https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10065946-dean-blandino-would-be-shocked-if-nfl-doesnt-ban-eagles-patented-qb-sneak

Dean Blandino Would Be 'Shocked' if NFL Doesn't Ban Eagles' Patented QB Sneak

Joseph Zucker February 16, 2023

The Philadelphia Eagles may have to find another way to give Jalen Hurts a boost on quarterback sneaks next season.

Dean Blandino, a rules analyst for Fox Sports, expects the league to address the Eagles' tactic of regularly lining up a player or two behind Hurts to push him forward on sneaks.

"I think the league is going to look at this, and I'd be shocked if they don't make a change," he said, per Paul Domowitch of The 33rd Team.

The tactic was on full display in Super Bowl LVII. Hurts got a helping hand on his two-yard run to pull the Eagles within two in the fourth quarter.

Blandino compared the play to "a rugby scrum" and said it's "just not a skillful play."

"This is just a tactic that is not an aesthetically pleasing play, and I think the competition committee is going to take a look at it," he said.

The Athletic's Kalyn Kahler provided a deep dive into Philadelphia's consistent success on sneaks and how the team was pushing the rule book to its boundary. She also spoke to a member of another team's analytics staff who hinted how the play could be mimicked by other teams.

"People have caught wind of it and seen that it's too successful not to implement on their own," the staffer said.

The NFL competition committee might look to get ahead of the situation as much as it can this offseason.

You knew it was coming with all the talk about it that continually increased as the season wore on and everyone saw it continue to work almost every time.  

44 minutes ago, Procus said:

This is just a tactic that is not an aesthetically pleasing play,

Ahem

It's 11 on 11...who cares if it's not "aesthetically pleasing"?  

Dean Blandino can suck my cheesesteak

 

So because we are bigger and more physical than the opposition we should be punished? So if we were faster and more agile we should be punished for that too? It's a freaking nonsense.

Honestly, they'll be opening up a big can of worms if they try to prevent this. You'll have to start penalizing other runs when a pile forms and a lineman tries to push the player or pile.