Eagles a Little Too Flippant on Kick-Return Situation
PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles so thoroughly dominated Minnesota on Monday night that few noticed a potential problem lurking in the third phase of the game, one that had nothing to do with the blocked field goal that Arryn Siposs saved from going the other way for six points.
Vikings rookie head coach Kevin O'Connell came in with the equivalent of Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith's Week 1 game plan of 2021 with the one notable exception - properly identifying one obvious Philadelphia weakness.
It's the kick return game.
Instead of telling the strong-legged Greg Joseph to airmail touchback after touchback, Minnesota special teams coordinator Matt Daniels instructed the kicker to execute the so-called mortar kick to force Quez Watkins to return the football.
Joseph executed the plan consistently and the Eagles’ average starting field position was the 17.4-yard line, the team's worst mark since Week 7 of the 2020 season against the New York Giants (16.0) and just the seventh time since 2015 that their starting field position average was minus-20 in a game, according to JAKIB Sports' Paul Domowitch.
Head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the issue on Friday and seemed to dismiss its importance.
"I actually do pay attention to that," he said. "I don't say it makes or breaks us like the double positive or the explosive play battle and the turnover battle, but do I pay attention to that."
Sirianni and his staff have preached since Day 1 that the only demonstrable statistics that matter when it comes to winning football games are that combination of explosive plays and the turnover ratio.
You win those two categories and it's almost inconceivable you will lose a football game.
Everything else is great but it doesn't necessarily translate to winning.
Plenty of 400-yard passers lose, teams can run for 200 and fall, and you can sack the QB like crazy and lose the AFC Championship Game to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Meanwhile, the Eagles themselves didn't just beat the Vikings with the offense having to traverse the long fields, they dominated them.
"So that's a combination of, yes, the return yards, the turnovers, all different sorts of things. That is important, where you're getting the football," Sirianni admitted before pivoting. "I don't spend too much time on that because I know that changes throughout the year."
Perhaps the hubris comes from the fact it didn't matter against Minnesota but Sirianni should take note that the Eagles lost five of those previous six games when faced with the extra-long fields.
That's an analytic worth exploring but the thought seems to be that success will come and perhaps the blocking sharpens up a bit enabling Watkins to hit some seams and break some big ones.
The third-year pro from Southern Miss hardly seems like a top-tier kick returner, though.
He has returned five kicks this season for 51 yards, a less-than-stellar 10.2 yards-per turn. Last season, he returned 13 for 189 yards before essentially being benched for Jalen Reagor.
So what makes a good kick returner?
"We always talk about ball security first and that's even more important on punt returns," a former long-time STC told SI.com's Eagles Today. "You have to get north-south first and foremost, have that feel for sticking your foot in the ground and go.
"Then you want the power to break away from contact and the long speed to take it home if the seam is there."
Watkins has that long speed but not that other attributes to get to the point his stopwatch acumen can come into play.
"No doubt do we want to be able to create explosive plays with our return game, and I'm confident in what we're doing as far as how we're doing it and I’m confident in the guys we have in there," Sirianni said. "Like I said, I think that will turn as well."
Philadelphia did seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time on special teams blocking in the small portion of practice open to media on Thursday so perhaps Sirianni is simply downplaying the issue for public consumption.
If that's not the case, the real issue here is the evaluation of Watkins as a KR.
Perhaps the Eagles are pushing the envelope too far in an attempt to add potential explosive plays to the third phase but if you don't have Cordarrelle Patterson taking the single, in this instance someone like Boston Scott, Kenny Gainwell, or Britain Covey, and getting what's blocked is the more prudent way to go.
To continue with the baseball analogy, consider Scott the leadoff hitter setting the table for those down in the order to hit the home run like Watkins did by outrunning the Vikings' defense for a 53-yard receiving touchdown.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
