{"id":197980,"date":"2025-10-05T20:36:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T01:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=197980"},"modified":"2025-10-06T07:44:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T12:44:51","slug":"monday-mailbag-short-yardage-tush-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2025\/10\/05\/monday-mailbag-short-yardage-tush-push\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Mailbag: short yardage, tush push"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag features questions about the shotgun and goal line situations, the tush push and padded concussion helmet covers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: I\u2019m not going to mention any teams \u2013 I have seen multiple teams not do it. Why don’t high school teams when on the one yard line or less have the quarterback abandon the shotgun formation and move up under center and run the ball? It just doesn’t make sense not to utilize size and power football occasionally? I’m sure today’s athletes can learn this type of formation. Quickest way from point A to B a straight line. Thanks! Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: You\u2019re not the only one who asks about this and it\u2019s done at all levels of football. I\u2019ve asked it myself more than once. It really does drive some fans bonkers and I do think it\u2019s a valid question.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I received your question last Monday and I\u2019ve had some time to ponder it. Could I just ask some coaches? Of course and I will, but here\u2019s my theory \u2013 teams, especially at the high school level, that run all shotgun or spread aren\u2019t about to jump into a full house T or other tight formation in goal line or short yardage situations. It\u2019s not their strength, it\u2019s not something they normally run and to use it would require time in practice, time to practice a different center-quarterback exchange. It\u2019s time that could be spent on other things because at the high school level, practice time is very limited. It\u2019d be like asking St. Marys Memorial to go from their old Wing-T or full house set to the shotgun. Teams are using the old adage \u201cdance with the one who brung you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I agree, the quickest way from Point A to Point B is a straight line, but<\/em> not all quarterbacks are suited to run a QB sneak and to add to that, if you think about it, how is running from the shotgun or spread in a goal line situation any different that handing off to a tailback stationed seven yards back in the \u2018I\u2019 formation, or a back 3-5 yards off the line of scrimmage in the pistol formation? Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I love seeing a team line up in a tight formation and punch it in from the one yard line.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s my conclusion that coaches are simply playing to their strength and using what the team is most familiar with. Coaches \u2013 I know you read this \u2013 How\u2019d I do? Is it accurate? Let me know.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Q: We hear so much about the “tush push” and see linemen pushing running backs forward. Didn’t this used to be illegal? Also, are the soft-looking covers on a few players’ helmets designed to protect against concussions? Vince Barnhart, Van Wert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Yes Vince, the tush push absolutely used to be against the rules, but it\u2019s actually been legal in the NFL since 2006. While many teams at all levels use it from time to time, the Philadelphia Eagles are best known for it. They run it with great success with quarterback Jalen Hurts, so much so that they covert 96 percent of their fourth and one attempts. There was a movement to ban it during the offseason, but it failed when put to a vote by the owners.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the tush push, it was known as the \u201cBush Push\u201d and it stemmed from 2005 USC-Notre Dame game, when quarterback Matt Leinhart  received some help in the form of a push from running back Reggie Bush into the end zone. It should have been a penalty, but no flag was thrown, and it turned out to be the winning touchdown.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the record, according to our friend Nate Hoverman, pushing or assisting a runner from behind is still illegal\u00a0in high school football.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The helmet cover that you\u2019re referring to is commonly called a Guardian Cap. It\u2019s described as a soft-shell padded helmet cover designed to reduce impact severity. I\u2019ve seen them at the high school level and they\u2019re used in the NHL as well. The idea is to reduce concussions but to this point, there\u2019s no scientific evidence they actually work. However, my unscientific self says they certainly can\u2019t hurt. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a sports question or comment for the next Monday Mailbag, please email it to sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag features questions about the shotgun and goal line situations, the tush push and padded concussion helmet covers. Q: I\u2019m not going to mention any teams \u2013 I have seen multiple teams not do it. Why don’t high school teams when on the one yard line or less have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-197980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-10 11:30:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197980"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198020,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197980\/revisions\/198020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}