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It’s been called the Tush Push, or the “Brotherly Shove.” The Eagles' unique rugby-esque short-yardage play has been unstoppable since it was implemented, and we’ve heard several NFL pundits rail about how the play should be outlawed.
But everyone’s favorite Jalen Hurts Hater, NFL analyst Chris Simms, took it to another, unhealthy level.
On Pro Football Talk with Mike Florio, Simms sailed into his opposition of the play, saying that his method of stopping it, if he was a defensive coach, would be to intentionally try to injure Hurts.
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SIMMS: If I was a defensive coach, I’d be going, ‘Go headhunting on the quarterback here. Go ahead, let him have it! Dive over, go crazy, try to kill the quarterback.’ That’s what I would do.
FLORIO: Ok. First of all –
SIMMS: I don’t mean it like that –
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FLORIO: I didn’t say that.
SIMMS: I did but I –
FLORIO: Second of all, that’s not what Chris means.
SIMMS: You know I don’t mean ‘kill,’ but I mean, just make him pay. Make him think twice about doing it.
Wow. Thanks for walking it back from “Try to kill the quarterback.”
In an NFL world rife with bad takes, this is especially awful. Your answer for trying to stop a play from succeeding is to deliberately injure a player? This is a man who was battered so terribly in a game that he ruptured his spleen to the point where his life was in danger, but yes, let’s try to take out a player because they’re running a play you can’t stop.
It wasn’t OK when the Eagles “allegedly” put bounties on players during the Buddy Ryan era. It wasn’t OK when the Saints did it a decade ago, evidenced by the head coach, the defensive coordinator, and the general manager getting suspended by the league. It’s still unacceptable to even suggest putting a hit out on players who risk injury every week.
Imagine advocating injuring your opponent because you can’t stop them from succeeding.
We get it. Simms doesn’t like Hurts. It’s been well-documented. Someday we hope he will tell us why. Saying you want to ban the play because it’s virtually unstoppable is petty. Implying that you want to injure Hurts because you can’t stop him is dangerous.
