Special Teams blog

[brkmsn]

5 hours ago, Talonblood said:

You are glad Reagor is returning punts. Did you watch the game? He is terrible- flat out horrible.

Yes. I am glad. He should have been doing that last year. He would have already learned the difference between NFL coverage teams and college by now. He's an explosive playmaker with the ball in his hands and he will take a couple to the house this year. It's okay to make mistakes you can learn from and get better. 

[EazyEaglez]

4 hours ago, brkmsn said:

Yes. I am glad. He should have been doing that last year. He would have already learned the difference between NFL coverage teams and college by now. He's an explosive playmaker with the ball in his hands and he will take a couple to the house this year. It's okay to make mistakes you can learn from and get better. 

He looked pretty bad against the Falcons. Other than the return game I thought it was mostly a dominating special teams performance. I hope Reagor can learn from these mistakes. These guys need to learn to stop running backwards on returns. 

[brkmsn]

5 hours ago, EazyEaglez said:

 These guys need to learn to stop running backwards on returns. 

Which is what I've been saying:

 

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

Here's the recap from the season opening victory over the Falcons.

Arryn Siposs punted four times in his NFL debut. He averaged about 49.0 yards and 4.32 hangtime. Two of his punts had a hangtime of at least 4.5 seconds. All four of them were hit outside the numbers. I have the impression that the new special teams coach is an advocate of that strategy, more so than Dave Fipp was. So I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of punts toward the sideline this year. Cameron Nizialek punted six times for the Falcons. His average was about 46.0 yards and 4.29 hangtime. The obvious theoretical win goes to Siposs.

The Eagles snap to foot times on punts was much better than Atlanta's. They were usually around 1.90 seconds. The last one was a little slower. Atlanta's times were closer to 2.05 seconds, with one of them around 2.12. So I have the distinct impression that Siposs is going to be a "quick" punter. And that's a good thing, for sure.

Jake Elliott kicked off six times, but one was a squib at the end of the first half. His five traditionally kickoffs averaged about 75.0 yards (that's the back of the endzone, folks) and 3.96 hangtime. Younghoe Koo only kicked off three times. His average was about 67.7 yards and 4.36 hangtime, although I'm not 100% sure of the hangtime of the final kick. I did the best I could

Elliott made his only field goal attempt from a distance where the expected probability was about 75%. Along with his PATs, the time on the Eagles attempts were around 1.3 seconds. The Falcons kick attempts were a tad slower. So again, the Eagles were better with that. They almost always are, year after year.

Elliott's Elo Kicking Rating improved slightly to 2241, which ranks 23rd in the league. The rating of Eagles Opponents improved to 2279, which would rank 11th if such a player actually existed. The Top Five kickers after the first week are Gano (2377, about 2.21 standard deviations above the mean), Tucker (2363, 1.95), Lambo (2338, 1.86), Myers (2354, 1.78), and Crosby (2347, 1.65). Those dudes almost never miss. When they do, it's a shock. The Bottom Five kickers are Blankenship (2199, -1.08), Rosas (2196, -1.13), Seibert (2194, -1.17), Ficken (IR) (2177, -1.48), and Badgley (2171, -1.59). Badgley was released after the first week.

Other stuff:

* Andre Chachere made a super impressive play on the Eagles first punt. He was out of bounds, and he knew he was out of bounds. So quite smartly, he indicated to Zech McPhearson to down the ball. He knew in the moment that if he were touch the ball first, it would be a penalty. As the play unfolded, I commented about how smart it was, and I noted that if the broadcast people have any smarts about them, they'll mention after the commercial break. I was surprised and pleased that they did.

* Avonte Maddox (I think it was him) got away with a late hit at the sideline on Cordarelle Patterson on a kickoff return. It was kinda borderline, but the Eagles had been the beneficiary of a borderline sideline call a little earlier in the game, so I was surprised it wasn't called. The Falcons complained and I think they were justified.

* Quez Watkins ran backwards during a kickoff return. That's something you rarely see, and for good reason. It usually results in a dismal return. On another kick return, he barely got it back to the twenty yard line. All in all, and impressive performance by him.

* Jalen Reagor made a smart play on the first Falcons punt. He rushed up from his deep position to fair catch the ball at around the twenty yard line. This move probably saved the Eagles about ten yards...the yards the ball would likely have rolled before being downed. This has been a bugaboo for Greg Ward for awhile now and is probably one of the reasons he's not the team's primary punt returner.

* On Reagor's first punt return, he fielded the ball at the Eagles 37 and proceeded to run backwards for seven yards before finally getting to the 38. A one yard return. Horrible.

* On Reagor's final punt return, he caught the ball at the 21 with no defenders anywhere in sight. He then hesitated, ran back to the 18, danced around, and was tackled at about the 19 yard line. It ended up being a net loss on a return when he fielded it with lots of room in front of him. Again, a horrible play.

* JJ Arcega-Whiteside came close to blocking a Falcons punt. I liked the idea that the Eagles went for it after observing that the Falcons punter was kinda slow on his first couple attempts. This showed to me that there was some thinking going on on the Eagles sideline. It didn't work, but they tried. Not bad.

