currently, the overtime period in the regular season is just 10 minutes while that in the postseason is 15. If one team takes 7 or 8 minutes to score a touchdown, there is not enough time for the other team to score, thus the Eagles have also proposed to increase the regular season overtime period to 15 minutes. Philadelphia’s reasoning for this rule change is that it will provide ‘competitive equality’.
This rule change proposal is put forth by the Detroit Lions who want to see the league do away with the offense getting automatic first down as a result of an illegal contact or holding penalty by the defense. The Lions have not mentioned any concerns with regard to how these penalties are called, their issue lies solely in the fact that it results in an automatic first down. Their reasoning behind the proposed change is “Competitive equity. Current penalty enforcement is too punitive for the defense.”
Another rule change put forth by the Lions deals with the way playoff teams are currently seeded. Presently, all division winners receive seeds 1-4 automatically depending on their record, and all wild card teams receive seeds 5-7 even if they have better records than other division winners. All division winners will still make the postseason in this proposal, the only change will be their seeding in case wild card teams have better records.
The Lions described this proposal as “Competitive equity. Provides excitement and competition in late-season games. Rewards the best-performing teams from the regular season.”
A great example of this is the Minnesota Vikings who won 14 games and lost just 3 last season but still received the 5th seed since the Lions won the NFC North. Had this rule existed, then Minnesota would have jumped to 3rd seed last season.
Multiple teams have requested additional time to prepare kicking balls which currently can be done only on game day. On the contrary, teams are allowed to prepare game balls one day in advance. The reason for implementing this rule is that it would “eliminate a burdensome and unnecessary process on game day.”
This rule change proposal has been put forth by the Pittsburgh Steelers who wish to be able to contact free agents directly during the 2-day tampering period. Currently, teams can only get in touch with agents and not players during the said period. The Steelers’ reasoning behind the same is that it would be “competitively fairer.”
Detroit has also asked for a change with respect to injured reserve players being counted against the 90-man roster limit. The Lions want these players to not count against the roster limit unless they are scheduled to make a return. The reasoning for the same given by Detroit is “roster flexibility”.
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This is a proposal put forth by the Washington Commanders who want more time and opportunities to be able to scout potential playoff opponents once a team has already qualified for the postseason. Their reasoning is that it will “provide clubs with greater flexibility to scout potential postseason opponents.”
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