Robert Saleh wants Jalen Hurts to at least pay the price.
Saleh admitted there’s no blueprint or trend to follow in order to stop the Eagles’ vaunted “tush-push” play, but the Jets’ head coach still has an important challenge for his defense ahead of their Week 6 clash on Sunday.
“If the quarterback carries the ball, we’ve gotta give him 11 kisses, figure out a way to do that,” Saleh said while smiling before practice on Wednesday. “They play violent, they play aggressive, they’ve got a quarterback who is super strong in terms of creating leverage. I don’t think he feels pain when he gets hit, even though we’re gonna try — legally.”
The 11 kisses, of course, mean hits from all 11 Jets defenders on the field.
But the Eagles’ success on the play is not just due to Hurts’ pain tolerance or short-yardage acumen.
A few Jets believe the Eagles have an unfair advantage on the play.
Jalen Hurts sneaks into the end zone for a touchdown. AP“Look at [Jason] Kelce, the f–king center is like this,” defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson told The Post after practice, mimicking a center’s stance but exaggerating how far forward he was leaning. “And his head is out over the ball.”
Both Jefferson and John Franklin-Myers a few lockers away laughed in agreement that Kelce illegally leans forward into the neutral zone, though they both know it’s not likely to be called.
The “tush-push” has grown controversial across the NFL, a seemingly otherwise-routine quarterback sneak used in short-yardage situations where other offensive players start behind quarterbacks and push them forward past the first-down marker or into the end zone.
The Eagles spearheaded the play’s increasing popularity and have emerged as by far the most successful team running it.
They’ve run it 43 times this year, converting for a first down or touchdown 38 times, or 88 percent of the time, according to Next Gen Stats.
Philadelphia recently ran the play six times in their Week 5 win over the Rams and were successful four times, though the two failed attempts were late in the game in garbage time when they were running the clock down.
Robert Saleh told reporters how the the Jets plan to combat the tush push against the Eagles. Bill Kostroun/New York Post“Truthfully, that’s something we know we just gotta be the aggressors,” Franklin-Myers told The Post. “Obviously they have a slight advantage with the snap count. We just want to be aggressive with that. They’re successful with that, and for good reason. They’ve perfected that play. But we’re looking forward to the challenge. At the end of the day, it’s a challenge. What an opportunity we have.”
Beyond Kelce’s alignment, Hurts, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 223 pounds, uses his elite strength and drives his feet forward on the play, helping to move the opposing defensive line backward.
In front of Hurts, both Kelce, a future Hall of Famer, and right tackle Lane Johnson were named First-Team All-Pros last year.
As a whole, the Eagles’ offensive line is collectively the highest-ranked by Pro Football Focus this year.
The Jets would ideally prefer to have six defensive linemen on the field to defend the play, but Saleh noted the Eagles often use hurry-up prior to running it, preventing opponents from being able to sub.
“They know it’s an important play to be able to defend,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said in response to Saleh’s comments, when asked whether the increased attention on the play has changed how physical opponents are with Hurts. “We know it’s an important play for us. I don’t think the media attention changes the way defensive coordinators and a head coach like Coach Saleh, how they prepare and go about their business.”
Safety concerns about players pushing teammates into opposing defenders have sparked calls for the play to be banned.
Saleh doesn’t share that sentiment, echoing one of his favorite sayings.
“If you don’t have any haters, you ain’t poppin’,” he said, repeating the phrase he used in the preseason amid criticism of the Jets. “A lot of people are hating on their play because it works, but nobody else can seem to make it work to their efficiency. So bravo to them. …
“A lot of respect for it, because there’s other teams trying to do it, too. The reality is, they’re really good at it. It feels like the quarterback is wearing a bulletproof vest when you look at him, he’s got all that padding on. We’re gonna try to do our best to try and stop it.”ou look at him, he’s got all that padding on. We’re gonna try to do our best to try and stop it.”
