For years, teams were not allowed by rule to assist a runner by pushing, pulling, or carrying them. But in 2005, the NFL made the penalty only for pulling and carrying.
Since then, it has become common for linemen or other players to get behind a runner to give them an extra boost to secure a touchdown or extra yardage to get a first down. Many teams don’t even hide the fact that they are leaving one or two players behind the ball carrier with no other purpose than to run up and shove them in the back when the ball is snapped.
That highly effective play will still be seen during the 2023 season.
According to Pro Football Talk, the set of proposed rule changes that will be discussed and voted on during next week’s owners’ meetings won’t include placing on ban on players who push ball carriers.
“Unless the owners do it on their own (and at least 24 in all agree with the move), the play will continue to fair game,” PFT’s Mike Florio wrote.
Teams are only just beginning to exploit this hole in the rulebook, using it just in short-yardage situations. You can only imagine that teams will eventually place two or three 300-pound linemen behind a ball carrier to gain an even bigger advantage before the NFL finally decides to outlaw it.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
With so many rules in place to help out the offense already, it does not appear that the NFL wants to take this away, which makes it even harder for defenses to do their job.
