The Detroit Lions are preparing for a tough matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, which means they will almost certainly have to attempt to stop the tush push at some point. Dan Campbell insists he is not thinking about that, however.
During a Tuesday appearance on 97.1 The Ticket, Campbell was asked what the Lions are doing to prepare for the dreaded tush push. The coach downplayed the challenge.
“The tush push is the least of my concerns,” Campbell said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “I know it’s gonna show up and it’s a good play for them, but we’ve got a lot of other things we’ve got to defend before that.”
Campbell is among the minority of NFL head coaches who are not opposed to the tush push. The Lions were one of 10 teams that voted against banning the play over the offseason. Campbell said there is “nothing easy about defending” the tush push, but he feels there is only so much that can be done to prepare for it.
“You can’t really practice that per se, full speed. I’m not going to line our guys up and say we’re going to go 100 miles an hour on tush push eight times today,” Campbell explained. “It’s just more about the technique, how you want to defend it, what you want to do. We’ve got some pretty good dudes that know how to play with leverage.”
Campbell has suggested in the past that he embraces the challenge of trying to stop Jalen Hurts and other quarterbacks from successfully executing the tush push. It does not sound like his stance has changed much.
We have seen teams employ some interesting strategies when defending against the tush push this season, but the play remains effective
The Lions are 6-3 and in first place in the NFC North entering Week 11. The Eagles are leading the NFC East at 7-3. Sunday night’s game between the two teams could very well wind up being a playoff preview.
