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With the conversation about banning the Tush Push play, made popular by the Philadelphia Eagles, one player on the team criticizes the attempt to get rid of it. As some have many questions regarding the Eagles and the Tush Push, no doubt running back Saquon Barkley feels it's being made to be a bigger deal than it already is made out to be.
NFL owners met to vote on the Tush Push play, with the ban failing to pass, meaning the play will live on for another season, but even the principle of attempting to get rid of it is “soft” in the eyes of Barkley, according to USA Today.
“I think it’s soft, to be honest,” Barkley said. “Everybody can do it. It’s not a play that we only can do. We happen to have one of the best and biggest O-lines, and Jalen Hurts can squat 600 pounds. That’s not our fault.”
Besides his elite talent, Barkley benefits from Philadelphia's productive offensive line, which is a major variable in the Tush Push play, which acts as a glorified quarterback sneak. The call has been highly successful for the Eagles, and while other teams have attempted it, Barkley believes the attempt to ban was targeted.
“Josh Allen is super big, they’re not successful with it,” Barkley said. (The Bills use a different version of it, and they’re the only other team whose success compares to Philly’s.) “Lamar Jackson is one of the best running quarterbacks of all time, they’re not successful with it. So it’s not something that everyone can’t do. Them trying to eliminate it, I think that’s kind of lame.”
Eagles' Saquon Barkley further defends the Tush Push
While many have defended the Eagles and the Tush Push play, it's important to look at the number of teams that voted to keep it and the ones that wanted to ban it. 10 teams voted to keep, nine if you take out Philadelphia, with seven of them in the AFC, as Barkley points out that the ones who chose against it are the teams that the team will see.
“And the teams that want to get rid of it are the teams that gotta see us two or three times a year,” Barkley said.
“Everybody can do it, there's no health issue, why are we talking about the tush push, let's make sure everybody's contract is guaranteed,” Barkley continued.
Subsequently, there is the argument that the Tush Push play is a serious health risk for football players, but he believes that the normal quarterback sneak should be banned as well if that's the case.
“We play the hardest sport of all of them,” Barkley said. “Not saying like technical wise, but physicality wise. There's no reason why we put our bodies on the line, our minds, our brains on the line. It should be fully guaranteed, in my opinion.”
At any rate, Philadelphia looks to win back-to-back Super Bowls this upcoming season as they open the year against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 4.
