Eagles' Michael Clay: Braden Mann’s Field-Flipping Week 1 Was a Luxury for Eagles

PHILADELPHIA — Braden Mann gave the Eagles a hidden advantage in the hard-fought 24-22 Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders, flipping field position with four punts inside the 20-yard line.

The Texas A&M product had seven punts for 361 yards, and a 51.6-yard average overall.

Special teams coordinator Michael Clay called that kind of punting a luxury.

“It’s definitely a luxury,” Clay said. “{Mann] works at his craft as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen on the football field. We have a great line of communication on where he wants to go, how he feels, the wind and everything of that nature."

Clay's big piece of advice to Mann involves committment.

“I always tell him, ‘Just commit to it," said Clay. "Pick a direction we want to go, commit to it and everything else will play out.’ I thought he did an unbelievable job last game to help flip the field. I know he was definitely cooking in the first half. Then his last punt, 51 yards into the right corner, that’s pretty impressive for him, but he’s still going to think he could do better in some aspects. But it’s always a luxury to have a punter of that caliber.”

Mann’s net average was an impressive 44.0 yards, forcing Washington to start several possessions deep in its own territory, including multiple pins inside the 10. The Commanders never scored off his punts.

Four of those drives ended in three-and-outs. A late first-half coffin-corner kick died at the Commanders’ 2-yard line with 33 seconds left, forcing Washington to play 'No Mas' before heading to the locker room.

No Joystick

Eagles STC Michael Clay | John McMullen/Eagles on SI

Clay was also asked how Mann makes the ball take a sudden left turn after it hits the ground. The STC downplayed that, noting while Mann had a special week, he doesn’t have a joystick in his leg.

“I don’t think he has any control of that,” Clay said. “There’s obviously different punts you can hit, but once it leaves his foot, I don’t think he has a joystick where he can control it.

“There are some aspects to it when you do kick a ball a certain way, you may expect a different trajectory. I think [former All-Pro punter] Johnny Hekker brought that a little bit when he was in L.A., with the type of kicks he was hitting where it would just take a sharp right turn. Once that ball leaves his foot, I think he’s just at the mercy of the bounce, but at times, you do get a nice bounce, and it’s fortunate for us.”

Clay also gave the gunners – Kelee Ringo and Darius Cooper – and his interior coverage players credit for winning the field-position game as well.

“I thought the gunners and the interior did a good job,” said Clay. “You see a lot of the times guys get overzealous and they kick the ball into the end zone. They did a good job — Kelee [Ringo], Tank [Bigsby], E.J. [Jenkins] — just kind of getting around and letting that ball come to rest.”

Coverage was as important as placement. Mann had no touchbacks in the game while returns totaled 53 yards on four attempts.

The Eagles’ offense was inconsistent in the game and the defense spent 70 snaps on the field. Mann’s punts often bought both units time to figure it out, as well as better positioning.

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