Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata has voiced some strong opinions on his team’s controversial ‘tush push’ play, which has swept the NFL over the past couple of weeks.
The ‘tush push’ or the ‘brotherly shove’ (a clever reference to Philadelphia’s nickname ‘the city of brotherly love’) is a legal play used in short yardage situations where quarterback Jalen Hurts receives help from two players in the backfield to keep drives alive or score
Plenty of former players and media members disagree with the legality of the play, believing it gives the offense an unfair advantage.
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Some have even suggested it resembles a rugby play, which angered Mailata, who out of most in the NFL, is best suited to comment on that opinion considering he grew up playing rugby union and rugby league in Australia.
Mailata believes comparing the ‘tush push’ to rugby union is a “disservice to the sport and the players that play rugby”.
“I think it’s bulls**t, pardon my language,” Mailata said on Philadelphia’s 94WIP Player Lounge Show.
“I just think that rugby is much tougher than a QB sneak, in my opinion. To call it a rugby play, I think you’re doing a disservice to the sport and the players that play rugby.
“I’m not for that just because of my history, just because rugby is a tough sport man…Don’t get me started when they compare it to a scrum. This is ridiculous.”
Mailata went onto say that the ‘tush push’ isn’t “unstoppable”.
“You watch the film you can see other teams run it too,” Mailata said.
“It’s tough man, I can understand why — I can see both sides of the argument. It’s hard for me to say, to agree with the guys who want it gone. I learned it as a football move and all of the sudden now they want to bring up rugby?”
Shifting to his on-field performance, Mailata hasn’t missed a beat for the 4-0 Eagles this season with much made about his “elite” display against the Vikings in Week 2.
Mailata is a part of an Eagles offensive line that has dominated the line of scrimmages and cleared the way for their running attack. Philadelphia’s 661 rushing yards is second in the NFL while the 43 rushing first downs is the best mark in the league.
Meanwhile, Jackonsville’s Adam Gotsis contributed to his side’s stout defensive effort against the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL’s first London game last week.
The Falcons struggled to score points in a 23-7 loss to the Jaguars
Gotsis is the team’s regular starter on the left edge. He has recorded seven tackles for the season.
Baltimore’s Daniel Faalele hasn’t seen much game time this season, only registering 36 snaps across four games, but his coach John Harbaugh is pleased with the second-year player’s development despite a rough showing against the Browns in Week 4.
From two snaps against Cleveland, the 172-kilogram Faalele allowed a sack and a QB hurry.
“I talked to Daniel on the plane last night and he’s pretty not happy with just two plays, which you appreciate that as a coach. You want to see the guys not happy with the plays they cna do better,” Harbaugh told reporters on Tuesday.
“You go back and watch the tape and I thought he played well.
“You got to keep chasing perfection and the more he plays the better he is going to get.”
PUNTER UPDATE
A familar name appeared in NFL box scores over the weekend for the first time in six seasons – Brad Wing.
Wing suited up for the Pittsburgh Steelers for their clash against the Texans, his first appearance in an NFL game since the 2017 season.
In regular starter Pressley Harvin’s absence with a hamstring injury, Wing didn’t look rusty, kicking five times for one inside 20 and an average of 47.4 yards.
Wing returned to the Steelers this season, after playing for them in 2014, originally signing with the practice squad on September 27 before quickly being promoted to the active roster.
Since the end of Wing’s three-year stint with the Giants six years ago, the Aussie has punted in the AAF (Alliance of American Football) and XFL leagues.
Saints punter Lou Hedley hasn’t had the greatest of starts to his career as an NFL punter, and could find himself on the hot seat with another couple of poor performances.
Hedley’s unlikely story of tattoo shop owner to NFL punter as a 30-year-old was praised by many, including The Rock, for his ‘road less travelled’ journey.
Unfortunately, Hedley is doing his future roster spot no favours and it isn’t going unnoticed by Saints fans.
He has had some decent moments this season, with his 8 inside 50s the fourth best figure in the league, but those good stats are being undone by a number of poor punts.
Elsewhere, Seattle are having no such issues with their Aussie Michael Dickson, who boomed a couple of huge punts on primetime against the Giants, including this 63-yarder which was downed on the opposition 2-yd line.
Dickson recorded three inside 50s against the Giants, increasing his total to five on the season.
He also leads the NFL in punt average with a whopping 53.5 yds (13 punts).
Last but certainly not least is 49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky.
Like we mentioned in our wrap a fortnight ago, the 49ers’ outstanding offense means Wishnowsky isn’t needed nearly as much as other punters with other teams are.
Still, he’s making the most of his limited opportunites, including this pinpoint punt against the Cardinals in Week 4.
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