* I was mildly surprised that the Eagles attempted a field goal with a little more than a minute to go. On their possession, the Falcons courteously didn't call timeouts, thus allowing the Eagles to basically end the game right there. I kinda thought Sirianni would reciprocate by just running a play on fourth down rather than try to add more points to the scoreboard. It's hardly a big deal, but it's something that crossed my mind at the time

In summary, it was a pretty good game for the special team's units. The punter and kicker both had good games. The coverage units were fine. The big problem, and this could be an issue all season, is that the speedy return men (Watkins and Reagor) don't seem to know how to return. The natural inclination to run backwards is mind boggling. This needs to be corrected, the sooner the better.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

49ers game stuff.

Arryn Siposs punted four times with an average of about 49.3 yards and 4.66 hangtime. Three of the four had a hangtime of at least 4.5 seconds. Unlike the previous week when all of his punts were hit towards the sidelines, only one of the four qualified as such this time. Mitch Wishnowsky punted five times for the Niners. He averaged about 46.4 yards and 4.40 hangtime with four in the air for at least 4.5 seconds and two hit outside the numbers. The better statistical day goes to Siposs, putting his mark at 2-0 on the year in the theoretical 1-on-1 battle with the opposing punter.

Through two games, Siposs is averaging about 49.1 yards and 4.49 hangtime with 63% reaching the 4.5 second mark and 63% hit outside the numbers. The opposing punters are averaging about 46.2 yards and 4.35 hangtime with 55% getting to 4.5 seconds and 45% hit outside the numbers. It's a small sample but yes, so far the Eagles have had the better of it in terms of punting.

The punt mechanics were difficult to time but it appears to me that once again the Eagles were the quicker of the two teams. On the punts I was able to time, the Eagles were getting it off in a shade under two seconds while the 49ers were a little over two seconds. I'm talking about the time from the moment the ball is released by the center until the moment the ball leaves the foot of the punter.

Jake Elliott kicked off three times and Wishnowsky, who handled the kickoff chores rather than an aging Robbie Gould, kicked off four times. Elliott averaged about 71.3 yards and 4.33 hangtime. The 49ers kicker averaged about 68.8 yards and 4.18 hangtime. On the season, Elliott is averaging about 73.6 yards (nearly to the back of the endzone) with 4.10 hangtime. Opponents are averaging about 68.3 yards and 4.26 hangtime. So our guy is hitting it a lot further but not as high. But this is due to one kick last week that is kind of distorting the numbers. At any rate, I have been very pleased with Elliott's kickoffs thus far. He's always been pretty good (though not quite great) on kickoffs.

Elliott made one of two field goals. Based on the disances (45 and 47), the expectancy was about 1.40. On the season, he's now 2 of 3 on kicks with an expectancy of about 2.15. So he's at a minus .15, which means he's earned the Eagles about negative .45 points. Still too early to glean much from that. And besides, the kick was blocked so it's not like it was an errant kick. Elliott's kicking rating dropped to 2229, which is about .61 standard deviations below the norm, and now ranks 24th in the league. The rating of Eagles Opponents improved to 2284, which would rank fourteenth in the league. That's about .45 standard deviations above the norm. The league average after two weeks was at 2261. The standard is always 2200, which most kickers these days are routinely above. Yet at the turn of the century, it was pretty much a 50-50 proposition. David Akers was often below 2200. Kickers have just gotten so much better over the past two decades. It's really remarkable. The Top Five kickers after week 2 were Gano (2393, +2.54 STD), Tucker (2366, +2.02), Myers (2355, +1.81), Crosby (2347, +1.66) and Butker (2336, +1.45). The Bottom Five kickers were Seibert (2200, -1.16), Rosas (2196, -1.24), Gonzalez (2193, -1.30), Ammendola (2190, -1.30), and Ficken-IR (2177, -1.61).

Other stuff:

* Andre Chachere made a fantastic play on a punt at the goal line by diving into the endzone and throwing back to the field of play. Unfortunately Zech McPhearson unnecessarily tried to down it and carried into the endzone for a touchback. If he had simply let it alone it would probably have settled at about the three or four yard line. Bad play by McPhearson, great play by Chachere, who's already looking like a really good special teams player.

* And as I say that, I have to note that Chachere was flagged for a block in the back on the second 49ers punt.

* Jalen Reagor bobbled that second 49ers punt. It was slight but it was evident. He hasn't been a disaster yet but he still gives off the impression of being someone who's going to cough one up sooner or later.

* On the Eagles successful field goal, snapper Rick Lovata got off a low snap which was dug out nicely by holder Arryn Siposs. It worked out okay, but it's kind of troubling.

* Quez Watkins got away with an odd decision on a kickoff. Instead of fielding the ball at the one yard line and returning it, he casually walked away from it apparently assuming that it was going to land behind him in the endzone for a touchback. Okay, sure, kickoffs usually bounce that way, but that was still a live ball when it hit the ground. You can't be that reckless back there.

* Watkins returned one kickoff but only got to about the 20-yard line. The big missed block on the play was by Arcega-Whiteside, who has actually looked pretty good on special teams. But not on that play. Overall I haven't been too impressed with Watkins back there. He'll probably get off a nice return eventually but I'm afraid there are going to be a lot of ordinary ones sprinkled in before that happens.

* Jalen Reagor smartly let a punt land at the one yard line rather than try to field it. Unfortunately it bounced backward to the three yard line. Still it was a very good decision. He later let a punt land at the three which bounced back to the seven. At least he's showing the smarts back there that you want in a punt returner. When you combine that with the decision he made against the Falcons to charge up aggressively to field at punt rather than let it hit the ground, you'd have to say he's shown good overall judgment.

