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Tag: #Britain Covey

  • Eagles Bring Back Some Familiar Faces After Roster Cuts – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    Amidst all the chaos of a blockbuster trade happening in the division. The Eagles have been loading the practice squad and depth chart back up with some familiar faces from the last few seasons. While we’ve already seen Patrick Johnson make his return in the preseason. The Eagles didn’t stop there.

    Adding To The Practice Squad

    After the initial rush of Waiver Claims saw 27 players get picked up across the league.

    Once the hype of the day was over the Eagles made a few extra additions to the team.

    Britain Covey

    After missing most of last season due to injury, the Eagles tried moving on from Covey in the offseason. Even attempting to find a solution in Avery Williams at the start of free agency.

    Once Williams was released for roster cuts the question became, who would be taking returns? Fangio stated last season he didn’t want DeJean permanently on the return team and the Eagles needed a solution.

    Now the Eagles will have Covey back on the practice squad and be able to promote him to the game day roster three times. In 2023 Covey played in 16 games with 29 Punt Returns for 417 yards and a longest return of 54 yards. 

    For now, there is a solution on the return team.

    Marcus Epps

    Just in case the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade wasn’t confusing already. The Eagles brought back another familiar face to the practice squad. With 94 total tackles, 4 TFL and 1 Forced fumble on the Super Bowl 57 team. Epps moved on with many of the Free Agents after the 2022 season, where he landed with the Raiders.

    Missing the majority of the 2024 season from a torn ACL. With his 2 year deal expiring, the Eagles brought back Epps and waived Tristan McCollum (who was picked up by the Raiders).

    Epps will rejoin his former team, as well as former Raiders teammate Jakorian Bennett.

    For now, the Safety position group consists of 

    • Reed Blankenship
    • Andrew Mukuba
    • Sydney Brown
    • Marcus Epps (PS)
    • Andre Sam (PS)

    One More August Trade

    The day before 53-man rosters were due, the Eagles brought back one more familiar face from the Super Bowl 59 roster. This time via a trade. 

    Bringing back Fred Johnson gives the Eagles an extra body along the offensive line who’s already familiar with Stoutland and the Eagles offense.

    With 6 games started in the 2024 season Fred will be able to fill in for multiple positions across the OL. Including right guard, tackle and left tackle.

    Now with extra versatility along the offensive line. Will the Eagles finally be finished making moves before their September 4th season opener?

    Or is there one more trick up Howie Roseman’s sleeve?

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    Tyler L’Heureux

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  • Eagles Collapse To The Falcons, Red Zone Inefficiencies & Inconsistencies – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    Eagles Collapse To The Falcons, Red Zone Inefficiencies & Inconsistencies – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    And just like that, there’s an eerie feeling about this 2024 Eagles team.

    We’re only 2 weeks into the season, so there’s no reason to give up all hope and abandon ship just yet. But with a catastrophic 4th quarter loss to the Falcons. There’s some glimpses of last years Eagles still prevalent today.

     

    Red Zone Inconsistencies

    There’s a few things the Eagles struggle with inside the red zone on offense.

    Not only did Saquon Barkley not see the ball inside the red zone until the 5:53 mark in the 3rd quarter.

    While the Eagles scored 3 touchdowns from Barkley in the red zone. 3rd & shorts became unmanageable without him. including what would have been the game-ending reception, dropped from Barkley’s fingertips.

    But that was the least of their concern.

    4th Down Aggressiveness

    We’re coming up to 3 years of the Tush Push being an unstoppable play for only one team in the league.

    But there’s plenty of opportunities wasted where the Eagles could play for a 4th and 1 situation.

    Not only are they able to play for these short situations, but the inconsistency of when it’s time to take points, or shoot for the endzone continues to be mind boggling.

    Below are the following situations, and how the Eagles approached them.

