Current:Home > StocksStop whining about Eagles' 'Brotherly Shove.' It's beautiful. Put it in the Louvre. -Wealth Navigators Hub
Stop whining about Eagles' 'Brotherly Shove.' It's beautiful. Put it in the Louvre.
Benjamin Ashford View
Date:2025-04-10 03:17:12
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! (867)
Related
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Francesca Farago Reveals Her Emotional Experience of Wedding Dress Shopping
- Survivor host Jeff Probst previews season 45 and reveals what makes a great player
- Jason Ritter Shares How Amazing Wife Melanie Lynskey Helped Him Through Sobriety Journey
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- Jonathan Van Ness tears up in conversation with Dax Shepard about trans youth: 'I am very tired'
- The dystopian suspense 'Land of Milk and Honey' satisfies all manner of appetites
- Nearly 600 days since Olympic skater's positive drug test revealed, doping hearing starts
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Fantasy baseball awards for 2023: Ronald Acuña Jr. reigns supreme
Ranking
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Nigeria’s government worker unions announce third strike in two months
- Prosecutor says theory that 2 slain Indiana teens died in ritual sacrifice is made for social media
- Nearly 600 days since Olympic skater's positive drug test revealed, doping hearing starts
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Major Pfizer plant in North Carolina restarts production 10 weeks after tornado damage
- Barry Manilow just broke Elvis's Las Vegas record
- Martin Scorsese decries film franchises as 'manufactured content,' says it 'isn't really cinema'
Recommendation
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
Spain charges pop singer Shakira with tax evasion for a second time and demands more than $7 million
As climate change and high costs plague Alaska’s fisheries, fewer young people take up the trade
Bruce Willis' Daughter Scout Honors Champion Emma Heming Willis Amid His Battle With FTD
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Martin Scorsese decries film franchises as 'manufactured content,' says it 'isn't really cinema'
Phoebe Dynevor Reveals What She Learned From Past Romance With Pete Davidson
5 numbers to watch for MLB's final week: Milestones, ugly history on the horizon