* Epps made a nice tackle on a punt return.

* The Eagles were smart on their final kickoff. The 49ers had to protect against a short kickoff or even an onside kick, so rather than drill the ball into the endzone, Elliott hit it high to the three yard line, which forced a return which backed the 49ers up on their final drive. Unfortunately they made the first down and clinched the game. But it was a positive special teams play at any rate.

[LeanMeanGM]

@FranklinFldEBUpper

Just curious, when you judge the punters are you skewing it to more punter specific stats (distance, hangtime etc)?

Siposs only had punt down inside the 20, at the 8 yard line (should have been two if not for McPhearson.)

Wishnowsky had punts downed at the 17, 3 and 7 yard line. 

Just curious how much credit you attribute that to the punters vs the entire ST roster. 

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

When I am attempting to grade is simply the actual kick (distance, height, direction) without any variable attached to the result of the play. I realize it is a rather simplistic approach which neglects other factors (i.e. if a ball that lands at the two, which might seem great, actually rolls into the endzone for a touchback). I'm sure there are other people and other metrics which do a better job. But I'm just trying to be simple and fair.

[LeanMeanGM]

On 9/22/2021 at 5:02 PM, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

When I am attempting to grade is simply the actual kick (distance, height, direction) without any variable attached to the result of the play. I realize it is a rather simplistic approach which neglects other factors (i.e. if a ball that lands at the two, which might seem great, actually rolls into the endzone for a touchback). I'm sure there are other people and other metrics which do a better job. But I'm just trying to be simple and fair.

Thanks. I wasn’t trying to question anything at all, just generally curious because the more I thought about it the murkier it got for me. Especially since Wishnowsky was ST player for the week while Siposs did a great job imo but suffered from someone else’s mistake. 

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

Cowboys Monday Night debacle.

Arryn Siposs punted six times for the Eagles with an average of about 45.5 yards and 4.33 hangtime. Only one of his punts had a hangtime of at least 4.5 seconds, and only two were hit outside the numbers. Bryan Anger punted four times for the Cowboys. He averaged about 50.8 yards and 4.46 hangtime. Only one of the four had at least 4.5 seconds while all four were hit outside the numbers. The clear winner goes to Anger, putting Siposs's record at 2-1 on the season.

Through three games, Siposs is averaging about 47.6 yards and 4.42 hangtime with 43% getting to 4.5 seconds and 50% hit outside the numbers. Opponents are averaging about 47.4 yards and 4.37 hangtime with 47% at the 4.5 second mark and 60% hit outside the numbers. Slight advantage for the Birds.

Jake Elliott kicked off four times and averaged about 74.5 yards and 4.08 hangtime, although this includes the opening kickoff which was extremely difficult to judge. I did the best I could. Greg Zuerlein kicked off seven times (too many!) with an average of about 73.7 yards and 4.05 hangtime. On the season, the Eagles (Elliott) are averaging about 73.9 yards and 4.09 hangtime compared to about 71.0 yards and 4.15 hangtime. More distance for the Eagles, more height for the opponents. But overall, very very good numbers all around. Everyone is driving the ball to the back of the endzone for touchbacks, it seems.

On punts, the Eagles were slightly quicker than the Cowboys with their mechanics. On placekicks, the Eagles were also quicker. In fact, the Cowboys were decidedly deliberate on their attempts. I'd be slightly troubled by that if I were a Cowboys fan. But that is something I'll never be. A Cowboys fan, I mean.

Elliott did not attempt any field goals, so his numbers remain the same. He's 2 of 3 on the year from distances with an expectancy of about 2.15. His Elo rating remained the same at 2229, which ranks 25th in the league and is about 0.58 standard deviations below the average. The Cowboy didn't attempt any field goals either so the rating of Eagles Opponents remains at 2284, which would rank 13th. That's about .45 standard deviations above the average. The league average after three weeks was at 2260. The Top Five kickers were Gano (2394, +2.52STD), Tucker (2374, +2.15), Crosby (2361, +1.90), Myers (2340, +1.50), and Butker (2337, +1.45). The Bottom Five kickers were Seibert (2200, -1.13), Gonzalez (2193, -1.26), Ammendola (2190, -1.32), Ficken-IR (2177, -1.56), and Rosas (2162, -1.85).

Other stuff:

* On the Eagles first PAT, the snap from Lovato was ever so slightly off target, which slowed the process a bit. I'm not *overly* concerned but it's worth noting.

* Andre Chechere made a solid tackle on a punt. He's quickly become my new favorite player.

* With about four minutes left in the first half, with the Cowboys ahead 20-7, they were forced to punt from their six yard line. The Eagles figured to get the ball at around midfield with the chance to score before the half and subsequently take the lead after getting the kickoff to start the second half. At least that's the mindset at the time -- that this is still a game and they have a chance for good field position. Instead, Anger boots the ball 56 yards and Reagor fields it at the Eagles 38. He proceeds to run backwards four yards before being tackled, only to have Greg Ward get flagged for holding putting the Eagles back to their own 24. It was such an awful play which earned the Cowboys 70 yards of field position. It is beyond infuriating how often Reagor fields punts only to immediately run BACKWARDS. I want to throw up.

* I'm not sure about the Cowboys longsnapper. I just have a hunch he's a potential liability in the future. I'm not unhappy about that.

