Eagles' special teams sputtering

Eagles' special teams sputtering
By Tim Panaccio
Inquirer Staff Writer

Rocky Boiman spent six seasons in the NFL with Tennessee and Indianapolis, doing yeoman's work on special teams while earning a Super Bowl ring with the Colts in 2007.

When the Eagles decided to revamp their return units over the winter, they signed the 28-year-old linebacker out of Notre Dame. But this will not be a quick fix.

Two games into the preseason, the Eagles' return teams are struggling to create lanes, and some of the returners are struggling to cleanly catch the ball. It appears to be a major work in progress.

"The new personnel play a little bit into this," Boiman said. "Guys are trying to get used to each other. Especially in the preseason, we've got guys rotating in and out so much, you're hardly ever next to the same guy. I think that's part of it. That's why you play preseason games: [to] get the timing down."

Even allowing for the horrendous field conditions at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday against Carolina, it is obvious that the Eagles' special teams are not opening up holes for the returners. The blocking just isn't there.

"It's a little bit of both - having new guys in new positions and getting used to the technique and executing your blocks," said linebacker Pago Togafau, working his second year on special teams with the Birds. "At the same time, the other team is making plays. We have to make and finish plays rather than allow them to get into the lanes we're supposed to keep them out of."

Coordinator Rory Segrest said he has been shuttling people in and out, trying to find the right mix for his coverage and return teams.

"It's difficult at this point," he said. "Right now, we kind of have an idea who's going to be out there. . . . We're trying to roll some guys in, [including] some of the younger guys who we may not have seen in a game setting."

During the Eagles' come-from-behind 24-13 victory over the Panthers, rookie DeSean Jackson had five punt returns for 46 yards, and Lorenzo Booker had three kickoff returns for just 20 yards. Booker muffed all three catches.

"I was thinking about running before I even made the catch," Booker said. "I'm thinking about everything; you can't do nothing without the ball. I'm trying to make a play instead of focusing on little things."

The 24-year-old Booker did not return kickoffs as a rookie with the Miami Dolphins last season.

"The most important thing on offense is to secure the ball first, whether it be a handoff, catching a pass, or fielding a punt," he said. "As far as special teams, I've never done it. I want to go out and prove to myself that I can do it."

Also new to special teams is rookie fullback Jed Collins, who has been taking significant snaps with the first-team offense in camp.

"Special teams is all about effort; it's a one-play kind of situation," Collins said. "You don't get to line up on second down and remake anything. Special teams requires you to go 100 percent."

Safety J.R. Reed has special-teams experience with the Eagles, but he is not returning punts or kicks at the moment.

"Watching the films, what I see is a lot of guys here learning the system, working to get into place," Reed said. "It's preseason right now, and it's trial and error. We're going to get better by the time the season comes."

One player who seems to be getting his part down is the rookie Jackson, who feels he is closing in on a big punt return.

"I've been very close to breaking one," Jackson said. "The lanes? On the punt returns, you have to be patient back there. . . . I'm seeing some lanes, but it seems hard to get to them. But I'm going to stay patient and work on it."

Extra points. Defensive tackle Mike Patterson has signed with agent J.R. Rickert, becoming the fifth Eagle that Rickert represents, joining Jamaal Jackson, Correll Buckhalter, Stefan Rodgers and Jason Davis. Patterson signed a seven-year extension worth $32 million in November 2006.

The team held its annual Eagles Carnival for charity yesterday at the Linc. Guard Shawn Andrews, who recently joined the team while being treated for clinical depression, was part of the event, even though he had some trepidation. "I know they are great fans, but there are also people . . . I will say for a minute that I read message boards and got caught up in that whole thing," Andrews said. "That even put more stress on me, just worrying about what people thought about me. People say a lot of times, 'I don't care what people think about me.' Me, personally, I don't care how people perceive me when they look at my hair, but I like people to think great things about Shawn Andrews. But you can't please the world."





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