![An Eagles fan holds up a sign calling for the tush push](https://e1.365dm.com/23/11/768x432/skysports-tush-push-philadelphia-eagles_6362214.jpg?20231116082727)
An Eagles fan holds up an indication calling for the tush push
From NFL anonymity to lock-and-key secret-keeper. Earlier this season Jason Kelce was telling brother Travis Kelce concerning the “Scottish guy” with whom the Philadelphia Eagles had consulted with the intention to acquire a rugby outlook on the group’s ‘brotherly shove/tush push’ play.
That ‘Scottish man’ was Richie Grey, who for years has gone largely undetected as a contributing voice to tackling method throughout the league. That was till a number of weeks in the past, when Jason imitated Grey on his New Heights podcast as he and Travis mentioned the Eagles’ famend quarterback sneak.
Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland needed Grey’s opinion on how a protection would possibly search to blunt one of many league’s gimme’ short-yardage formations, throughout which Jalen Hurts is bulldozed ahead by his supporting forged for a landing or new set of downs. Over to Jason Kelce and his finest worst Scottish impression.
“He says ‘Coach, there is nothing you can do to stop it, it’s organised mass!'” recalled the Eagles middle.
![Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scores on a Tush Push against the Miami Dolphins](https://e2.365dm.com/23/11/768x432/skysports-tush-push-eagles_6362906.jpg?20231116192628)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scores on a Tush Push in opposition to the Miami Dolphins
That Scottish man had shortly debunked any suggestion that the play holds similarities to rugby’s scrum, echoed by rugby-convert and now-Eagles cornerstone left sort out Jordan Mailata throughout a current look on the podcast. Cue new-found fame.
“I was in my town of Galashiels, which has about 10,000 people in it, there was a couple who came up to me and said ‘we’re Eagles fans, tell us about it!’ Gray tells Sky Sports NFL. “No person would have identified as a result of I do not talk about it, however unexpectedly it got here out on the podcast which has about two million folks listening so all of it went a bit loopy!”
Gray, who now works with Toulon, previously served as a member of Vern Cotter’s staff with the Scottish national rugby team and also spent time with the Springboks, after which he began lending his expertise to NFL coaches.
Such are the copy-cat ways of football, Gray’s lips are sealed on the intricacies behind the play, which has been subject to suggestions it should be banned. With that said, he suggests there are four reasons the Eagles are superior at it.
“Primary, they’ve the world’s finest o-line coach in Jeff Stoutland,” he explains. “Quantity two, they have a number of the world’s finest personnel inside the o-line and quarterback.
“Three, and this is great because I’ve been reading people in the US say a rugby play shouldn’t be anywhere near football, but it is nowhere near a rugby play. A scrum is two teams and is dictated by an official when those two teams come together, they are also pre-bound. The mall is also a formation that takes time to build. The brotherly shove/tush push is literally over in two to five seconds and action will always beat reaction.
“In soccer, all of it goes on the snap. The offense all the time has that benefit of a millisecond, motion will all the time beat response.
“And finally, the Eagles train it and have tactically and technically perfected it, and they put a lot of time into making it better. Any team can do it. The Giants tried it a couple of weeks ago and a couple of guys got injured, but I heard through the grape-vine they would only ever run it during walk-throughs.”
![Richie Gray during his time working with the Miami Dolphins](https://e2.365dm.com/23/11/768x432/skysports-richie-gray-miami-dolphins_6362211.jpg?20231116082606)
Richie Grey throughout his time working with the Miami Dolphins
The Eagles capitalised on their very own predictability in opposition to the Washington Commanders in Week Eight, lining up in tush push formation on third-and-two in on the eight-yard line earlier than as an alternative faking and handing off to D’Andre Swift, who skipped to the skin for a landing.
“Football to me, is human chess played 100 miles an hour. By the biggest, the strongest humans on the planet, it is totally different to rugby,” says Grey.
Grey had been drafted in to dissect the play with Eagles coaches by Vice President of Participant Efficiency Ted Rath, with whom he had labored on the Miami Dolphins again in 2016.
