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Seth Wickersham
Debate over the tush push led to a heated trade between NFL house owners and league executives Wednesday morning in the course of the league assembly in Eagan, Minnesota, a number of sources with firsthand information instructed ESPN.
The dialogue occurred throughout of what’s referred to as a “common session,” which is attended by house owners and crew and league executives.
Philadelphia Eagles proprietor Jeffrey Lurie made an impassioned speech in protection of the play. The Eagles and the NFL declined remark, however sources near Lurie instructed ESPN that he had seen reviews from earlier within the day that the tush push was going to be banned, and so he figured the percentages of the play’s survival had been lengthy.
Towards the tip of a speech that lasted near an hour, Lurie made an analogy, telling the room that no matter whether or not the play was banned, it was a “win-win” for the Eagles, including that it was “like a moist dream for a teenage boy” to create a play that was so profitable that the one approach for it to be stopped was for it to be banned.”
After Lurie completed talking, government vp of soccer operations Troy Vincent chastised the Eagles proprietor for the “moist dream” remark, particularly for saying it in entrance of girls within the assembly.
Lurie spoke for a number of extra minutes, including that whoever voted to ban the play can be taking legal responsibility for placing quarterbacks in danger. He criticized NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Vincent for advocating the ban, including that he had spoken to NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills at size concerning the play.
Eagles assistant common supervisor John Ferrari and former Eagles star heart Jason Kelce, at the moment an ESPN analyst, addressed the room subsequent. Kelce stated that he would return to the NFL if he might run 60 tush pushes a sport.
Dallas Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones requested a number of questions, whereas Buffalo Payments proprietor Terry Pegula — a critic of the tush push — stated his crew was good on the play and nonetheless supported banning it.
An hour had handed when San Francisco 49ers proprietor Jed York requested Lurie “how way more s—” he wanted to say.
There have been a number of scattered laughs, however the room was quiet and tense. Goodell then adjourned to the “privileged session,” which is attended by house owners and high league executives. The ban failed by a vote of 22-10, falling two votes shy of the 24 wanted to ban it.
A number of league sources instructed ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Eagles officers walked out of the room “not understanding what to anticipate” and figured voting might go both approach.
The Eagles set out Wednesday to handle the notion that the tush push led to damage, with one supply telling Fowler that “there was no information” to recommend the play was unsafe.
Considered one of Kelce’s speaking factors was to dispel the rumor that he retired due to the tush push, sources instructed Fowler. Pittsburgh Steelers president Artwork Rooney II stated Kelce’s perspective was that the tush push “is a protected play, not one thing we have to fear about that a lot.”
Rooney additionally stated Kelce might have swayed groups that had been undecided on their vote, including that extra groups might embrace the tush push throughout their offseason practices, now that the play just isn’t going away.
Views on Kelce’s affect on the voting assorted, nevertheless, as one supply instructed ESPN’s Brooke Pryor that the previous Eagles heart’s speech was “generic.” Different sources described a “spirited” dialog sparked by Kelce.
When Jones identified potential points with the play, Kelce stated he understood the place the Cowboys proprietor was coming from and agreed on among the factors. A number of sources famous to Pryor that it was refreshing to listen to a few rule and its affect from a participant’s perspective, and it might result in extra gamers weighing in on important potential rule adjustments.
“Any play that is out of the peculiar will get further scrutiny due to the competitors,” Jones instructed Fowler. “That is the enjoyable a part of having these conferences, and right here we’re — the world champion is the primary focus of the tush push, and right here we’re debating it and having to determine, ‘Am I actually towards the tush push or do I simply need Philadelphia to [not] have an edge?’ And I sit there and combat that, too.”
Jones acknowledged to Fowler that he tends to “flip-flop” on the difficulty however added that after watching movie with Kelce, he admits that the Eagles’ “offensive line prowess is spectacular.”
