You've heard the saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Well what if you can't join 'em? What if you're not physically or mentally capable of joining in? What would you do then? Well, if you were the Green Bay Packers you'd probably throw a temper tantrum and make up a bogus reason to ruin the good times for everyone out of sheer envy.
If this totally hypothetical and not real situation strikes a nerve with you, maybe it's because it's the exact situation the Philadelphia Eagles find themselves in with the banning of the tush push. If it feels like the "can't beat 'em, join 'em" crowd is coming from a place of dishonesty, you'd be right. And Adam Schefter all but confirmed it.
Schefty dropped this truth bomb on 97.5 The Fanatic that exposed the anti–tush push crowd as complete frauds:
“I believe there are people in the league that are jealous of the Eagles' success. I believe there are people that can’t duplicate the Eagles’ success. I believe the commissioner and others don’t like the play, and I believe the play is going to go away."
Duh.
This was never about fairness. It was always about failure.
Since the ban was put in motion, it's felt like jealousy was the true culprit the entire time. Not safety. Not style of play. Not pace of play. Jealousy. What a sham.
Authored by the Packers, the ban was put to a vote with half the league voting in favor of removing the play from the game. The NFL requires a minimum of 24 votes to approve a rule change, so while the Eagles dodge the bullet for now, that doesn't mean bad news isn't on the way. It's assumed the topic will likely be revisited in May when the owners meet during their spring meeting in Minnesota.
Schefter scooped that as well:
"I’m not telling you it is right – I didn’t think it was going to go this way. I didn’t think it was going to happen, but it gathered up momentum and I believe those people have the support of the commissioner. I don’t know how he is going to do it, but he’s going to find the eight votes he needs to get to 24 [votes against the tush push]. I’m just telling you that’s what’s going to happen.”
It paints a pretty messed-up picture. If Green Bay somehow flips eight votes in two months, the Eagles should demand a full-scale investigation. That screams ‘fishy.’
In complete transparency and honesty, it feels like it's curtains for the tush push. The sooner Philly fans can acknowledge it, the easier it'll be come May when the inevitable happens. However the Packers get the votes, Philadelphia's fight to keep the play in the game seems futile.
At the end of the day, jealousy, lies, and deceit win out—and everyone knows it.