The Philadelphia Eagles have repeatedly resorted to the quarterback sneak on their trek to the Super Bowl this year. In the NFL community, however, this move is controversial. A head coach is still against a ban.
According to his own statement, Dan Campbell does not rate the Quarterback Sneak negatively. The Detroit Lions coach sees the NFL teams much more as having a duty to have a suitable counter-strategy ready.
“I’m handling it just fine,” Campbell said during the weekday at the annual league meeting. “I think defensively you have to have a plan to stop it. And that’s what cheers me on. We’ll have a plan to stop it.”
Several teams regularly use the sneak to gain the few yards for a new first try on the fourth down. The quarterback is pushed over the necessary distance by his teammates.
As already mentioned, the Philadelphia Eagles are one of the NFL teams that use this play frequently and with great success. According to NBC Sports, Philly turned 34 of his 38 sneaks into a new first down in the preseason alone.
NFL committee sees no reason for rule change
In the offseason, several US media representatives reported on a timely ban on quarterback sneak. In the coming season, however, the move will continue to be part of the repertoire of attacking lines. When the NFL committee met recently, the topic was left out.
Rich McKay, the committee chairman, was actually preparing for a vote. “But there hasn’t been – no one has proposed a rule, nor has there been enough support on the committee to propose a rule change, so it’s going to stay,” the Atlanta Falcons CEO said.
An adjustment of the rule can still be made in a timely manner. “We’re definitely looking at all the injury data and seeing if there’s anything that needs to change going forward,” McKay continued.