The San Francisco 49ers hope to beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, moving them closer to catching the 10-1 team for the top seed in the NFC playoff picture. They may need to design a scheme to neutralize one of Philadelphia’s most effective plays, the “tush push.”
The Eagles have been practically unstoppable with the “tush push” in short-yardage situations, gaining first downs on a consistent basis. Quarterback Jalen Hurts takes the snap with many players behind him, relying on those teammates to push from behind.
Kyle Shanahan, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, admits that his team will not commit time on the practice field to stopping the play. Instead, they will prioritize fundamentally sound football in the hopes of eliminating the play entirely.
When asked how the Eagles’ favorite play was being prepared, Shanahan remarked, “We’re going to do like 10 live reps of it today, see if I have anybody left after it.”
The coach highlighted that it is not something that can be practiced. So, how do you brace yourself for the potential of seeing the play on Sunday?
Kyle Shanahan, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, admits that his team will not commit time on the practice field to stopping the play. Instead, they will prioritize fundamentally sound football in the hopes of eliminating the play entirely.
When asked how the Eagles’ favorite play was being prepared, Shanahan remarked, “We’re going to do like 10 live reps of it today, see if I have anybody left after it.”
The coach highlighted that it is not something that can be practiced. So, how do you brace yourself for the potential of seeing the play on Sunday?
“You coach it up, tell them where we want guys, and stuff,” Shanahan said in response. “Not going to spend a lot of time on it, but we’re going to talk about it, show it, and do as good as we can.”
In a recent radio interview, defensive end Nick Bosa stated that he had no objections to the “tush push” as long as there are no injuries.
“I don’t know how they get so much push,” remarked Bosa. “So, when we get into it this week, I’ll definitely be watching tape on it.” But, yeah, I’m pleased with how effective they are at that, and we need to be good on first and second downs because you don’t want to deal with that too much during the game.”
“Honestly, I think if people are getting hurt, then I would be against it,” Bosa remarked. But if it doesn’t happen, more power to them.”
Linebacker Fred Warner didn’t want to reveal too much about his strategy for dealing with the “tush push,” but he did smile and said, “No secret sauce.” I can’t reveal my strategy just now. I don’t want to reveal too much, but we’ll try to have a plan in place for when they do run it.”