“These performance guys are always looking for one per cent differences and will leave no stone unturned,” he provides.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the best thing for me is I can say it how it is, I’m just going to say exactly what I see. Jeff Stoutland is like a father figure to that o-line, they have a huge amount of respect and huge amount of trust for him.”
In the future Grey had been sitting in Coach Stoutland’s workplace when there was a knock on the door.
“In comes this six-foot-nine monster,” Grey remembers.
It was Australian offensive sort out Mailata, who was determined to talk to the rugby coach he had heard was within the constructing.
“I had a great half an hour with him, very sharp, very clever and learns very quickly. He’s obviously had some outstanding mentors around him. First and foremost, he has size, shape and power and he’s had to technically make it accurate.
“I get requested whether or not different rugby gamers might go and play within the NFL. To be trustworthy, offensive line and line of defense I believe they might wrestle, however the examine they must do earlier than a single snap can be unbelievable.
“I always thought (Fiji international) Josua Tuisova might make a great running back, but it’s incredibly difficult to transfer skills. I’ve always said the one thing that can transfer is tackling. But I was down in Miami this offseason and Tyreek Hill is there, when you see that player live, it’s a different level, I’ve coached some of the world’s best in rugby like Bryan Habana and these elite guys, but Hill is on another level of movement and speed.”
Grey’s relationship with Rath had come at first of his NFL journey when he obtained a name from former Dolphins Efficiency Director Wayne Diesel on the time the Springboks had been as a result of face New Zealand within the semi-finals of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
He had met Diesel 15 years earlier when he was a physiotherapist for The Stormers rugby group in Cape City.
“Americans love stats and percentages, and the Springboks had really good stats in contact and collision so they must have been looking at that,” mentioned Grey.
“Wayne must have said ‘I know that guy!’, so I got a phone call after the World Cup asking if I fancied coming out to the Miami Dolphins for a week. And it was crazy because I had just developed a number of training aids to develop tackling and keeping players from going bone-on-bone, so I said I would go if they could ship out all my training aids.
“I did every week in Miami after which they rang me and requested if I needed to do one thing with them as soon as a month within the offseason.”
![Highlights of the Dallas Cowboys against the Philadelphia Eagles from Week 9 of the NFL.](https://e0.365dm.com/23/11/768x432/skysports-cowboys-eagles_6350069.jpg)
Highlights of the Dallas Cowboys against the Philadelphia Eagles from Week 9 of the NFL.
Gray’s contract with the Springboks was up and so he took Miami up on the offer, working with the team’s linebackers for a year, meeting Rath in the process.
“It was extra for growing my coaching tools which is now utilized in just about each NFL franchise, and most faculties could have some GSI tools which is linked to tools firm Riddell.”
His time in Miami entailed working with Super Bowl-winning defensive tackle and friend of Sky Sports Ndamukong Suh, while Gray has since also teamed up with Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins over the last two summers.
“It is perhaps good for the game and soccer that someone from abroad can put their concepts in place,” he explains. “I’ve written all of the sort out methodology already for highschool soccer, the Nationwide Federation of Excessive Colleges use my sort out methodology, so nearly each teenager within the US getting taught speaking comes by means of by the programme.
“A lot of them are using my equipment which you can get through Riddell, so you’re kind of intrinsically linked in the US through tackle technique. It’s been quite funny over the last couple of weeks. It’s just gone nuts.”
His stint in Miami had coincided with that of now-Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and now-Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, making for some helpful contacts throughout the league. Grey jokes he has obtained some light-hearted texts from teaching buddies asking whether or not he can be open to coming and dealing with them.
The Eagles proceed to flirt with a 90 per cent success fee within the tush push for the reason that starting of 2022.
The strategy to bridging inches is nothing new to the NFL. But groups proceed to fall in need of efforts to duplicate the effectivity of Kelce and co. How 90 per cent of the league would like to know what Grey is aware of.
