The Tush Push isn’t the only way the Eagles might be pushing the NFL rulebook to its limit.
During last week’s win over the Titans, Philadelphia special teams coordinator Michael Clay had punter Braden Mann hold the ball on the ground on kickoffs rather than use a tee, taking advantage of a rule that allows a 12th player to serve as the holder before immediately leaving the field after the kick.
The move, Clay said, was something the Eagles picked up from the Falcons and gave kicker Jake Elliott a different launch angle, allowing him to get off a so-called “dirty ball,” which comes off low and knuckles.
“Something different, something we noticed from Week 1,” Clay said, according to NJ.com. “I believe Atlanta did it with [kicker] Nick Folk, and it just gave us a different opportunity, a different launch angle and they executed pretty well in terms of [kicker] Jake [Elliott] and Braden Mann holding on that. We’re always looking for ways to help the team in any way we possibly can. It’s a different technique, and we’ll see if we keep using that as the year goes on.”
Elliott said the setup gives him more control over the ball and a more consistent way to execute the kick.
“I like the repeatability of it,” Elliott said, via Crossing Broad. “Just the way I was able to kind of make the ball move in the air and like what I was able to accomplish with it.”
The Bears, who will welcome the Eagles to Chicago on Monday, aren’t having it.
Chicago special teams coordinator Richard Hightower questioned whether the tactic fits the intent of the rule ahead of the matchup.
“The intent of the rule is the ball is supposed to be in a tee when you have a holder out there,” Hightower said, per NBC Sports. “It’s not to be used like you’ve seen it used here lately.”
Originally, the provision was intended for weather-related situations, such as when strong winds made it difficult to keep the ball upright on a tee.
But when the NFL introduced the dynamic kickoff two years ago, the language was loosened to allow a holder on any kickoff without explicitly requiring the ball to remain on a tee, which created a gray area that teams have begun to exploit.
Hightower said clarity on the rule could be coming soon, with updated language that requires teams to put the ball on a tee.
“We’re all getting together on that shortly, and we hope to get that fixed and corrected within the language of everything done in the rulebook,” Hightower said.