    Drive #2 (1st Q, 0-0)

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    The Eagles had gone for 49 yards before this drive ended. 39 of those, had gone to Saquon Barkley. Afterwards, the drive stalled, and an attempt on 4th down had the Eagles score 0 points after matching down the field.

    Drive #4 (2nd Q, 3-0 ATL)

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    This is one of those drives where the $255M Hurts contract looks like a value deal.

    The decision to run the ball on 4th & 3 paid off, and led to the Eagles scoring 7 to take the lead before halftime.

    Drive #5 (3rd Q, 9-7 ATL)

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    Once again the Eagles found themselves in the redzone, and chose not to give the ball back to Saquon Barkley in short yardage situations.

    Devonta Smith got them down the field, but this was the 3rd drive to feature a designed play for Britain Covey, that was lucky to go for the positive yards that they had.

    The loss of AJ Brown for what could be several weeks is an issue, but there’s plenty of players who barely saw targets, including recently acquired Jahan Dotson, who went 1/1 for 6 yards.

    Now when you get to the fact the Eagles were scared of a 4th & short situation. Electing to kick a Field Goal to go up 10-9. They had already left 3 points off the board, why not try it again? You could always hope for a stop or a turnover from your defense, right? Right?

    Drive #7 (4th Q 15-10 ATL)

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    The Eagles first use of the Tush Push during the home opener came during a 17 play, 70 yard drive that took up 9:34 of the clock. If they had saved some more time, perhaps none of the final drives of the game would have been as chaotic as they were.

    Drive #8 (4th Q, 18-15 PHI)

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    Once again, the Eagles were afraid of a 4th and short situation that could have not only ended the game, but they had played coy to kill the clock instead of going up 2 scores, something they’ve had no problem doing in previous games.

    The Eagles have a refusal to close out games on offense the easy way. opting for big plays, like in Seattle last year. Or both matchups against Washington.

     

    There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Eagles first loss. But the team has made Roster and Staff changes to prevent what happened last year from happening again.

     

     

     

    Photo Credit: Bill Streicher

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    Tyler L’Heureux

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  • A New Dawn for the NFL Kickoff – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    A New Dawn for the NFL Kickoff – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons.

    How Will the New Rules Benefit An Already Explosive Eagles Offense?

    In January of 2016 — Doug Pederson began the arduous process of evaluating and turning over the Chip Kelly’s roster. Kelly had gone through the same process back in 2013 when Head Coach Andy Reid left Philadelphia after fourteen seasons.

    One of the more intriguing prospects on the roster was former Oregon talent and wide receiver Josh Huff. Under Chip Kelly at Oregon, Huff was nearly unstoppable on the field. In Kelly’s fast-paced offense, he caught 144 passes for nearly 2,400 yards and 24 touchdowns in his career in the Ducks’ offense. As a senior, he earned All-Pac 12 Conference honors and broke a 43-year record with 1,140 yards receiving.

    As a professional — Huff was a roller coaster. At times, showcasing his incredible athleticism and speed, at other times fading away into the void of unproductivity combined with off-field issues.

    Against the Tennessee Titans in 2014, Huff set an Eagles record on the professional level with a 107-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff of the game. In 2016 against the Minnesota Vikings, Huff returned a second quarter kickoff 98 yards to the house. During that same season, Wendell Smallwood returned a second quarter kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown against the Washington Football Team after a penalty forced Washington to kickoff from the 35 instead of the 20 yard line.

    This season in the NFL, the excitement of the kickoff return is back. The new 2024 rule states that all kickoffs are from the 35 yard line with 10 players on the 40-yard line. This already energizing an Eagles offense that was ranked eighth in the league last year, has the best receiving duo’s in the league, as well as one of its best running backs. Flipping the field position is a gift for an offense like the Eagles who have the potential for chunks of yardage on any given play.

    In November of 2016 — after Huff was arrested when drugs were found in his vehicle — the Eagles released the dynamic special teams player and wide receiver. After stints with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Josh Huff was released in again in August of 2018. Huff would then play in both the CFL and AFF until his contract was not renewed in 2022.

