PFT sheds light on the real reason the Green Bay Packers proposed banning the tush push.
When the news broke that the Green Bay Packers were shopping a rule change to the league that would ban the tush push (the infamous quarterback-sneak-adjacent play made notorious by the Philadelphia Eagles), the reaction from many pundits and opposing fans was swift.
“Sour grapes.”
“Wimpy.”
“Hate the play? Learn how to stop it on the field.”
But the idea that the Packers’ coaching staff and front office were so annoyed by the play that they’d seek to ban it just never held water, in my opinion. It instantly reeked of back-room conversations at the highest levels, and on today’s edition of Zach Takes A Victory Lap, it turns out that was pretty much right on.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio is now reporting that “the league office wanted to get rid of the play. For whatever reason, the league decided not to propose the measure through the normal procedure but to create the impression that one specific team decided to push for no tush push.”
Think of it this way: if you’re “the league,” or a subset of NFL owners and execs, and you happen to think a play is annoying and not in keeping with the desired NFL aesthetic, but you worry that a team would be perceived as pitiful for rallying to ban the play, who do you recruit to be the proxy?
Enter Mark Murphy, literally the only executive in the league in a position to take the heat. Why? Because not only is he not an actual owner, but thanks to age limits in Green Bay’s own governing policies, he’s retiring. Consider it one last favor before Murphy rides off into the sunset.
Sour grapes? Nah. The mechanics of political capital and back-room dealings at work? Yep.
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