Fake Punt Didn't Spark Philadelphia Eagles, But Special Teams Keeps Shining

Last year's trouble spot for the Philadelphia Eagles, the special teams units have been more consistent than the offense and defense, and the fake punt is worth another look.

PHILADELPHIA – Amid the gloom and doom surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles during their two-game losing streak, there is a ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds.

Michael Clay's special teams, the biggest weakness on last year’s 14-3, Super Bowl team, has been this year's biggest bright spot with both the offense and defense stuck in the spotlight’s harsh glare.

The fake punt the Eagles used last week probably didn’t get enough love, buried in a heap of dislike for a team that has done very little right since December began.

It’s worth another look, especially since it was the best offensive play the Eagles had in their 33-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys that featured an offense that could do no better than generate a pair of field goals and a defense that allowed the Cowboys to score on all four first-half possessions.

It’s also worth another look since it’s not very often the Eagles try something so bold in the punt game. It’s still murky exactly when the last time the Eagles tried a fake punt, though Brian Dawkins scored on one back in 2002.

The play came with the Cowboys already ahead 10-0 from the Eagles’ 39. It was then that punter Braden Mann made a nice fake like he was going to punt then came up throwing, finding a wide-open Olamide Zaccheaus in the right flat that went for a gain of 28 yards on fourth-and-two on the second play of the second quarter.

"That is what our job is on special teams, to be a spark of energy," said special teams coordinator Michael Clay, on Wednesday, as the Eagles begin to ramp up preparation for Monday night’s game in the Pacific Northwest against the Seattle Seahawks.

"You could feel a little bit of that spark of energy when Braden threw that ball to O.Z. and O.Z. did a great job protecting the ball after he did catch it."

Braden Mann / USA Today

Clay said he knew Mann could throw, having seen him do it twice when Mann was with the New York Jets.

“Braden is a true athlete,” he said. “...It was just something we thought about maybe a few weeks back. Just something to keep in our back pocket in case the situation came to fruition.”

The Eagles had the time between the end of the first and the start of the second to discuss, in case the team didn’t convert a third and two. The offense didn’t.

“It was just kind of fortunate enough that it was a flip of the quarter, so there was an opportunity maybe to get a little insight with (head coach) Nick (Sirianni) before the offense went out there,” said Clay. 

“We had full confidence the offense was going to get that third-and-two. We just had it in our back pocket that we were able to say, ‘Hey, if something bad does happen, we have this if you feel confident with it, we feel good with it.’”

The offense also couldn’t take advantage of the momentum of such a big play. They ran three more plays after the fake punt set them up at Dallas’ 39, the first of which was a four-yard loss on a running play to D’Andre Swift and had to kick a field goal.

This year, Clay has a punter in Mann who is in the top 10 in the NFL in both gross and net average despite not joining the team until a month into the season.

The ST coordinator has a punt returner in Britain Covey who is third in the league in return average at 14.2 yards, a top pair of gunners in Josh Jobe and Kelee Ringo, ad one of the game's best kickers in Jake Elliott.

Clay overcame the loss of Christian Elliss last week after the leader in the Eagles’ special teams snaps was cut and claimed by six teams with the New England Patriots winning his rights.

Asked about how he managed without Elliss, Clay said, “It's a full-on effort. You find guys that can do different things and different traits, a little niche.”

He mentioned Ben VanSumeren, Nolan Smith, Jack Stoll, and Grant Calcaterra as helping fill the void.

“So as long as these guys in here, starting (Thursday), understand what their role is and what can possibly happen, we feel confident going in with that game plan starting against Seattle, who's also a very, very, very good special teams unit,” said Clay. “Always have been with (Seattle Special Teams Coordinator Larry) Izzo leading them.

“We have our work cut out this week going to the Pacific Northwest, a long trip. Again, as long as these guys understand what their role is and can do it 100 percent, we feel confident going into that game.”

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