    Could the speed of Britain Covey and Cooper DeJean not only setup the Eagles offense with a short field but put up some points of their own?

    When asked about the new NFL kickoff rule in the spring, Eagles Special Teams Coordinator Michael Clay said, “We have to use it as a weapon.”

    Yup. Dangerous.

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    Michael Thomas Leibrandt

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  • How the NFL’s New Kickoff Rule Can Help the Eagles – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    How the NFL’s New Kickoff Rule Can Help the Eagles – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    The NFL’s new kickoff rules will mark a big change in how special teams are played. With a touchback now resulting in the ball being placed at the receiving team’s 30-yard line, scoring should increase, as should large special teams gains — there will be more incentive for kickers to keep the ball in play.

    But what does this all mean for the Philadelphia Eagles? How can they use this new format to their advantage? What are some of the more hidden impacts of said format?

    How the Eagles’ Offense Can be Aided

    For starters, kickoff returns should skyrocket. 97 percent of kickoffs were returned in the XFL last season with the rule in place versus just 22 percent in the NFL. There will be more big kickoff plays, but the average spot of the ball after the kickoff will still probably be around the touchback area at the 30 — that was the case when touchbacks put the ball at the receiving team’s 25, so it’s a reasonable conclusion.

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    If punt returner Britain Covey, who had a solid season in 2023, serves as the primary kick returner, it might give the Eagles an advantage there. He has pulled off some big plays in the past, so that could set the Birds up for success over some other contenders.

    Looking at it from an on-average basis, there will only be an increase of about five yards from 2023 to this season. But how much can five extra yards really help the Eagles, though? Well, they arguably have the best long-range kicker in the NFL. Jake Elliott has hit kicks in bad weather from almost 60 yards out and has hit kicks from a legitimate 60 yards out before. The average yards per drive in the NFL last season was 25.9, so that would put the average drive around an opponent’s 44-yard line if that number held up. It likely won’t, but it’s the best we have. Regardless, getting those six yards past midfield would result in a 61-yard field goal. That’s in Elliott’s range.

    Is that feasible to hit regularly? No. In a situation where the Eagles need points late in a half, though, they might go for it. Instead of kneeling to end the first half as so many teams do, they might go for points. They have the offensive firepower to do so. Also, the epic 13-second field goal drive the Kansas City Chiefs pulled off against the Buffalo Bills in the 2021 playoffs could be repeated more easily. Those five yards really do have an impact.

    On drives where the Eagles end up going three-and-out, their defense won’t be in an awful spot. If they get, say, seven yards, that would have them at their own 37. A punt inside or around the 20 from there isn’t unrealistic. The same applies to all teams, but the Eagles have an elite offense that can take advantage of short-yardage better than anyone. A good offense can score from wherever — Philadelphia’s new play-calling should help with that.

    How the Eagles’ Defense Might Be Affected

    It will now be — albeit probably slightly — easier for teams to enter the red zone. The problem with that? The Eagles sacrificed touchdowns more than almost anyone when they got in that range last season. Sixty-five percent of red zone drives led to touchdowns against Philadelphia in 2023, which was the fourth-worst mark in the league. They were around the league average in 2022, so maybe a return to form is in order.

    Other than that, some of the same things apply. Perhaps it could be valuable for the Eagles’ defensive line to get a little more rest on touchdown drives, though. Since it is such an asset for them and that position tends to get the most tired on long drives, having less yardage be necessary for the average touchdown might save their breath. A play or two could be taken off on average. The big guys will appreciate that, for sure.

    The new NFL kickoff format might have you believe that only special teams will be impacted. In reality, offenses and defenses will have to adjust as much as anyone.
    If they can adapt accordingly, the Eagles can use the new rules to their advantage. Everything from good coaching to actual play on the field will have to be prevalent to make that happen.

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    Justin Giampietro

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