Stream the 2023 NFL season and extra with NOW
require.config({"shim":{"facebook-sdk":{"exports":"FB"}},"baseUrl":"https://www.skysports.com/","paths":{"skysports_com":"static/skysports_com-e8d093df09b6d","skysports_digrev":"static/skysports_digrev-9ed87f598755a","skysports_legacy":"static/skysports_legacy-1fc4d92072fe2","skysports_ipad_components":"static/skysports_ipad_components-9347556046b82","skysports_sap":"core/js/../static/js/skysports_sap","requireLib":"static/require-2.1.0-15f03d8ff7a4b","class":"static/class-55bbf080a62c3","countdown":"static/countdown-b387bb40118ae","energize":"static/energize-bac53226fb-93aea85fe6a04","hammer":"static/hammer-a592776ebb-f14662ea8bb34","marker-clusterer":"static/marker-clusterer-3911fd8c83740","moment":"static/moment-1.7.2-33075cfd4ad32","reqwest":"static/reqwest-a845dfd832-dea6ebed2de7d","scroll-pane":"static/ftscroller-280c6900bc-ed5e878ea6190","underscore":"static/lodash.custom-d1cf24f7f366e","adaptive-content":"static/adaptive-content-1fc383fae518a","article-widget-betting":"static/article-widget-betting-7a9641160b027","app-bridge":"static/app-bridge-30b975666386a","article-advert":"static/article-advert-fa40febcc7b0f","article-outbrain":"static/article-outbrain-bba64c5034e96","autocomplete":"static/autocomplete-62886d6993248","autocomplete-lite":"static/autocomplete-lite-76d43ae628a4e","accordian":"static/accordian-87ec71ccbfdd1","betting-lines":"static/betting-lines-31e5cdbecf2bc","bskyb-omniture":"static/bskyb-omniture-f7850c42c0dd3","bskyb-omniture-1-2":"static/bskyb-omniture-1.2-ef8627d226d42","calendar-url-builder":"static/calendar-url-builder-863fca999d8c8","carousel":"static/carousel-cfdab6400e999","carousel-lite":"static/carousel-lite-520eccc372b67","close-me":"static/close-me-1dd5bf41462eb","content-stream":"static/content-stream-4ceef3bbd096b","content-swap":"static/content-swap-bdbe29a70d8f9","countdown-widget":"static/countdown-widget-459a93f477481","comments-reply":"static/comments-reply-81d5853bdd03b","cookie":"static/cookie-072824b3a5047","android-notice":"static/android-notice-58d95f174579a","create-audio":"static/create-audio-f77436036a203","dataset":"static/dataset-487d6875fe94d","datepicker":"static/datepicker-b112a28bd151b","datepicker2":"static/datepicker2-d10188465db39","dom":"static/dom-f554c2354ab77","dropdown":"static/dropdown-de4729ed67884","dropdown-select":"static/dropdown-select-bbaa962ff8888","element-listener":"static/element-listener-39391d1341a3c","environment":"static/environment-d24a016d1c736","events":"static/events-e6bde13ac56dc","facebook-sdk":"//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all","form":"static/form-269f9f014d35a","form-chart":"static/form-chart-8e3b2b92c7e77","form-validation":"static/form-validation-76d631ee9c0fb","html-poller":"static/html-poller-db12e18d06d04","implicit-personalisation-display":"static/implicit-personalisation-display-2bc93246729e4","implicit-personalisation-storage":"static/implicit-personalisation-storage-a4eb341b47077","implicit-personalisation-removal":"static/implicit-personalisation-removal-7556598e29ff5","inverted-listener":"static/inverted-listener-07a7ace73331d","iscroll-lite":"static/iscroll-lite-bf22458ad30dc","keyboard-listener":"static/keyboard-listener-f6b30a391df5b","keyboard-view":"static/keyboard-view-5a68be0e6dc00","lazy-images":"static/lazy-images-f5238f2864a52","live-article":"static/live-article-95ba706f060b3","live-cricket":"static/live-cricket-4d6fa4651f344","live-sport":"static/live-sport-db2b39a357d02","live-update":"static/live-update-945d95543ad61","live-refresh":"static/live-refresh-5ebefb5206c82","live-refresh-darts-table-controller":"static/live-refresh-darts-table-controller-d