* Greg Ward nearly blocked a Cowboys punt with four minutes left in the third quarter with the Eagles still down by only 13 and still theoretically in the game.) How did he miss it?

* There were no kickoff returns in the game. Everything went into the endzone for a touchback.

* On the Eagles final PAT, I really think the Cowboys got away with an illegal formation. I forget the specifics of the rule, but I'm kinda thinking it's illegal to have 6 defenders on the line to the left of the snapper with only 3 on the right. I don't think overloads like that are allowed anymore. At any rate, nothing was called.

* Later on, Reagor fielded a punt at the 31 yard line and ran backwards to the 28 before hurrying upfield to the 3 yard line for a net return of four yards. Again, I want to throw up. He's been somewhat reliable fielding punts and making good decisions back there, but it's almost a moot point when you constantly run backwards when you actually do return balls.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

Chiefs game. It was unusual.

Arryn Siposs and Tommy Townsend went an entire game without punting. The only other games I have in my records where a team never punted during an Eagles game were in Super Bowl LII (New England) and in the '04 debacle in Pittsburgh where the undefeated Eagles were demolished and the Steelers never punted. That was the game where TO went off on McNabb on the sideline. This was unusual in that both teams never punted. I marked it down as a tie, putting Siposs's mark at 2-1-1 on the season. All the other numbers remain the same.

Kickoffs were strange. I don't know if Elliot was suffering from some sort of injury, but his kickoffs were uncharacteristically low. His seven kickoffs averaged about 70.1 yards (about halfway into the endzone rather than the back of the endzone as he had done the previous three games) but with only 3.64 hangtime. That's pretty bad. Harrison Butker also kicked off seven times (sadly they were after touchdowns rather than field goals) with an average of about 69.3 yards and 4.37 hangtime. So about four yards deep with massively more height. On the season, Elliott is now averaging about 72.5 yards and 3.92 hangtime while opponents are averaging about 70.4 yards and 4.22 hangtime. That 3.92 average is decidedly lower than his usual average, which has bee consistently around 4.10 throughout his career. In fact his four season averages were 4.10 4.10, 4.08, and 4.11. It was just a weirdly poor game for Elliott as far as kickoffs were concerned. I'm curious how he'll do against the Panthers. Hopefully he'll have a lot of opportunities.

On place kicks, the Chiefs were actually quicker than the Eagles. It is extremely rare for the Eagles to not be the faster team with their kicks. I think it's only happened two or three times since I've started tracking it. Butker was getting his foot to the ball around 1.2 to 1.25 seconds after the snap, which is great. The Eagles were closer to 1.25 to 1.30, which is also good.

Incidentally, I often think about Butker when it concerns the Eagles. Because when they signed Elliott after Caleb Sturgis was injured in the opening game against the Redskins in '17, they had the option of signing either Butker or Elliott. Both were draft picks who had been released by their teams and were available. The Eagles chose Elliott and for the most part have been happy. But Butker has actually been the more successful kicker. Who's to say if he'd have done as well with the Eagles? And I'm pretty happy with Elliott's 61 yarder against the Giants as well as his super clutch field goal late in the Super Bowl to put us up by eight. Anyway.

Elliott made all three of his field goal attempts from short distances. The expectancy was about 2.8. On the season, he's now 5-of-6 from distances with an expectancy of about 4.96. So he's right around expected value. His Elo kicking rating improved to 2233, which is now tied for 25th in the league. The standard rating is 2200. The league average is 2257. The rating of Eagles Opponents remains at 2284 since the Chiefs didn't attempt any field goals. That would rank 12th in the league. The Top Five kickers after four weeks were Tucker (2379, 2.20 STD above the mean) -- and it's nice to see him at the top of the list where it feels like he just naturally belongs; Gano (2375, 2.13), Crosy (2362, 1.90), Myers (2340, 1.50), and Butker (2337, 1.45). The Bottom Five were Seibert (2200, -1.08), Ammendola (2192, -1.17), Gonzalez (2181, -1.37), Ficken-IR (2177, -1.44), and Rosas, who was subsequently waived (2153, -1.88).

Other stuff:

* Quez Watkins returned a kickoff from the two yard line and only got to the fifteen. There was a missed block by TJ Edwards on that one. Not a good play for the Eagles. It seems almost impossible to not be able to get to at least the twenty.

* After the Eagles first touchdown, the snap from Lovato was a little off target. Siposs had to extend for a it a bit. It was almost unnoticeable unless you were looking at the mechanics closely, but it kind of foreshadowed something that happened later.

* J.J. Arcega-Whiteside forced a fumble on a Chiefs kickoff return but the Eagles were unable to recover it.

* Watkins muffed a kickoff at the end of the first half and was fortunate to recover it. It could haven disastrous. He was subsequently removed from kickoff return duties afterwards, quite possibly as a direct result of his slippery fingers. But there was also something else on the play that I thought was interesting. Greg Ward was stationed about fifteen yards in front of him and as the ball was kicked over his head, Ward turned his back towards Watkins and gave the touchback signal. At that point he was not in proper position to be a blocker. Yet Watkins returned the ball. I'm wondering if it was a decision by him to not follow Ward's orders that led to the demotion rather than the fumble itself. Or maybe it was a combination of both. And then there's also the decision he made against the 49ers when he allowed a kickoff to land in the field of play that was still live at the moment it struck the ground. Whatever the case, I would say that Watkins has not been the breath of fresh air we were hoping for on kickoff returns this year.

