13 hours ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I disagree that it was a guaranteed touchback. We'll just leave it at that.

Not only is it inside the 2 yard line where he fields it, he turns sideways to catch it. It was a 58 yard punt. The chances of that landing in the field of play and then bouncing straight up or backwards is next to nothing.

Question to the STs fans who follow this thread. Is it a wise move to sign Aubrey away from the Cowboys this Offseason?

12 hours ago, mattwill said:

Question to the STs fans who follow this thread. Is it a wise move to sign Aubrey away from the Cowboys this Offseason?

Wouldn't he be a restricted free agent? The Cowboys would match any offer.

9 hours ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

Wouldn't he be a restricted free agent? The Cowboys would match any offer.

You are right.

Chargers fiasco.

Braden Mann punted three times for the Eagles with an average of about 52.3 yards and 4.56 hangtime. Two were in the air for at least 4.5 seconds. All three were hit outside the numbers. J.K. Scott punted five times for the Chargers. He averaged about 50.8 yards and 4.92 hangtime with four reaching the 4.5 second mark and only two hit outside the numbers. The better statistical game goes to Scott (the considerably higher hangtime more than made up for the small deficit in distance), putting Mann's mark at 10-3 on the year.

Through thirteen games, Mann is averaging 49.1 yards and 4.55 hangtime with 62% at 4.5 seconds and 65% hit outside the numbers. Opposing punters are averaging about 45.4 yards and 4.39 hangtime with 41% at 4.5 seconds and 45% hit outside the numbers. Significant advantage for the Eagles.

The snap to foot times on punts were about 2.0 for the Eagles and 2.10ish for the Chargers.

Jake Elliott kicked off seven times with an average of 59.3 yards and an average starting position of 29.6. Cameron Dicker punted off seven times for the Chargers. He averaged about 60.4 yards with a starting position of 31.4.

On the season, Elliott is averaging 59.1/28.5. Opposing kickers are averaging 60.4/28.2. The numbers are getting closer but the Eagles are still in a deficit position here.

The snap to foot times on placekicks were about the same for both teams (although I was unable to examine a bunch of them). Around 1.30 across the board.

Elliott made four of five field goal attempts from distances with an EV of about 3.62. On the season, he's now 16-of-21 from distances with an EV of about 14.6. This puts him +1.4 which equates to about 4.2 points above expectation. Elliott's average attempt distance is a healthy 44.6 (league average is around 40.6). His Elo Kicking Rating dropped a point to 2282 which ranks twenty-second in the league. That's -0.16 standard deviations from the mean. The league average is 2293. The rating of Eagles Opponents improved to 2233, which would rank tenth. That's +0.57 STD from the mean. Opposing kickers just naturally kick well against the Eagles. It feels like it's been that way for decades. Especially on long kicks. Sigh.

The Top Five Kickers after fourteen weeks were Folk (2422, +1.84); Aubrey (2421, +1.83); Dicker (2409, +1.66); Boswell (2408, +1.64); McLaughlin (2386, +1.33). The Bottom Five Kickers were Ryland (2217, -1.09); Mevis (2216, -1.10); Grupe (2207, -1.23); Smyth-PS (2198, -1.36); and Moody (2163, -1.86).

Other stuff:

• Low snap from Cal Adomitis on the first Eagles punt. Kinda knee high. Not awful or anything but worth noting/observing. He was subsequently released but I don't think this was a performance based demotion. His time had simply run out since Charley Hughlett was now healthy. Kudos to Adomitis for doing an overall solid job for a couple of months. He could be someone who could get another look in the future. If not here, I expect him to play somewhere again.

• I thought the Chargers punter was a bit slow mechanically. He has kind of a long legged motion. If I were the Eagles I'd have tried to block those. They've also had some snapping issues this year.

• Kylen Granson had an impressive crossfield chase-down on punt coverage.

• Britain Covey had several very nice punt returns. I've always liked him.

• Moro Ojomo was flagged for a leverage penalty on a Chargers field goal which extended their drive. Ridiculous (not the call but the actual infraction). Fortunately for the Eagles the Chargers had to settle for a field goal anyway.

• Covey fumbled on a kick return and was lucky to recover it in a crowd.

• Andre Sam with a solid tackle on a kickoff.

• Smael Mondon with a tackle on a kickoff.

• Covey bobbled a punt at his own six yard line and somehow managed a good return out to the twenty-eight. He was also facemasked on the play with a penalty.

• I didn't like the idea of Will Shipley returning the kickoff with eight seconds left in regulation. Man, just take a knee there. You're NOT going to return that for a touchdown. The only team that's going to win there is the Chargers. There was an actual risk of a fumble which would have put the Chargers in position to win the game on a last-play field goal. The Eagles actually lost a game exactly like that in the '94 finale against the Bengals. That was Kotite's last game. The Bengals made two field goals in the final six seconds as I recall.