On the tush push, what does Roger Goodell want?

Whenever someone asks about the longtime hammerlock Rich McKay has had on the Competition Committee, the answer is simple.

McKay, as the belief goes in league circles, continues to chair the Committee because the Commissioner wants him to. And, as the belief also goes, the Commissioner wants McKay in that position because McKay ultimately delivers whatever the Commissioner wants.

And so the question becomes, as it relates to the sudden story of the offseason, what does Roger Goodell want when it comes to the tush push?

With the NFL going full-blown red state/blue state on the issue, it’s highly unlikely that Goodell is a neutral observer. And his comments from Tuesday point to his preference. He apparently wants the NFL to bring back the rule that prohibits any pushing of the player with the ball.

“I think that makes a lot of sense in many ways because that expands it beyond that single play,” Goodell said. “There are a lot of plays where you see people pushing or pulling somebody that are not in the tush push formation that I think do have an increased risk of injury. So I think the Committee will look at that and come back in May with some proposals.”

A rule against any and all pushing would seem to be less about the tush push and more about addressing whether it’s safe and proper for a player to be pushing a teammate with the football. Some would say, for example, having an offensive lineman barrel down the field at full speed and slam into the pile in an effort to push it past the line to gain raises even greater risks than the tush push does.

But the context is obvious. It’s all about taking away something the Eagles do better than anyone. And the goalposts are moving from safety to aesthetics to justify the basic reality that some teams don’t like the fact that the Eagles are kicking everyone’s ass.

Why would the Commissioner care about that? Parity is good for the NFL. If fans of the other 31 teams believe the Eagles will continue to run roughshod over the league — fueled by a go-to move that makes short-yardage plays a near-automatic win — those fans might be less engaged in all things football.

To be as popular as possible, and to make as much money as possible, the league needs to have all fans of all teams believe that every team has a chance, every year. Currently, there’s a small handful of true contenders. And the Eagles stand out among them. On the heels of back-to-back Super Bowl wins by the Chiefs, we’re looking at two (and maybe three) in a row by the Eagles.

That’s reason enough for the Commissioner to want to stir things up. To give more teams a chance. And to take away the cheat code that is available to all teams but only one of which has figured out.

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