Why Eagles are confident in their punter despite last year’s struggles

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Why Eagles are confident in their punter despite last year’s struggles

 

Arryn Siposs didn’t have a punting problem last season.

He had a dropping problem.

At least that’s how the Eagles’ 29-year-old described it last week at training camp.

"Nine times out of 10 it’s not even about kicking the ball,” Siposs explained.

After reviewing his performance that dropped off drastically in 2021, Siposs realized his problems arose with inconsistencies when he dropped the football to his right foot. The angle being off just a few degrees can drastically change the trajectory of the ball in the air, according to Siposs.

So that’s what he worked on all offseason.

Siposs spent most of his spring and summer in Philadelphia but even on his trip home to Melbourne, Australia, he seeked out the windiest days to work on his drops and find the consistency he was lacking late in 2021.

"I thought Arryn did a great job during the offseason,” Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay said. "We gave him some stuff to work on and I thought he's done an absolutely great job of doing those things we asked him to do.”

Siposs became the Eagles punter in 2021 after the team let Cameron Johnston walk as a free agent. They were confident enough in Siposs that they never brought in any competition and early during last season that looked like a good gamble. Siposs was fine.

But as the season went on and the weather became trickier, Siposs began to struggle more and more. By the end of the season, Siposs ranked 24th out of 29 qualifying punters in net average (38.7) and 23rd in gross average (43.9).

After averaging 45.86 gross yards per punt through the first 12 games, Siposs averaged just 38.67 in the final six games of the season, including the playoff game in Tampa.

"Look, for the first 12 weeks last year, I think I kicked the ball really, really well. That’s the reality in my mind,” Siposs said. "The last few weeks it wasn’t quite there. There were a couple of times we punted from shorter distances and the averages weren’t there. There were a couple games I was absolutely horrible, especially against the Cowboys, and that’s absolutely unacceptable.

"So I take that on the chin and I got myself in better shape how I want the ball to be dropped consistently.”

Siposs said assistant special teams coordinator Tyler Brown has been "phenomenal” in helping him to improve. And when he was back in Australia, Siposs worked with his personal coach Nathan Chapman, the director of Prokick Australia.

For the second straight summer, the Eagles don’t have any competition for Siposs in training camp. That might seem odd based on Siposs’s performance last season.

"Maybe that’s a sign that they fully back me to get the job done,” Siposs said. "I appreciate that. In the end, that’s not my decision.”

Of course, confidence matters. Perhaps by showing confidence in Siposs, the Eagles hope that will boost his own. While the backing from the Eagles has to feel good, Siposs said he feels confident because of the work he’s been putting in.

A big part of the messaging to Siposs from his coaches has been about confidence.

"For me personally, just telling him to be confident in what he does,” Clay said. "Regardless of what he does every day, just be confident and believe in yourself. You're here for a reason. Just having that confidence to step on the field and go out there and produce like he did early on in the season I think is just going to help him going forward.”

While Siposs’s main job with the Eagles is to punt the football, his secondary job is as the field goal holder for Jake Elliott and Elliott is coming off his best professional season and a Pro Bowl nod. You can see why the Eagles wouldn’t be in a hurry to torpedo that operation.

But it’s not enough for Siposs to just be a good holder. His first job is to be a punter and everyone knows it.

We’ll find out eventually if all this offseason work pays off … just not until the weather turns.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-training-camp-2022-why-eagles-are-confident-arryn-siposs