Michael Clay Names Quez Watkins, Boston Scott, Two Others as PR Candidates
PHILADELPHIA – Michael Clay knows who will return punts when the Eagles open the season.
The special teams coordinator just isn’t telling you, me, and, more importantly, the Detroit Lions. It's the whole competitive advantage thing.
“We have enough guys that we feel comfortable, so we’ll wait until Sunday at 1:05 or 1:01 or whatever time we kick off in Detroit,” said Clay on Tuesday.
He threw out a list of players he said he and GM Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni feel comfortable with doing it: Quez Watkins, Kenny Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Avonte Maddox.
The foursome has a total grand total of six punt returns between them and all of them were from Scott, who returned six punts three years ago when Doug Pederson was still in town.
The Eagles first game week depth chart listed Watkins as both the punt and kickoff returner, and that could make some sense.
Clay said the two most important things for whomever the returner is will be to catch the ball and make the first guy miss.
“You want to have the vision and the feel, like we say get a first down,” he said. “When we say get a first down that’s 10 yards, getting north and south, getting downfield, protecting the ball, making the first guy miss because there are guys out there in this league, there’s gunners out there that run 4.3, they’re going to make some guys miss on the outside but if we can make the first one miss and get a next level block, that 10 yards turns into a 20-yard return.
“So, making the first guy miss, catching the ball, and just giving that extra juice that may help propel the team to some momentum swings.”
Asked what gives him the confidence in a group that has never done it before, Clay said he, Roseman, and Sirianni will talk it through to determine who the best 11 will be on Sunday.
“Sometimes it’s the way the cookie crumbles at times, but it’s also the practice habits,” he said about his confidence level in the four names he mentioned as possibilities. “There are times out there when they’re catching the ball off a live leg or off the JUGs, (WR coach) Aaron Moorehead does a great job with the returners back there.
“Say it’s a punt day, he’s back there with the returners coaching them up, getting them confident enough to win with their feet, catching high hands, it’s a group effort.”
Clay did not mention UDFA Britain Covey, a current practice squad WR, as a possibility.
Competitive advantage perhaps?
Covey is the only one with any real experience at it, though all that resume was built at Utah, where he returned 92 punts in five seasons with the Utes. He had 29 of them last year for 14.7 average and two touchdowns.
He is on the practice squad, however, so a decision would need to be made to protect him this week and activate him on game day.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
