After the Philadelphia Eagles won this past season's Super Bowl, the rest of the NFL decided it was time to revisit discussions about the team's signature play, the tush push. There was momentum to get the play banned entirely at this week's owners meetings, on the basis it is a health risk despite NFL data showing no players have gotten hurt by the play since it became popular. However, that momentum didn't prove to be enough and the subject was tabled until at least May.

On Tuesday, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie got his opportunity to take the stand and defend the Tush Push as a fair play and not one that should be outlawed. He certainly took advantage, going on a long, passionate defense of his team's go-to play in short yardage situations; Lurie's primary point is that it isn't a football hack but rather a play that requires the same level of skill and practice as any other.

"There's just been no data that shows it isn't a very, very safe play," Lurie said. "If it weren't, we wouldn't be pushing the tush push. First of all, it's a precision play. It's very practiced. We devote a lot of resources to the tush push. ... It's a play that's available to every other team in the league. I think it hasn't been used more than five times by almost every team in the league, Buffalo is an exception. The usage rate has gone down over the last year dramatically in the league. We're still very good at it. We're not as good as we were the year before. We've got to keep, you know, adapt.

"For all of us that have followed NFL football over the decades, there's an ebb and flow to offense and defense... I don't ever remember a play being banned because a single team or a few teams were running it effectively. As part of what I think most of us love about football is the chess match. Let the chess match play out."

It is a strong argument, and one we'll hear plenty of before the next referendum comes in May.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Eagles Owner Passionately Defends Tush Push Play As NFL Debate Continues.

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