6c7bb8af0efe","live-refresh-darts-table-view":"static/live-refresh-darts-table-view-5c4f5e87a3cb2","live-refresh-football-controller":"static/live-refresh-football-controller-461aca93a03fe","live-refresh-football-view":"static/live-refresh-football-view-e722175c6f5eb","live-refresh-fixture-update-controller":"static/live-refresh-fixture-update-controller-1234617fddd04","live-refresh-fixture-update-view":"static/live-refresh-fixture-update-view-aae190ead42d7","live-refresh-live-golf-leaderboard-controller":"static/live-refresh-live-golf-leaderboard-controller-c78264eefa25c","live-refresh-golf-matchplay-controller":"static/live-refresh-golf-matchplay-controller-141ff1ce16821","live-refresh-golf-matchplay-view":"static/live-refresh-golf-matchplay-view-562c7eea1e08b","live-refresh-match-header-controller":"static/live-refresh-match-header-controller-db2b9bbacac74","live-refresh-match-header-football-view":"static/live-refresh-match-header-football-view-f9ce5b3e5bde3","live-refresh-match-header-rugby-league-view":"static/live-refresh-match-header-rugby-league-view-34aa9cc8d67be","live-refresh-match-header-rugby-union-view":"static/live-refresh-match-header-rugby-union-view-a6b7dda93027f","live-refresh-match-stats-controller":"static/live-refresh-match-stats-controller-db8736f4b3e01","live-refresh-match-stats-view":"static/live-refresh-match-stats-view-62f02d64e4cd2","live-refresh-gp-standings-controller":"static/live-refresh-gp-standings-controller-aa40463310354","live-refresh-gp-standings-view":"static/live-refresh-gp-standings-view-b820cc96d1d26","live-refresh-tennis-controller":"static/live-refresh-tennis-controller-5681743439cec","live-refresh-tennis-view":"static/live-refresh-tennis-view-28ddbf0727027","live-refresh-news-list-controller":"static/live-refresh-news-list-controller-ee45762f7dbe7","live-refresh-news-list-view":"static/live-refresh-news-list-view-9c47d574e49d4","live-refresh-livefyre-pinned-controller":"static/live-refresh-livefyre-pinned-controller-44287b34c8506","live-refresh-livefyre-pinned-view":"static/live-refresh-livefyre-pinned-view-a78229a5d01c4","live-refresh-live-table-controller":"static/live-refresh-live-table-controller-053e53c72d2a5","live-refresh-live-table-view":"static/live-refresh-live-table-view-acc034f23d117","live-refresh-live-table-static-view":"static/live-refresh-live-table-static-view-bbff46626848e","live-refresh-masters-live-panel-controller":"static/live-refresh-masters-live-panel-controller-b237958f07549","live-refresh-matchplay-table-controller":"static/live-refresh-matchplay-table-controller-c8d653e8ec9e1","live-refresh-matchplay-table-view":"static/live-refresh-matchplay-table-view-aafd4fb26b14f","live-refresh-ryder-cup-controller":"static/live-refresh-ryder-cup-controller-737295aac3b2e","live-refresh-ryder-cup-view":"static/live-refresh-ryder-cup-view-8975b104d8f84","live-refresh-status-lookup":"static/live-refresh-status-lookup-58cee7af21a4a","live-refresh-switch":"static/live-refresh-switch-122a55d025f32","live-refresh-team-events-controller":"static/live-refresh-team-events-controller-4cb3d870d779b","live-refresh-team-events-view":"static/live-refresh-team-events-view-705c641b015af","live-text":"static/live-text-bbd7665a86991","live-refresh-swingometer-controller":"static/live-refresh-swingometer-controller-b7ade1b72e79a","live-refresh-swingometer-view":"static/live-refresh-swingometer-view-425bcd02cb919","livefyre-auth":"static/livefyre-auth-d30ce39d9f031","livefyre-social":"static/livefyre-social-2ef6165825d8a","load-into":"static/load-into-6af455f20f3bd","load-more":"static/load-more-765d8e57df5c0","load-more2":"static/load-more-05a9bb0171a4e","match-head-switch":"static/match-head-switch-b85e40ff913e7","load-more-inline":"static/load-more-inline-6ee576a87aef2","load-more-once":"static/load-more-once-b9144ab829181","map":"static/map-94fcb75a28607","media-query":"static/media-query-0296e4082a758","now-tv":"static/now-tv-8700a2f7d2f1e","most-popular":"static/most-popular-c1147764fe234","observable":"static/observable-6a091c15b9a4a","open-top":"static/open-top-3eff6bd9d5565","overlay":"static/overlay-b444bdc049b12","overlay-widget":"static/overlay-widget-56d2dc14d6d21","page-nav":"static/page-nav-479fc6b85357e","parse-date":"static/parse-date-6463ce015eee7","page-filters":"static/page-filters-5f38de0bf6eeb","persistent-autocomplete":"static/persistent-autocomplete-8459865f00a4f","polaris-glint":"static/polaris-glint-90f846e5378ec","pikaday":"static/pikaday-ce6be92da6c09","pl-clip-promo":"core/js/modules/core2/pl-clip-promo","poller":"static/poller-b0ddbff69a6a9","polls":"static/polls-2ef656ad8404e","poll-ig":"static/poll-ig-e17180cbcc564","media-playlist":"static/media-playlist-ebc8d2abe3e18","postpone-load":"static/postpone-load-2ae208049e0f1","postpone-load2":"static/postpone-load2-6ad484e51343f","postscribe":"static/postscribe-3737e3c2f9-f3bc808a8b738","pub-sub":"static/pub-sub-9323318c11e08","roadblock":"static/roadblock-edae35c62e3c7","update-content":"static/update-content-b6fc0cfd94862","script":"static/script-27238830c957e","scroll-to":"static/scroll-to-97ec63ad7135c","section-nav":"static/section-nav-3aff450804b4f","selectable":"static/selectable-f199bca8d8e16","selectable-list-view":"static/selectable-list-view-3330035b870a5","share-button":"static/share-button-606792a8e7289","site-layout-primary":"static/site-layout-primary-d66ac28011c25","site-nav-desktop":"static/site-nav-desktop-9b1b26877d782","sky-go":"static/sky-go-44fd25b3a1748","skyid-login":"static/skyid-login-9f5140a550d32","is-loggedin":"static/is-loggedin-69dfe40b9565f","sky-sports-date":"static/sky-sports-date-e985472a648e9","squad-selector":"static/squad-selector-45e17c533f3a2","social-map":"static/social-map-8bc134219358b","sp-player":"static/sp-player-5ef6b052166d3","sticky-scroll":"static/sticky-scroll-4ccc7640bda1f","string":"static/string-19008c0fbd461","swipe-nav":"static/swipe-nav-18987ddd0e3ed","subscriber-video":"static/subscriber-video-5d8435b0ea5ab","table-sorter":"static/table-sorter-7d5988301396e","table-sorter-lite":"static/table-sorter-3d24f6a403740","tabs":"static/tabs-b20fcf8e1c825","tabs-lite":"static/tabs-lite-cb10daad481bf","tabs-filter":"static/tabs-filter-1ef8b2a921435","tab-navigation":"static/tab-navigation-68b7c289a7569","team-formations":"static/team-formations-a90922defa046","thumbs":"static/thumbs-0cf143fb65daa","toggle-class":"static/toggle-class-dd3a8c4ce2c14","toggle-switch":"static/toggle-switch-4b14c9522febe","trending":"static/trending-e0bb96dbc6ece","trigger-event":"static/trigger-event-580cd06dcede1","tv-guide":"static/tv-guide-495271c3f333e","update-html":"static/update-html-7913f53b11d6f","update-text":"static/update-text-82964c420cfb8","user":"core/js/modules/user","util":"static/util-b69470ac564b1","validator":"static/validator-f3b00bc96d618","vidiprinter":"static/vidiprinter-e8c9174ecfa73","vm-suppression":"static/vm-suppression-9a7148a4170ba","web-notifications":"static/web-notifications-a91a27e944caf","widget":"static/widget-e29945f3a184a","widget-lite":"static/widget-lite-a450505656ea9","widget-loader":"static/widget-loader-a0232be50e094","window-observer":"static/window-observer-b10f792cfb582","your-say":"static/your-say-3b2bbc5fcf119"}});
require(['skysports_digrev', 'sdc-site-pub-sub'], function (appController, pubsub) { window.sdc = window.sdc || {}; pubsub.init(window.sdc);
appController.init(); });