returners

All posts tagged returners

#10: BRITAIN IN PHILADELPHIA

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/06/08
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams, The 12, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

DARREN Sproles was the last Eagles Returner, who made Special Teams feel like a legitimate contributor in every game. Helping to win the hidden yardage battle, is what former Special Teams Coordinator Dave Fipp used to call it. These days Special Teams has been de-prioritized, and it shows up in our starting field position.

Right now on the Eagles roster, we have 6 RB’s, and 12 WR’s. Of those 18 players, only 2 have serious collegiate experience returning both punts and kicks. (Don’t even ask about pro return experience.) Those players are WR Jalen Reagor, and undrafted rookie WR Britain Covey. Reagor and WR Greg Ward are our only options with over 20 pro punt returns.

So we have Ward not being dangerous, or Reagor muffing the ball twice in a game. Honestly, the Eagles players who have tried their hands as return men, have sucked horribly at it. Mostly because it takes more than speed to be a great returner. The most important thing you need, are nerves of steel.

For that reason, I think we need to take a serious look at Covey. By “serious” I mean at least until final cuts. We need to see what, if anything, we can squeeze out of his 5’8” 170 pound frame. Yep, he’s a little fucker. This coaching staff has an absolute fetish for small offensive players. And not even the fast ones! Just a bunch of tiny, short legged guys, getting caught from behind.

In five college seasons, Covey posted 4 punt return touchdowns on 92 attempts, racking up 1,092 yards for an average of 11.9. No Eagles player had college numbers anywhere near that, and they’ve been worse as pros. Covey also averaged 25 yards on 33 kick returns, but with all the touchbacks in today’s NFL, the punt numbers are far more significant.

As a receiver, he’s kind of in the mold of Raiders WR Hunter Refrow, just smaller. Like Refrow, Covey does his damage in the Slot; is fearless in traffic; and understands how to settle into another receivers wake to give his QB a clean target. At least that was his game in college. We don’t need him to be a starter, but if he can be a 5th WR, we’d be golden.

So we should take a long look at him. No need to rush, but try to develop this kid a little. Because if he can give us a PR/KR/WR, then he’s more than worth one roster spot. In fact, at that point I think the five WR’s we keep are Devonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Quez Watkins, Zach Pascal, and Covey. And if Covey doesn’t pan out, I guess we keep… Ward?

#11 MAKE SPECIAL TEAMS, SPECIAL

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/20
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Special Teams, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE 12 2020.11

FOR the last few years the Eagles Special Teams hasn’t scared anyone. It’s true that Punting and Punt Coverage has helped us win the hidden yardage battle in many games. The Kicking has also been reliable, but reliable and special are two different things.

What we haven’t been in some time, is dangerous. RB Miles Sanders had a 67 yard Kickoff return last year, but it was 67 yards and still not a score. Rookie legs broke free, on a dash to the end zone. Yet still we couldn’t seal the deal. Again.

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Eagles 2019 Kick Return TD

Over the last few years we’ve had RB Darren Sproles lend us a little cred as a Punt Returner. However, given the number of games he’d missed over the past few years, we were trading on an old reputation. Meanwhile players who couldn’t really fill Sproles shoes, were given their shot at his job.

Which now sits vacant.

Part of our problem is that the staff likes to shoehorn a back-up into the role. Instead of getting a specialist, the staff picks a guy to act almost as a fill-in. Instead of a RB who can return kicks, we need a KR who can give us a few offensive downs per game. Understand the difference?

Maybe RB Boston Scott is that player. He’s done both KR and PR duty. Why not make that the primary reason he’s on the roster? Gives us a reason to keep 4 RB’s.

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Eagles 2018 Kick Return TD.

The Eagles currently don’t have a Bobby Mitchell, Devin Hester, Mel Gray, Tamarick Vanover type player. Instead we have Miles Sanders playing KR, like RB isn’t enough wear and tear.

This season the staff needs to pick a young guy, and tell him that the only reason he’s making 40K a week, is because he can return kicks. Then stand aside and let that man earn a larger contract.

#7 DUELING RETURNERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/08
Posted in: Coaching, Players, Rants, Special Teams, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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SPECIAL Teams has really fallen off here in Philadelphia over these last couple years. Some of it is player loss. Some of it is rule changes. Regardless, something needs to be done to make this unit’s presence felt again.

I still have faith in Special Teams Coordinator Dave Fipp. However, over the years he’s lost some key coverage specialists (LB Bryan Braman, S Chris Maragos, TE Trey Burton),

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and has either missed out on the availability of our primary return specialist (2017, 2018 PR Darren Sproles) with injury, or lost them completely (2015 KR Josh Huff, 2018 KR Kenjon Barner).

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A major part of the problem has been trying to give the Punt Returner job to one guy, and the Kickoff Returner job to one guy. When that player gets hurt (or cut for driving through Jersey with hollow-points and weed in his car), then other players get pressed into the duty. At that point the fill-ins are never as good.

Also with the new kickoff rules, KR’s are encouraged to take touchbacks rather than try to make something happen. How does the Offense begin an aggressive drive with kneeling? It’s psychologically counter-intuitive. Where is the spirit of competition?

It’s that very problem which gives rise to my solution. These jobs need to be split. Two PR’s and two KR’s.

BOOM! Right away the competition comes back. While I could end this article right there, and claim Supreme Victory, I have an even better idea…

To make things sweeter, Starters on the team could put money into a pot (maybe each Starter puts in 300$ per week, for a weekly pot of 6,600$, which can roll over.) When a returner breaks one for a touchdown, they get the whole pot. If a coverage guy forces a fumble, he splits the pot with whomever recovers the fumble. If more than one of these things happen in a game, then all of those players split the pot.

The coaches could give Special Teamers who commit no penalties, or who down balls inside the 5, an extra day off during the week. Holds and blocks in the back, would practically disappear. Near fanatical hustle would be evident on every play. From every player!

All throughout each aspect of Special Teams there would be improvement. Players would be competing with each other, and playing for short-term bragging rights. (After all, these weekly pots wouldn’t really make that big of difference to these guys financially.)

Our Special Teams is merely fine today. However, if we adopt and and adapt the Seahawks practice of encouraging competition among teammates, we will be ensuring ourselves of a unit that pushes themselves, and also each other. When teammates do that, excellence is sure to follow.