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00:00It seemed like everyone was arguing the most about the tush-push.
00:05Yeah, Scott, covering these meetings for 27 years off and on, I could tell you that
00:11talking to coaches that were there and front office people,
00:15I've not seen something so hotly discussed.
00:18And it was really interesting.
00:21So I'm going to give you the CliffsNotes version, but I can go back to the combine.
00:24So I was told by a high-ranking NFL official there was no momentum at all
00:29for even discussion over because it was player safety checked off.
00:33There was no increased risk.
00:34The league knew this based on their stats, their injury data.
00:39So there was no movement.
00:40But there was the thing that there were two arguments, right?
00:45One was player safety check.
00:46There was none of that.
00:48But the big thing, Scott, was this.
00:50Is it a football play, the push play that the Eagles run?
00:53And by the way, the Bills also run it, too, and a couple of other teams.
00:56But the question is, is it a football play?
01:01Because you're pushing the quarterbacks back, okay?
01:07For decades, it was an illegal play.
01:09Now, 20 years ago, for whatever reason, the NFL removed the language that would ban it.
01:15So the Eagles figured this out.
01:16Nick Sirianni was chief among them, the head coach.
01:18And they put it in.
01:19They became experts at it.
01:21What I find funny is they were not as successful last year.
01:25The other teams started to catch up with it a little bit.
01:28They were still dominant at it, but really good at it.
01:32And the other part about it, and let's call it like it is, because I could tell you from
01:35talking to coaches about it from other teams, there's a little bit of competitive jealousy.
01:40Yes, you can debate.
01:41And I think it's a fair discussion whether it's a legal play or not, whether it's a
01:46competitive advantage, but by a player in the back, which for decades you were not allowed
01:51to do.
01:52But the other part of it is, look at the Packers who complain about it, Scott.
01:56The Eagles took them out this year in the playoffs.
01:58They beat them in the first game in Brazil, okay?
02:01You got the Rams who haven't beaten the Eagles in a long time.
02:04The Eagles took them out in the playoffs.
02:06They dominated them in LA when they went there in the past two seasons.
02:10That's part of it.
02:11Let's call it like it is.
02:12They'll never admit that, obviously.
02:14But there's a belief around the league there's some competitive jealousy.
02:17I have no problem with people arguing whether it should be a legal play, because if you
02:22you're pushing a player in the back, defensive players can't do that.
02:24I get that.
02:25But the bottom line is you can blame the NFL.
02:27Why did they take the language out 20 years ago?
02:30That's ridiculous.
02:31So this has been a big thing for general managers, for head coaches, and owners.
02:38Now, what I find funny is, Scott, is Roger Goodell, who's kind of like Switzerland.
02:42He's always in the middle.
02:43He doesn't want to take sides.
02:45He started talking about this week.
02:48Clearly, there's a movement within the owners to ban this thing again.
02:52And by the way, that's why it's been tabled.
02:55It's been tabled until the May meetings.
02:58And Scott, look, half the league, they didn't take a vote on it.
03:02It's been tabled.
03:03But clearly, the word around the league is at least half the league will vote against it.
03:07And by the way, the Commanders are against it.
03:10The Cowboys are against it.
03:13And the Giants are against it, obviously.
03:16Because they play them.
03:18They play them and they lose to them.
03:20And let me tell you something.
03:22Here's the deal.
03:24I agree with everything you've said.
03:26The only thing that I think that, frankly, I have a problem with is,
03:29if you can shove from the offensive side, you should be able to shove from the defensive side.
03:34Secondly, here's the problem.
03:37If you're such a badass, why can't you stop it?
03:43No one can stop it.
03:44They're all a bunch of pansy ass.
03:46They get pushed around and they don't like it.
03:49And they can't stop it.
03:50If you can't stop it, you lose.
03:53It's no different than, you couldn't stop Michael Jordan, you lose.
03:57You know, it's funny on what you just said.
03:59Kevin Stefanski, the Browns head coach, has been on the record twice saying that
04:03it's a good play.
04:04We just have to stop it.
04:07John Harbaugh, who's been involved, who was one of the best special teams coaches
04:11for many years before he became the Ravens head coach,
04:14he went on record saying it's not a problem.
04:16I mean, we just have to stop it.
04:18So again, I think the competitive jealousy part, I think that's real.
04:22I don't think there's any question about it.
04:23You know, and in the end, Scott, it's going to be voted out.
04:27There's no question.
04:28When the commissioner goes on record, it questions whether it should be a play or not.
04:33This has got to be coming from the owners.
04:35He works on the behest of the owners.
04:37If it doesn't happen in May, it's going to happen at some point over the next couple
04:41of years.
04:41It's just the way it is, Scott.
04:43But it's amazing when a team is this dominant.
04:47Like, think of it this way, Scott.
04:48If the Raiders were the team that was successful with it, do you think anyone would care?
04:52No, of course not.
04:53Just the Eagles are an elite team, and that's part of it.