Time To Be Special
Birds Special Teams Need Rebound Vs. Commanders
PHILADELPHIA – When the Eagles and Commanders last clashed in Week 16, a 36-33 rollercoaster loss for the visiting Eagles, a flurry of uncharacteristic miscues aided in the Eagles’ demise.
To refresh the memory, the ominous start began with a Braden Mann kick that missed the designated landing zone, awarding the Commanders optimal field position at the 40-yard line.
The kick coverage unit surrendered a 47-yard return to rookie Luke McCaffrey in which the left side of the field resmbled the red sea parting.
Rookie linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was tacked with an unnecessary roughness penalty, while safety Sydney Brown was hit with an illegal formation infraction late in the game.
In the first meeting, Eagles kicker Jake Elliott missed a pair of field goals and an extra point, placing him under the microscope. He’d also miss a field goal in the Week 16 matchup.
So, what’s been the Commanders’ successful remedy for winning the third phase?
“I thought they had a really good scheme as far as their returner,” said Trotter Jr., who collected a pair of tackles in the Eagles’ 28-22 NFC Divisional win over the Rams.
“[McCaffrey’s] a really good returner, they really blocked well. Props to them and the way they attacked us. But really, it’s gonna come down to what we do on our side.
“We just gotta focus on our technique, filling our lanes, our blocking technique if we’re on kickoff return. But really, it’s gonna come down to us trusting our coach and our fundamentals and everybody just doing their jobs.”

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles P Braden Mann (10) and K Jake Elliott will be critical in Sunday’s NFC Championship vs. Washington.
Mann, who in the two meetings combined for 42 yards on seven punts, landing three inside the 20, offered another explanation.
“They’re pretty aggressive with their rushes,” he said. “So, they do a lot of good stuff mixing up their looks on punt return. And then Jamison Crowder, I played with him on the Jets a little bit, so I know him. And he’s, good hands and he’ll go catch the ball. So, he’s a good downhill returner.
“Definitely gonna be a challenge. We’re ready for it. We’re excited for it.”
In a game where the margin for error is likely to be razor-thin, the Eagles must iron out their third phase deficiencies to eliminate the possibility of giving the visiting Commanders an advantage.
Adding to the Commanders’ special teams success has been punter Tress Way, who has delivered in his opportunities.
To simulate the left-footed Way, the Eagles have in past worked out punters who fit that criteria to aid the returners.
But Mann, who is familiar with every team’s punter, has an idea of how Way launches his punts. He’ll even give returners a look in either walkthrough or practice, emulating some of the finer intricacies, such as the way he walks and turns with the different punts in his bag of tricks.
And for the returners, Mann says, they’ll switch the JUGs machine, flipping it to get a lefty spiral.
As instrumental as he’s been for the punt returners, Mann also communicates with the gunner and coverage units with any tells or tendencies he’s observed, which is especially pertinent given his familiarity with Crowder.
“We talk all through the week about what our game plan is,” he said. “Each team plays different stuff differently, whether it’s the little pooch punts and all that, like how they play their corners against our gunners.
“So, we’ll talk about that and where our placement is supposed to be on the ball and situation stuff throughout the week.”
It was Mann’s struggles with the blustery conditions of Northwest Stadium that afternoon that led to Elliott reverting back to juggling kickoffs.
But whether punts, kickoffs, or his job as a holder – a role that he handled masterfully given the snowy conditions last week – Mann is hyper-fixed on his responsibilities in keeping the operation clean.
“You just can’t shoot yourself in the foot,” he added. “They’re a good team, so they’ll make you pay if you shoot yourself in the foot.
“So, we just gotta play clean. I gotta play clean myself, not giving their return unit any sort of reason to get juiced up. And then helping with Jake as much as I can on field goals.”
Communication for the unit, which has been a hallmark of wide receiver/punt returner Britain Covey’s when healthy, is a two-way street.
The coverage units and place-kickers will also compare notes and tells to aid in achieving a common goal. And in games like this, it’s often the minutia that matters most.
“We definitely communicate back-and-forth because they are definitely a key part of special teams as well,” Trotter Jr. said. “As far as ball placement – where they’re gonna put it – or maybe they might see something that an opponent’s kicker does that’s a tip for us when we’re going against their special teams or their kicker.”
– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.
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