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The Latest Pathetic Excuse for Banning the Tush Push is that the Refs Aren’t Officiating it Properly
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Predictable, but sad:
It’s going to be exhausting. This week, people will try to convince you that the tush push should be banned because the best refs in all of football can’t do their jobs properly. Not because it’s a dangerous play, mind you. No. Not because of “pace of play.” The new argument for banning the tush push is that the referees can’t officiate it properly, therefore it should just go away.
What’s particularly funny about this pitiful take is that most of the infractions are happening before the snap. You can talk all you want about the difficulty of seeing the ball in the pile, and determining when and where forward momentum is stopped, but, in theory, it should not be difficult to determine if the Eagles are false starting, or if the opponent is lined up in the neutral zone. Do the Eagles get to the line quickly and snap the ball quickly? They sure do. But the refs are right there with the perfect side-angle view, and when you look at any still shot before the ball is snapped, there are infractions happening all over the place. So the solution to the problem seems obvious. Just throw the flag! Yet they aren’t doing it.
By the way, the viral video of the Eagles’ guards going early on the touchdown push? Don’t forget to mention that Jalen Hurts was IN on the previous play, and the only reason that false start video exists is because the zebras decided this wasn’t a score:
Banning the tush push because the refs are doing their jobs correctly is one of the weakest and most logically-flawed arguments you will ever hear. Imagine applying this general line of thinking to other things.
“These burger flippers at McDonald’s aren’t flipping the burgers properly, so I guess we should just get rid of burgers.”
“These car mechanics don’t know how to install brakes properly, so I guess we should just not install brakes.”
“These police officers aren’t reading Miranda Rights properly, so let’s just get rid of Miranda Rights.”
It’s so bad. Misdirected ire. If you don’t like the way the refs are officiating this play, go complain to the refs. Tell them to start doing their jobs properly. Stop bitching at the Eagles and Eagles fans. You’re barking up the wrong tree.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com