Darius Slay explains why NFL teams cannot replicate Eagles' Brotherly Shove to perfection
Darius Slay has revealed why the Eagles' success with the Brotherly Shove remains a singular phenomenon in terms of its success rate. Ever since Philadelphia started doing it on short yardage to pick up first downs, other teams have tried to copy it but with limited success.
Now, the cornerback has implored other teams to try replicating what works for them. While it looks simple, in that it's the entire offense lines up as a scrum and pushes together with the ball in the quarterback's hand, Darius Slay says that it's something they practice, He said during an appearance with Cam Newton:
"Man, they got to stop with that, man. I'll honestly tell you right now man we got a sheet for that play. They run it different ways. There's different times to do it."
Brotherly Shove is not just one play, Darius Slay reveals
Darius Slay revealed that there are different ways to run the Brotherly Shove and different times call for different techniques. He says that the players on the Philadelphia Eagles offense know how to do it correctly and when and that's why they have such a high success rate:
"They got like technique to do it. To do it correctly. That's why we are so successful at it. Like guys be trying it. And you see that they don't get it somehow ... But we damn near 100% because we working in walkthroughs. (There's) a technique for it."
Darius Slay even implored others to stop being mad about it because it's not something that can be copied by looking.
"So that's why I think we're very successful and people just mad that we just that good at it and then they can't do it that good."
While the cornerback might be indisputably right, it must also be pointed out that the Eagles have a great offensive line.
Center Jason Kelce, and other offensive linemen like Landon Dickerson and Lane Johnson make for a hefty mass up front, which can create momentum from a standing start.
Add in to the fact that Jalen Hurts is not only tremendously mobile as a quarterback but famous a gym rat, it all comes together.
So, Darius Slay might be justified in saying that Philadelphia have unlocked the success to this play through design, and others should not just replicate it. However, in a copycat league, there's a fat chance of other teams not trying to run a play that seems to work all the time.