Coaching is hard … especially when the field is, too
PHILADELPHIA » The daring onside kick called by the Eagles to start the second half Sunday in Las Vegas might have worked except for one detail: The field was too hard.
Special teams coach Michael Clay said Tuesday that was the reason Jake Elliott’s kick to start the second half backfired, the Raiders recovering and six plays later, putting their third touchdown on the board for a 17-point lead in what would become a 33-22 triumph.
“Allegiant Stadium is a beautiful place and everything, (but) the field is a lot harder than we expected,” Clay said. “When Jake hit it, he hit his perfect ball. It’s football. It took a weird bounce on him.”
It wasn’t the only outside-the-box call greenlighted by head coach Nick Sirianni. In the first half the boss decided to take a holding penalty rather than decline and make the Raiders punt, to the apparent chagrin of referee Clete Blakeman, who back in the day played quarterback at Nebraska. Vegas quarterback Derek Carr promptly completed a 43-yard pass to convert the third-and-four, making Sirianni look silly.
Despite the bad bounce, Clay appreciated the confidence shown by Sirianni on the kick. Clay mentioned another almost play lost in the frustration of the Eagles’ fifth loss in seven games with the new coaching staff.
“They throw in their field goal team, and Derek Barnett got through and tipped the ball,”
Clay said. “Shoot, we would have loved to have blocked it, scooped and scored, and now it’s possibly a 30-22 game. So, it’s just one of those things where the ball just didn’t go our way. Hopefully in the next couple weeks we do have something happen where it’s a big return or maybe a block somewhere, and we give energy to the rest of the team right there.”
The Eagles are 3.5-point favorites versus the winless Lions this Sunday at Ford Field.
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Gardner Minshew has a fan in offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, who says the veteran of two NFL seasons and 20 starts is ready to step in seamlessly as the backup to Jalen Hurts, now that Joe Flacco has been dealt to the Jets.
“He’s played a lot of football in this league and had success when he was in Jacksonville,” Steichen said. “He prepares like a pro in those meetings. He’s in the meetings every day getting ready like he is up.”
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NOTES » Eagles signed long snapper Rick Lovato back to the active roster. Safety Jared Mayden joined the practice squad, and CB Michael Jacquet was released from it. … Eagles are 17-16-2 versus the Lions, including 7-6-2 on the road, but just 2-2 at Ford Field … With 10 TD passes and five scoring runs, Hurts is among 10 QBs with 15 or more TDs this season. The others are Tom Brady (22), Kyler Murray (20), Patrick Mahomes (19), Matthew Stafford (19), Josh Allen (17) and Joe Burrow (17).