It also depends if your aircraft is typically 'nose-heavy' or 'tail-heavy'.
A few years ago a belt that secures the nosewheel on a cradle-type tug broke during a pushback. I was flying CRJ's at the time and it sent the plane rolling backwards while the tug remained where it stopped. Since the plane's CG was always at the forward limit (so much so we often had to carry ballast), I applied brakes and we stopped before the grass.
I wouldn't try that on every aricraft though.