Eagles head coach Doug Pederson spends most of his time working with the offense, but since Saturday’s game he has taken an increased role in working with the special teams.
Pederson said after the Eagles lost the ball on a muffed punt and missed an extra point Saturday that he has met with special teams coordinator Dave Fipp twice since that game to figure out how they can correct those issues.
“It’s just something we’ve just got to keep coaching our players,” Pederson said, via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. “I talked to Dave again today and yesterday about it, and we’ve just got to make sure we keep talking. We had some young guys on those plays that were exposed for kind of the first time in that situation, and we’ve just got to keep talking to our players and keep coaching them up.”
Pederson said he told Fipp to make sure the players understand what they have to do to avoid special teams mistakes.
“A lot of times it is about awareness and just being aware of the situation,” Pederson said. “As coaches we try to put our players in positions to be successful, and then once the play goes and the play and the snap of the ball, then it’s kind of up to the player to execute the plan and the details of their work. A lot of times, as much as I stand up here and talk to the guys about weather and wind and it’s cold, it’s sunny, it’s hot, and ball security, this, that and the other, it’s part of being a professional athlete sometimes, being aware of the situation and what we’re trying to get accomplished.”
The only touchdown the Eagles gave up on Saturday was set up by that muffed punt. Pederson doesn’t want to see that kind of mistake again.