Eagles head coach Andy Reid brought special teams coach Bobby April to Philadelphia because he was supposed to be one of the best if the not the best in the league. April’s special teams have been anything but special.
If you want to know why Reid is likely to be fired, it’s because he’s made some very bad decisions on the players, who play for him and the staff which assists him. Think about the drop off from current Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to April.
Their main contribution to the game yesterday was allowing a 78-yard punt return which totally turned the game around. It was ironic that the final match which was thrown on the pile was contributed by the Eagles special teams because they haven’t made much of a positive contribution all year long.
“That was a big play,” said April. “Probably the most critical play in the game. There were other plays, but they followed that one. That gave them the impetus to maybe set the stage for things they could do pass-rushwise and everything else. It turned the game in their favor.”
Wide receiver Riley Cooper made a big play on the goalline early in the game by going up and taking the ball away from Dallas cornerback Morris Claiborne. Unfortunately, Cooper helped give the touchdown back when he lost contain on punt coverage from his right tackle position.
Cooper made the mistake of getting induced to go inside on his coverage even though he knows he’s supposed to be outside to the right side of the return. The Cowboys set up a wall down the sideline and Dwayne Harris caught the punt then promptly took it to the left side and got behind a couple of teammates who gave him a 78-yard escort down the sideline for the score.
If Eagles kick off returner Brandon Boykin were to bring a kick off back pass the twenty-five or thirty-yard line, all the fans at Lincoln Financial Field would faint. When Boykin gets his hands on the football I have no expectation for him to get the ball out much further than the twenty-yard line.
We don’t even know what it would look like for the Birds to return a punt for a touchdown or even for more than ten yards. The Eagles punt return team is flat out awful. All the Eagles punt return team does is make fair catches.
Kicker Alex Henery missed an extra point and wasn’t able to give the onside kick team a decent chance of competing for the ball.
This is the worst special teams unit the Eagles have had during Andy Reid’s tenure at head coach. They are pathetic.
This is the SOFTEST EAGLES TEAM IN HISTORY.
Maclin just stopped on a pass that Coles lead him on. He Just STOPPED on National TV!
King Dunlap just stopped on an interception return.
The special teams just quit on the dallas kick return for a TD.
This team is FAT and SOFT and a reflection of the HEAD coach.
THIS IS A SAD FOOTBALL TEAM.
They should just be called the EAGLES.
They don’t deserve the right to put the name PHILADELPHIA in their name.
PHILADELPHIA is a lot tougher than the wussy’s.
Why isn’t Reid the least bit ticked off, why doesn’t kick somebody in the shins, no juice from the coach, no fire in this team
I agree and have called for ST Coach’s head (April’s) for the last 2 Years
He should have been fired last Season with Ike Reese/Mike Zordich running the
SpeciaL Teams
He has also been used and relied up for Draft Elvauations down at he Senior Bowl and Indy Combine during his Time in PHilly which could also explain some of these shitty Draft PIcks by the Team the last few Drafts..which I am sure many of which came with high recommendations from April..
TO make these matters worse and add more salt to the wounds
April is the 2nd Highest Special Teams Coach in the NFL and if you take the
great individual efforts of D-JAx Away the last 3 seasons, The Eagles Special Teams have sucked.. No Kick-Off Returns by an assortment of players.
Poor Coverage Units across the board, Poor/Average Punting, Short Kick-Offs with both Akers and now Henerey.. I believe the Eagles are the only Team who has a Kicker who can’t kick in into the end-zone unless he has a strong wind behind him.. every other game I watch has kickers booming to the back and even out of the end-zone.. WTF…
on the punt return for a TD, both Nate Allen and Jamar Chaney didnt hustle….they watched the play, hit the wrong lanes and lolly gagged it down the field…. Allen can’t tackle, can’t cover and can’t play… get rid of him…Chaney should have never made the team out of camp…. he can’t even beat Mathews for playing time.
Good thing the Eagles used a 4th round draft pick on a kicker who cant make an extra point
haaaaaaaaaa this team is such a disgrace
I keep hearing from GM Roseman and Coach AR that 20 players from the last 3 Draft Classes would be great Special Team Players..
(Jarret, Clayton,Cooper,D Johnson, Boykin,Matthews,Chaney,Marsh,Dion Lewis, Teo Neisham,Coleman,Jack Ike etc,etc) and we are still waiting…