December 12, 2022
So what exactly happens when the punter goes down?
It's rarely a position anyone expects to get hit by injury, but it does happen, and did happen to Arryn Siposs and the Eagles during Sunday's 48-22 win over the Giants, in maybe their most bizarre special teams play all season.
Punting from the back of the Eagles' endzone on 4th and 16 late in the second quarter, Siposs' kick was blocked and fell left of the line of scrimmage. Somehow he was able to track the ball and be the first to it, taking off down the sideline and getting stopped just short of the first down marker when New York's Jason Pinnock knocked him out of bounds.
Siposs went down favoring his leg. He was hurt, and after getting looked at in the medical tent, had to be carted back to the locker room. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the game with an ankle injury, leaving the Eagles without a punter and the regular holder for kicker Jake Elliott on field goals.
What happened then? Was there a scramble on the sideline to find guys to fill in?
"Yeah, I don't know if 'scramble' is the right word," head coach Nick Sirianni said postgame.
Elerson Smith block Siposs punt .. Giants ball on the PHI 15#FlyEaglesFly 21 #TogetherBlue 0 2nd pic.twitter.com/knv04LMVft
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) December 11, 2022
Punt returner Britain Covey assumed holding duties, and Elliott went a perfect 2-for-2 on field goals and converted on all point-after attempts after Siposs went down, which there were a lot of.
As for actually punting, give major credit to the Eagles' offense for almost avoiding that question entirely, as they scored on five of their next six possessions – not counting the one that ended with the first half.
That said, Elliott did use the break at the half to practice punts and his number was finally called with 13:36 left in the fourth on a 4th and 14.
With the snap from the Eagles' 40, he booted a towering flyball 35 yards down to the Giants' 25, which probably ain't too bad considering it isn't his usual kind of kick.
With Arryn Siposs out with an injury, Jake Elliott 35-yd punt downed at NYG 25#FlyEaglesFly 34 #TogetherBlue 14 4th pic.twitter.com/HBTcETGE0K
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) December 11, 2022
An ideal situation? Not at all, but one readily addressed by a backup plan special teams coaches Michael Clay (coordinator), Joe Pannunzio (assistant coordinator), and Tyler Brown (quality control) had together just in case.
"I think, I know coach Clay, coach Pannunzio, and coach Brown were on top of it," Sirianni said. "Unfortunately, you practice those things and you hope they don't have to come to fruition. But you practice them and you get ready for them, just like, God forbid, if something happened to the quarterback. You do the same thing there. You have backups. You have to, with the roster sizes the way they are, you have to be ready for that."
So in came Covey and Elliott in their emergency roles, with extra emphasis on execution for the rest of the unit.
"It was just 'Hey, we might not like what's going on right here, but here's the plan: Covey, you go to holder. Jake, you go to punter, and let's get through this and make sure we're on top of it everywhere else,'" Sirianni explained. "'Snap, [long snapper Rick Lovato], you gotta be great with the snap to Covey. Jake, you gotta be great with your operation, because it's just a little different. And Rick, with the punt team, you gotta be great with your operation right here when we go punt.'
"The guys did a nice job of that. I don't think it was a scramble because of how much preparation goes into each and every thing. Coach Clay deserves a lot of credit for that."
What happens with the punting unit from here is all dependent on the severity of Siposs' injury. The team will know more after further evaluation in the next couple of days.
If Siposs does end up out for a bit, the Eagles could look to sign a proper punter in free agency to fill the gap in the meantime, possibly setting up for another unsung special teams hero as well – remember Cameron Dicker earlier in the year?
Siposs, 30, made his NFL debut with the Eagles last season and latched on to a steady role. However, he hasn't been among the league's most impressive punters. His net average of 40.5 yards per punt heading into Sunday ranked 22nd in the NFL and his 16 kicks placed inside the opposing 20-yard line were tied for 20th with Cleveland's Corey Bojorquez.
The Eagles are an NFL-best 12-1 and don't have too many glaring weaknesses, but punting hasn't particularly been a strength this season either.
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