* Lovato had a terrible snap on a very short field goal. Siposs was able to dig it out of the ground and tee it up for Elliott, who managed to line drive it through the uprights. There was a penalty on the Chiefs (which kinda seemed suspicious to me) so if he had missed it, the Eagles would have had another shot at it. They ended up accepting the penalty and going for it on fourth down, only to eventually have to kick a field goal again. At any rate, this is about the third or fourth short snap that Lovato has had this year that has been off target. The others were slightly off. This one was off by a lot. I'm kind of troubled by this. It's happening too much. It even happened later in the game on the final PAT. The snap on that one was a bit high.

* Jalen Reagor had a pretty good kickoff return later in the game after he replaced Watkins. He got the ball out to the 43. But even then there was a moment where he almost stopped at around the fifteen yard line. You shouldn't be doing that on kickoff returns. You don't stop and start and hesitate and juke on kick returns like you do on punt returns. Overall it was a good play, a successful play, and Reagor showed good running skills. He's fast and he can make positive things happen. But he doesn't seem natural at it as far as kickoffs are concerned.

 

[erformc]

Obviously great ST on Sunday - except for Reagor taking 2 KOs out of the EZ.

But watch on the play where CAR lined up for the 58 yd FG but ended up doing a direct snap to the kicker who punted it. The Eagles only had 10 men on the field. Genard Avery was the culprit who forgot to go into the game.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

2 hours ago, erformc said:

Obviously great ST on Sunday - except for Reagor taking 2 KOs out of the EZ.

But watch on the play where CAR lined up for the 58 yd FG but ended up doing a direct snap to the kicker who punted it. The Eagles only had 10 men on the field. Genard Avery was the culprit who forgot to go into the game.

Siposs shanking a punt off the side of his foot when he was pressured wasn't exactly a good play either.

[erformc]

1 hour ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

Siposs shanking a punt off the side of his foot when he was pressured wasn't exactly a good play either.

True, but he's been good enough this year that I'm not gonna kill him for that. More worried about JJAW throwing the old "Ole" block on that one.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

Panthers game.

Arryn Siposs punted six times and also had a free kick after a punt, which is something I always include and calculate as though it were a punt from the thirty yard line. So his seven efforts averaged about 45.1 yards and 4.26 hangtime. Five of the seven were hit outside the numbers. Three had a hangtime of at least 4.5 seconds, including one beauty that clocked in around 5.4. He also had a brutal shank on one punt that he rushed due to pressure in his face. Joseph Charlton punted six times but one was blocked so that doesn't count. He averaged about 38.2 yards and 4.69 hangtime. Two were hit outside the numbers and four clocked in at over 4.5 seconds. Zane Gonzalez punted once out of kick formation and got about 40 yards with 3.60 hangtime. The better statistical day goes to Siposs, putting his record at 3-1-1 through five games.

On the season, Siposs is averaging about 46.9 yards and 4.36 hangtime with 43% getting to 4.5 seconds and 57% hit outside the numbers. Opponents are averaging about 44.9 yards and 4.41 hangtime with 52% at 4.5 seconds and 57% outside the numbers.

The Eagles punting times (snap to foot) were significantly better than the Panthers. They were routinely around 1.9 seconds which is very good. Carolina was remarkably deliberate. Around 2.1 or so, including one at around 2.2. So I'm not surprised at all that the Eagles tried to block a punt late in the game. They had a good target to go at. Fortunately it worked.

Jake Elliott kicked off four times with an average of about 67.5 yards and only 3.87 seconds. That's two straight games he has been hitting the ball much lower than usual. Zane Gonzalez kicked off five times for the Panthers with an average of about 69.6 yards and 4.01 hangtime. So the Panthers definitely did better in this regard. On the season, Elliott is averaging about 71.7 yards and 3.91 hangtime as compared with the opponents numbers of 70.3 yards and 4.18 hangtime. More distance for the Eagles but more hangtime for the opponents.

Elliott made his only two field goals, including a 58-yarder at the end of the half which helped swing the momentum in the right direction. The expected value of his two attempts was about 1.33. On the season, he is now 7-of-8 from distances with an expectancy of about 6.29. So he's made .71 more than expected value which means he has earned the team about 2.13 points above expected. His expected points per attempt (that would be 2.13 divided by 8) is at .266 which is a career high for him. His Elo Rating improved to 2248, which now ranks 24th in the league. That ranking is -0.20 standard deviations from the mean. The rating of Eagles Opponents improved to 2300, which would rank 11th in the league and is .84 standard deviations above the mean. The Top Five kickers through five weeks are Tucker (2379, +2.15), Gano (2366, +1.75), Butker (2346, +1.53), McManus (2335, +1.33), and Boswell (2325, +1.29). The Bottom Five kickers are Wright (2206, -1.04), Ammendola (2203, -1.10), Blankenship (2190, -1.36), McPherson (2185, -1.46), and Ficken-IR (2177, -1.62)

Other stuff:

* Jalen Reagor returned a kickoff from five yards deep and only got to the 22 yard line. Again there a a moment where he came to a complete stop, which is something I hate in a kickoff returner.

* Of course Zane Gonzalez, a consistently below standard kicker, made all of his field goals including one from 50 yards. Opponents always do well against us. It's infuriating. Everyone turns into Justin Tucker when they kick against the Eagles.

*  On the Eagles first kickoff, Carolina returned the ball all the way to the 38. Poor job of defense there.

