I wonder what would happen if you omitted the 'push' from that sequence of events? Probably not much in terms of the firmness of the landing but maybe you are lessening the chances of a tailstrike by reducing/holding the attitude just prior to touchdown. Maybe that is what this was all about to begin with?
No, nothing to do with tail strikes. Simply to do with the fact that a small, and I mean 'small' push a fraction of a second before the mainwheels touch will produce a 'greaser' on many occasions. To keep it specific, in this case I'm talking about the B737-300.
It feels akin to cushioning a bump when skiing so as not to get airborne - a quick bending of the knees at the right moment.
To me it seems obvious I'm simply rotating the tail and therefore the gear, up slightly (akin to the 'knee bend') and if I time it right, it produces a very soft touchdown. If I simply hold the flare attitude without this input, it produces a firmer (but a 'proper' Boeing) touchdown.
Can't explain it with maths, but I know I'm not imagining it. Come on you mathmaticians and aerodynamicists - let's see the formulae!
