Elliott hopes confidence isn’t gone with the wind
Jake Elliott didn’t blow it Sunday as much as the swirling wind did.
But every Elliott kick has come under extra scrutiny since he signed a five-year, $19 million contract extension last November.
In that time, the Eagles’ kicker is 32-for
34 on PATs, both failures this season, and
21-for-30 on field goal attempts (70 percent), below his career success rate of 82.1 percent.
The 23-yard field goal that Elliott hooked left just before halftime Sunday would have given the Eagles a 20-0 lead over the Saints. Instead, the Saints had momentum going into half while Elliott was convincing himself it was the wind, not a larger problem, behind three straight games with missed kicks.
“First and foremost, I just want to say it’s frustrating,” Elliott said Wednesday. “The other day it was embarrassing for lack of a better term. It’s frustrating because that day I felt like I was hitting the ball really well, You guys probably saw that on the other kicks. But in my profession if you’re not perfect it’s a bad day. So, it was a bad day. I missed that one and I’ve had a couple now.”
All three missed field goals Sunday, including two by the Saints’ Will Lutz, were at the goal post nearest Pattison Avenue. Even the successful PATs at that end started left and knuckled back right, obviously due to the wind.
Elliott hit his missed PAT to the left to adjust for the wind. Except there was no gust.
Lutz, who banged a 45-yard attempt down the middle only to see it swerve right when it reached the end zone, also missed wide left from 57 yards. He, too, seemed to be correcting for the wind.
Elliott typically chooses to set up at the left hash on PATs. He kicked from between the hashes Sunday, claiming he was “wind dependent.”
“One side of the stadium it’s a little bit tricky because the wind comes through that open end and then bounces off the
other end so it’s kind of hitting you from two different ways,” Elliott said. “So, the other night I just tried to hit down the middle.”
Special teams coach Dave Fipp is much more cognizant of the 11 missed kicks since late last November than Elliott. To Fipp, there’s a pattern.
“Obviously, the last three weeks he’s had some short misses there,” Fipp said. “It’s unacceptable for us. He knows that and I know that. I have to do a better job with him just working our fundamentals, our techniques, our drills. We had a good snap, a good hold. I think the operation has been really good for him. He’s obviously made a bunch of longer kicks, so some of it is hard to fathom. At the end of the day, I’m not going to get into all the techniques and detail. It comes down to just striking the ball more consistently.
“We’ve got to get him in a little bit better rhythm and make sure he’s striking the ball a little bit more consistently there.”
Elliott suspects he’s been breaking off his follow-through too quickly to see if the kick is good. It was apparent in the 23-yard attempt.
“It’s just me kind of coming out of my follow-through too soon,” Elliott said. “That’s happened on some of the shorter ones whether I’m looking up too early or whatever it may be. I’ve just got to work on making good contact and finishing my swing.”
For the record, Elliott said the big con
tract hasn’t added pressure. Elliott’s own expectations drive him.
“I’m always going to be confident in myself,” Elliott said. “The best way to get your confidence going is going out there and making kicks. I don’t think (the contract) changed me as a player or a person. I work my tail off. This is really, really important to me.”
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Eagles defensive backs Grayland Arnold (hamstring), Avonte Maddox (knee) and Darius Slay (concussion) all sat out the abbreviated indoor practice Wednesday.
And of course, the Eagles are without safety and team captain Rodney McLeod, out for the season with a torn ACL and placed on injured reserve.
Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (rest) and offensive tackle Jack Driscoll (knee) didn’t practice, either.
The Eagles reported limited practice participation by linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring), safety Rudy Ford (hamstring), defensive tackle Malik Jackson (concussion), cornerback Michael Jacquet (hamstring) and defensive end Josh Sweat (shoulder).
The Eagles signed safety Blake Countess to the practice squad. They had selected Countess in the sixth round of the
2016 draft.
With Driscoll sidelined indefinitely, Doug Pederson said Matt Pryor would start at right tackle Sunday against the Cardinals (7-6) in Glendale, Ariz. The Eagles (4
8-1) are 7-point underdogs.