* J.J. Arcega-Whiteside missed the block on the punt that Siposs shanked. Or at least it seemed that way at first. It looked like he thought he was turning him over to Marcus Epps, who would have been perfectly positioned to make the block but instead headed upfield. Miscommunication somewhere along the way on that play.

* Reagor returned a kickoff from three yards deep and only got to the seventeen. And it wasn't a particularly high kickoff either. In fact the distance and height on that kickoff was not dissimilar to the one Darren Sproles returned for the Saints in the playoff game in the final few minutes which led to their winning points. Remember how it seemed like a big return was inevitable on that kickoff? Yet somehow when we get the same kind of kick, we can't even make it back to the twenty.

* Zech McPhearson made the tackle at the 35 yard line on the free kick after the safety. All things considered, that was a pretty good result.

* Reagor had a punt return for about 23 yards. On the play, he had a novel approach. He actually caught the ball and ran in a forward direction rather than aimlessly circling backwards. Perhaps this will be a thing of the future. One can dream anyway, can't they?

* T.J. Edwards blocked a punt with about four minutes left to position the Eagles to take the lead. Shaun Bradley fell on the ball, which is often the right play, but in that situation he would have been better served to try to scoop and score with the ball. Because even if the Eagles don't recover the ball there, they would still take possession. So he didn't have to be that ultra-cautious. Incidentally the snap to foot time on that blocked punt was around 2.1 seconds.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

Bucs game. It was weird because there wasn't much going on.

Arryn Siposs punted five times with an average of about 43.8 yards and 4.27 hangtime. Only two (the last two) had a hangtime of at least 4.5 seconds. Four of the five were hit outside the numbers. Bradley Pinion punted three times for the Bucs with an average of about 42.3 yards and 4.44 hangtime.  Only one had at least 4.5 hangtime and one (the same one) was hit outside the numbers. The better statistical day goes to Binion, putting Siposs's theoretical W-L record at 3-2-1.

On the season, Siposs is averaging about 46.3 yards and 4.35 hangtime with 42% at 4.5 seconds or more and 62% hit outside the numbers. Opponents are averaging about 44.5 yards and 4.42 hangtime with 50% at 4.5 seconds of more and 54% hit outside the numbers. So overall the Eagles are hitting it further but not as high. Kind of a wash, I guess.

The snap to foot times on punts again favored the Eagles. That's almost always the case. Mid 1.9s compared to a little over 2.0 for the Bucs.

Jake Elliott kicked off four times while Pinion kicked off five times for the Bucs. I got Elliott's numbers at about 73.3 yards and 4.14 hangtime compared to Pinion's 72.6 yards and 4.17 hangtime. Some of Pinion's numbers are kind of iffy. I did the best I could. On the season, the Eagles (Elliott) are averaging about 71.9 yards and 3.95 hangtime compared to 70.6 yards and 4.18 hangtime for the opponents. Same pattern as on punts -- more distance for the Eagles with less height.

The snap to foot time average on kicks were roughly the same for both teams. Elliott was quicker on his first PAT but was slower than usual on his FG attempt.

Elliot missed his only field goal try from a distance with an expectancy of about 70%. On the season, he's now 7-of-9 from distances with an expected value of about 6.99. So he's pretty much "on par" with the standard. His kicking rating dropped to 2230 which now ranks 27th in the league. The rating of Eagles opponents remains at 2300, which would rank 10th in the league. The league average is at 2257. The Top Five kickers are Tucker (2386, 2.47 STD above the mean), Gano (2367, 2.11), Butker (2352, 1.82), McManus (2336, 1.51) and Boswell (2334, 1.48). The Bottom Five kickers are Ammendola (2203, -1.04), McPherson (2195, -1.19), Blankenship-IR (2190, -1.29), Badgley (2177, -1.54), and Ficken-IR (2177, -1.54)

Other stuff:

* Every kickoff resulted in a touchback.

* On the Eagles second PAT, the snap was a little off target. Siposs handled it well.

* Josiah Scott was kicked for holding on a punt return.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

It would be a lot more enjoyable to track this stuff if the Eagles actually had a defense that could force teams to punt.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

Raiders game.

Arryn Siposs punted three times with an average of about 48.0 yards and 4.64 hangtime. Two had a HT of 4.5 seconds or more. One was hit outside the numbers. AJ Cole only punted twice for the Raiders. He averaged about 41.0 yards and 3.86 hangtime. Neither had 4.5 or more. Both were hit outside the numbers. Siposs was the clear winner on the day, putting his mark at 4-2-1 on the season.

Through seven games, his average was 46.5 yards and 4.38 hangtime with 45% at 4.5 second or more and 59% hit outside the numbers. Opponents were averaging about 44.3 yards and 4.37 hangtime with 46% at 4.5 or more and 58% hit outside the numbers.

As usual, the Eagles were much quicker with their punting mechanics than the opposition. In fact the Raiders were notably slow with theirs.

Jake Elliott had two deep kickoffs. He averaged about 71.0 yards and 3.96 hangtime. Daniel Carlson kicked off seven (!) times with an average of about 70.0 yards and 4.08 hangtime. On the season, Elliott is averaging about 71.8 yards and 3.95 hangtime. Opponents are averaging 70.5 yards and 4.16 hangtime. These numbers do not include onside kicks (which would be silly to include), and they do not count all touchbacks as being precisely 65 yards in the air. The way the league maintains their stats on kickoffs is stupid. A kickoff that lands at the five yard line and bounds into the endzone for a touchback is considered to have traveled the same distance as a kickoff that flies through the uprights and lands in the stands. The purpose of my record-keeping on this is to account for what the ball actually travels in the air.

