After voting for a proposal that would've outlawed the Philadelphia Eagles' infamous "Tush Push" play this past offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers may soon use it themselves.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who is a member of the NFL's Competition Committee that, "reviews all competitive aspects of the game, including (but not limited to) playing rules, roster regulations, technology, game-day operations and player protection," per the league's official website, stated that he has considered deploying the "Tush Push".
When asked if he would a non-quarterback as part of the play, Tomlin opted not to dive into further detail on the matter as to not openly disclose pertinent information to future opponents.
"I'm not going to get into strategy detail," Tomlin said. "You guys come to practice, you see what we do. You guys are trying to get me on record. Next."
Another follow-up question was asked regarding whether or not Tomlin would feel comfortable having Aaron Rodgers take extra hits on quarterback sneaks, to which he appeared to downplay any concerns on that matter.
"Aaron is a very, very durable and tough and tough-minded guy," Tomlin said. "I don't worry about him uniquely per his position."
The Buffalo Bills are the only team outside of the Eagles who have utilized the "Tush Push" with any level of regularity or true success, but others have certainly attempted to follow suit in the past with little to show for it.
Given just how instrumental the play has become to Philadelphia's dominance over the last handful of seasons, however, it comes as no surprise that Tomlin and the Steelers are potentially interested in giving it a try somewhere down the line.
The Green Bay Packers submitted a proposal aimed at outright banning the "Tush Push", though it fell just short of passing when it was voted on at the NFL's spring meetings in May.
Pittsburgh, as previously mentioned, voted in favor of Green Bay's proposition, though Tomlin stated at the time that penalizing the Eagles for being innovative felt a bit unfair while also noting the safety concerns that have arisen as the play has become more prominent.
"The first time I saw it, I couldn't believe it was legal," Tomlin said. "That being said, you hate to be against it because when people are innovative, you want to respect that, and so there's certainly been some teams that have been more innovative then the rest of us in that regard. You hate to penalize them for it, but again, we got into the discussion on the field goal block because of player safety, and so that's still remains to be a component of the discussion."
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