“A Disservice to the Sport “ – Eagles Star Left Tackle Jordan Mailata Fires Back at ‘Tush-Push’ Critics in a Savage Take, Calls Them Out for Rugby Comparisons

The Philadelphia Eagles are currently on a great run, being the undefeated team in the league. However, the whole drama of their ‘Tush Push’ play isn’t looking to subside anytime soon. Everyone is constantly giving out their opinions. Some believe that the play should be banned by the NFL. Even in the last season, this play was deemed to be unstoppable where Jalen Hurts was pushed by two players from behind.

The Eagles have a 92% success rate with the ‘Tush Push’ and have been able to earn 31 first downs on QB sneaks in the last four weeks. However, Philadelphia is getting some criticism for executing such a play. Some even drew comparisons to the scrum and ruck used in Rugby. The Eagles have a different perspective on the play.

Jordan Mailata considers the rugby comparison to be demeaning

The Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata did not respond well to all the criticism. He doesn’t believe that the ‘Tush Push’ play is unstoppable. Moreover, he also hates the name given to the play. In addition, Jordan Mailata even disregarded a statement made about the ‘Tush Push’ where it was compared with one of the plays used in rugby.

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He said, “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.” These comments hit the Eagles Left Tackle home since he has been a rugby player in the past.

Moreover, Jordan Mailata explained that their success doesn’t have anything to do with the strategy. Instead, it’s because they have “the QB who can squat 600 pounds.”

Well, this discussion started because of the harsh statements made by the Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. He was responding to a question about his views about the Eagles’ ‘Tush Push’ play.

Sean Payton votes for the ban of ‘Tush Push’

Sean Payton had a conversation with the Fox Sports rule analyst Dean Blandino back in February. Just before that, the Broncos were going against the Eagles and couldn’t find a break in their offensive play. Well, the vocal HC Sean Payton wasn’t happy with the outcome and he, thus, compared the play to that of rugby.

Payton said, “It amounts to a rugby scrum. The NFL wants to showcase the athleticism and skill of our athletes. This is just not a skillful play.” Hence the frustration of Mailata, who has been a keen participant in the rugby game and considers it to be a very skillful sport. He even stated that rugby is way tougher than football when it comes to the intricacies of the sport.

Well, there are two sides to the debate, one side wants to ban the play, while the other side doesn’t seem to mind it much. In fact, the other side is pushing the defensive lineups to find a break in this play and start a revolution against the anarchy. What are your thoughts about this? Tell us in the comments section.

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