Place kick times for both teams were roughly the same. Right around 1.3 seconds. To their credit, the Raiders seemed quicker than most teams.

Elliott did not attempt any field goals. On the season, he remains at 7-of-9 from distances with an expected value of 6.99. His Elo Rating remains at 2230, which ranks 26th in the league. The rating of Eagles Opponents improved to 2304, which would rank 7th. The league average is 2252. The standard is 2200. The Top Five kickers are Tucker (2389, 2.67 STD above the mean), Gano (2380, 2.49), Butker (2339, 1.69), McManus (2336, 1.63), and Boswell (2334, 1.60). The Bottom Five kickers are Blankenship-IR (2190, -1.21), Blewitt (2188, -1.25), Ammendola (2187, -1.27), Badgley (2183, -1.35), and Ficken-IR (2177, -1.47). 

Other stuff:

* Jalen Reagor actually had a pretty decent kick return to start the game, taking the ball from about the 7 to the 34.

* I can't complain about the onside kick attempt to start the second half. It was worth a shot. Unfortunately the ball took a big hop at the moment that Elliott stumbled in trying to snag it. It was almost doable. Oh well.

* Reagor had another decent kickoff return but fumbled the ball out of bounds at the tail end of it.

* On the Raiders first punt, the ball landed at their 49 and then rolled fifteen more yards (to the Eagles 36) before Reagor picked it up. He eventually returned it to the Eagles 41 yard line. It would have been a tough "get" but I'd like to find a way to have Reagor come up and field that ball on the fly. I'm probably being too critical in this instance though since the hangtime wasn't very good.

* Both teams hit the upright on PAT attempts. The Raiders missed theirs. The Eagles made theirs.

* The final kickoff for the Eagles was another onside attempt. This one did not present much of a challenge to the Raiders as the hop was a friendly one for them.

* Reagor allowed a Raiders punt to land at the five yard line. It bounced back to the 8. I consider this a smart play on his part. To be fair, I think his decision making on fielding punts inside the ten yard line this season has actually been pretty good.

[erformc]

Against DET, or the 2nd time this year, they only had 10 guys on the field for a FG attempt. You can bet a future opposing ST coach will have a "hot" call ready for a fake FG ready if the Eagles line up for a XP/FG block and someone on the FG team (likely the holder or kicker) notices they are a player short.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

Almost forgot about this one. The Lions game.

Arynn Siposs punted once for 47 yards and 4.72 hangtime. The punt was not hit outside the numbers. Jack Fox punted three times for the Lions. He averaged about 47.7 yards and 4.66 hangtime. All three had at least 4.5 hangtime and all three were not hit outside the numbers. The better statistical day goes to Siposs -- though it was very close -- putting his mark at 5-2-1 on the season.

Through eight games, the Eagles (Siposs) are averaging about 46.5 yards and 4.39 hangtime with 47% at 4.5 seconds and 57% hit outside the numbers. Opponents are averaging about 44.6 yards and 4.40 hangtime with 52% at 4.5 seconds and 52% hit outside the numbers.

Again, the Eagles punting "process" was faster than their opponents. A little under two seconds compared to a little over two seconds.

Jake Elliott kicked off nine times compared to Austin Seibert's one real kickoff. Elliott averaged about 69.8 yards (roughly midway into the endzone) and 4.06 seconds. Seibert hit his for 66 yards with 4.30 hangtime. On the season, Elliott is averaging about 71.3 yards and 3.98 hangtime compared to the opponents average of 70.4 yards and 4.17 hangtime.

Elliott made all three of his field goal attempts from distances with an expected value of about 2.49. He also made a 46 yarder which was taken off the board because of a Lions penalty which extended the drive. On the season, he's now 10-of-12 from distances with an expected value of about 9.48. So he's made .52 more than expected, meaning he's earned the Eagles about 1.56 points beyond expectation. His Elo Kicking Rating improved to 2241, which now ranks 26th in the league. With Seibert's miss, the first miss by an opponent all season, the rating of Eagles Opponents dropped to 2285, which would rank 11th in the league. The current league average is 2254. The Top Five kickers are Tucker (2389, 2.63 STD above the mean), Gano (2380, 2.46), Butker (2342, 1.72), Boswell (2335, 1.58), and McManus (2322, 1.33). The Bottom Five kickers are Blankenship-IR (2190, -1.24), Badgley (2186, -1.31), Ammendola (2177, -1.4), Ficken-IR (2177, -1.44), and Blewitt (2166, -1.70)

Other stuff:

* It looked to me like the Eagles first kickoff was intentionally hit short so as to try to pin the Lions deep. It did not work out too well, as they returned it all the way to the 34. To be honest, I have been disappointed with the Eagles kickoff coverage this year. Later in the game, a kickoff was returned from about eight yards deep all the way to the 33. Again, not good

* Greg Ward actually had a decent punt return where he made an oppoent miss and took it directly upfield for about ten yards.

* There were no punts in the game after the middle of the second quarter.

* After Jalen Reagor was injured, Quez Watkins was called on to return kickoffs. His lone kick return wasn't all that great. He only got to about the 22 and I was a bit concerned about his ball security. That arm seemed to be waving a bit. He scares me.

