Eagles Did Something Against Titans That Could Force The NFL To Change [PHOTO + VIDEO]
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
The Philadelphia Eagles found a new edge on special teams in Week 2. It barely took two games for the rest of the league to notice. And now the NFL may have to step in.
Special teams coordinator Michael Clay spends roughly three hours every Monday watching special teams film from around the league. That habit paid off. He spotted the Atlanta Falcons using a holder on kickoffs during Week 1.
The Falcons never faced any pushback for their version of the tactic in Week 1. Clay borrowed the idea anyway and adapted it for Philadelphia’s win over the Tennessee Titans.
Punter Braden Mann lined up as a 12th man on the field for four of Jake Elliott’s five kickoffs. Mann held the ball at an angle instead of using a tee. That change gave Elliott a different launch point for his kicks, and it worked. “It just gave us a different opportunity, a different launch angle and they executed pretty well,” Clay explained, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Tactic Produced Noticeably Better Field Position For Philadelphia
The numbers backed up the strategy. Philadelphia’s average starting field position sat at the 36.3-yard line against Tennessee. The Titans, by comparison, started drives at their own 31.2-yard line. The Eagles also forced far more returns than touchbacks.
The wobbly, knuckleball-style kicks stayed in the landing zone and out of the end zone, exactly as Clay designed them.
The tactic is legal under the league’s current kickoff setup. That rule already replaced the traditional kickoff formation with a version borrowed from the XFL. It allows a holder to stay on the field, as long as he clears it right after the kick.
League Now Racing To Close The Rule Before Monday Night
That loophole did not stay hidden for long. Bears reporter Adam Hoge flagged the tactic on September 24. Chicago hosts Philadelphia just days later on Monday night. Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower quickly weighed in on the discovery.
“The intent of the rule – and we are all going to get together on this and get this fixed – because the intent of the rule is a ball is supposed to be in a tee,” Hightower said.
Special teams coordinators around the league now plan to meet and address the issue. A correction requiring a tee could arrive before Chicago and Philadelphia even kick off.
That would give Hightower and the Bears an obvious motive for pushing the issue this week, since Philadelphia would otherwise carry the exact same advantage into their own building. The NFL has moved quickly on rulebook tweaks before this season, too. Earlier this year, the league added a challenge flag rule change directly to the book without a full competition committee vote. A fast fix here would hardly be unprecedented.
Holders will reportedly still be allowed to hold the ball at an angle going forward. They will just need a tee underneath it from now on.
Whether that small adjustment erases Philadelphia’s advantage remains to be seen once Monday night finally arrives.
Clay and the Eagles’ coaching staff have not commented publicly on the possible change since Hightower’s remarks surfaced. Given how quickly Clay found this edge in the first place, it would not come as a surprise if he were searching for the next one already.
