Tom Brady possesses a wealth of skills as a quarterback that makes him one of the best players in NFL history. Perhaps the most overlooked thing about him is his ability to successfully complete quarterback sneaks. If it’s a short-yardage situation, he’s almost unstoppable for one yard.
Armed with this knowledge, he has some advice, and possibly a warning, for quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles’ use of the “Tush Push.”
The Eagles revolutionized the quarterback sneak in the modern game by lining up tight and really pushing Hurts forward. They have conducted it more than 30 times in the past two seasons, with a success rate of 92%. They’re so good at the game that there’s even talk of banning it in the NFL.
But since no other team has been able to pull it off as consistently as the Eagles, it still stands.
Brady sees some potential long-term issues and believes the Eagles may need to make adjustments.
He addressed the topic on his “Let’s Go” podcast (h/t A to Z Sports).
“My only concern in that game was, they all know what happens when you line up and the quarterback is going to take a lot of shots,” he said. “I don’t know how many times you want your quarterback to throw the ball. So, yes, it’s effective for gaining a yard, but one day when someone hits the quarterback on the right shoulder, it might not be effective because They know it’s coming. So you might have some short-term gain and you might have some long-term pain.”
He went on to add that to help keep Hurts healthy, they may need to make some kind of adjustments to the way games are played to make them less predictable or simply less frequent.
Other teams have tried to incorporate it into their play-calling this season, but the Eagles are the only team that has been able to do it so consistently. It’s not just the force or impetus of the injury that makes it work. The Eagles’ offensive line also excels at rushing the line of scrimmage.
Brady’s words are certainly fair and come from a professional perspective, but it seems unlikely that they’ll stop doing that anytime soon until Hurts actually gets hurt or starts to fail them.