* A late short field goal by Elliott was tipped by a Lions defender. I believe the blocking culprit on the play was Andre Dillard.

* A late onside kick by the Lions was snagged by Dallas Goedert after it took a friendly hop.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

Chargers game.

Arryn Siposs only punted three times. He averaged about 40.7 yards and 4.04 hangtime. None reached the 4.5 second mark. Only one was hit outside the numbers. Ty Long never punted for the Chargers. Statistically I simply count this as a "tie", so that puts Siposs's number at 5-2-2 on the season. On the season, he's averaging about 46.0 yards and 4.36 hangtime with 42% at 4.5 seconds and 55% hit outside the numbers. Opponents are averaging about 44.6 yards and 4.40 hangtime with 52% at 4.5 seconds and 52% hit outside the numbers.

Excluding the squib kick at the end of the first half, Jake Elliott kicked off four times with an average of about 64.8 yards and 4.03 hangtime. Excluding the squib at the end of the game, Dustin Hopkins kicked off five times for the Chargers with an average of about 65.8 yards and 4.12 hangtime. On the season, Elliott is averaging about 70.7 yards and 3.98 hangtime (on his real kickoffs) compared to 69.9 yards and 4.16 hangtime for the opponents.

Elliott made his only field goal attempt from a distance with about a 97% expectancy. On the season, he's now at 11-of-13 from distances where had an expectancy of about 10.45. That means he's made .55 more kicks than expected, meaning he's earned the Eagles about 1.65 points over expected value. His Elo Kicking Rating improved to 2242, which ranks 23rd in the league. The rating of Eagles Opponents improved to 2287, which would rank 10th. The league average is 2253. The standard is 2200. The Top Five kickers after Week 9 were Tucker (2392, 2.65 STD above the mean), Gano (2384, 2.50), Boswell (2351, 1.87), Butker (2350, 1.85), and Koo (2321, 1.29). The Bottom Five were Badgley (2191, -1.19), Blankenship-IR (2190, -1.21), Ammendola (2180, -1.40), Ficken-IR (2177, -1.46), and Blewitt (2166, -1.67). Blewitt was subsequently waived by Washington and is no longer in the league.

Other stuff:

* It was amusing at halftime. There was a military drill team doing a silent routine on the field. The Chargers special teams guys came strolling about about halfway through the demonstration and the punter started warming up. Every time he punted the ball, the crowd booed. After about three or four attempts, he got the message to stop and stood respectfully along the Chargers sideline. The amusing point was that he really didn't need to warm up at all since the Chargers never had to punt the entire game.

* Quez Watkins returned the opening kickoff and continued to display questionable ball security. He holds the ball in his left arm, extended away from his body. It just feels to me like he's bound to cough one up sooner or later. I wasn't particularly surprised when he was removed from his kick return duties shortly thereafter.

* After downing an Eagles punt at the Charges 1-yard line, I casually mentioned to the friend of mine who was sitting next to me rooting for the Chargers that the Eagles almost "never stop the opposing team when they're pinned deep -- it just doesn't happen!" And sure enough they were almost instantly in Eagles territory. It's staggering how this has become so commonplace over the years.

* Shaun Bradley had a solid forceful tackle on the Eagles squib kick at the end of the first half.

* John Hightower returned kickoffs in the second half but distinguished himself in a negative light by returning the ball from two yards deep and only getting it out to the fifteen yard line. He was replaced by Watkins after that. It's kind of annoying that after drafting three speed receivers with presumed kick return skills in the '20 draft, the Eagles really don't have anyone who's particularly good at it. 

* Poor kick coverage by the Eagles on a kickoff to the goal line which was returned all the way to the 39.

* On a low kickoff (only about 3.4 seconds) to the four yard line, Watkins was only able to get the ball out to the 22. When you're given that much of an advantage (low kick, favorable spot in the field of play to catch the ball), your return man should not be getting engulfed that quickly.

[Waiting4Someday]

I’ve heard that the DEN special teams are particularly bad… they miss extra points, get punts blocked, neither cover or return kicks well. Perhaps special teams will be the deciding factor amongst two unremarkable teams.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

11 hours ago, Waiting4Someday said:

I’ve heard that the DEN special teams are particularly bad… they miss extra points, get punts blocked, neither cover or return kicks well. Perhaps special teams will be the deciding factor amongst two unremarkable teams.

Well, I suspect every kickoff is going to be a touchback because of the altitude. And since we don't force punts too often, well, I doubt we'll be able to take advantage of their weaknesses.

[Waiting4Someday]

2 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

Well, I suspect every kickoff is going to be a touchback because of the altitude. And since we don't force punts too often, well, I doubt we'll be able to take advantage of their weaknesses.

Perhaps a missed extra point then, 26-24

[UK Eagle]

I just noticed this in the game. On XPs and FGs, Siposs indication for Lovato to snap is a closed to open fist.  Could be a rookie type notice from me, but I was wondering if this was a standard procedure for teams?  It seems an obvious tell that the snap is coming

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

4 hours ago, UK Eagle said:

I just noticed this in the game. On XPs and FGs, Siposs indication for Lovato to snap is a closed to open fist.  Could be a rookie type notice from me, but I was wondering if this was a standard procedure for teams?  It seems an obvious tell that the snap is coming

I think that's pretty standard.