PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Britain Covey’s eyes wandered for about two endless seconds as Jack Fox’s punt peaked and descended toward him.
As the Eagles’ kickback waited for the ball, teammate Zach Pascal, who was looking to block a Lions defender, fell on Covey. Still, Covey kept his eyes on the punt and slotted the ball in to catch it cleverly at the Eagles’ 17-yard line. yard line early in the final quarter.
Had Covey missed the catch, the Lions could have recovered near the Eagles’ line of purpose, and that could have been disastrous. The Eagles led in 10 troubles in a game they would win 38-35.
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For Covey, it’s no big deal, even if it’s his first NFL game, at an unbearably noisy Ford Field.
In fact, earlier this week, Eagles special group coordinator Michael Clay described how wide receiver coach Aaron Moorehead “threw cones, bags, shields at them” as the clearing boots approached them.
Covey said it was nothing compared to the training balls that Morgan Scalley, the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Utah, threw in kickbacks’ practice when they jammed clearance kicks.
The most underrated game of the setting that the charming takes through Britain Covey with Zach Pascal on his lap. Impressive balance from a rookie in his first NFL game. It may have been a desastre. pic. twitter. com/QHYqQsyHj3
“He would hit me as soon as I nailed it,” Covey said. He threw those balls at me, he threw cones into the air, all those other things. It’s anything you practice. During the summer, I nailed 50 clearance boots a day. I looked for it to be a natural moment where you never think about catching the ball. You just do it (snap your fingers) instinctively.
But Covey said there’s more to just catching the ball, which is pretty hard.
“For me, it’s quite an art,” he said. With authorization returns, other people will think that anyone can back down to reach an authorization. You don’t realize how many moving parts there are, and it’s actually a skill you can divide into sections.
“The first 2 seconds correspond to the moment when (the bettor) hits him. Then, the next two seconds correspond to the moment when he hits the most sensitive part of the ball. Then the 2 seconds from the most sensitive part down.
Here is Britain Covey running in a two-game setback. #Aigles pic. twitter. com/gZNn7nyG9o
“And then you compartmentalize it like that. “
For the first two seconds, Covey scrutinized the field, looking for where the blockers were covered and where the opponent was attacking from. The next two seconds, judge where the balloon will land and try to approach within a radius of five meters.
After that, Covey said, “The only thing you’re involved in is the ball. . . That’s why it’s there. “
The Eagles desperately want him from their returner.
Over the past two seasons, they have gone through hardships and tribulations with Jalen Reagor. There was an advantage, when Reagor returned a 73-yard clearance kick for a landing in a December 2020 game against Green Bay. But there was also a disadvantage, unlike Tampa Bay in the playoffs last January, when it missed a clearance kick that led to a Buccaneers landing and then missed another.
Even a big catch has become an adventure.
And while Clay wasn’t asked to compare Covey to Reagor, he provided a characterization of Covey that shows how much the Eagles accept as true to Covey, even though he’s technically still on the practice team.
“It’s great, calm and serene,” Clay said. It’s like having a veteran there. He grabs it, he goes down. “
But there’s more to it than that. Covey said he hates players who ask for fair receptions rather than attempting even a short comeback that can hurt his lap average. He compares it to an NBA player who refuses to throw the ball to the basket at the end of a quarter because it would be negative. your percentage of purpose in the field.
Covey, for example, let a catch pass for a 2-meter return and said, “You can get ahead 2 meters. It’s better than nothing. “
In total, Covey returned two kicks for thirteen yards, an average of 6. 5 yards consistent with the return.
“Nothing bothers me anymore,” Covey said of the basketball player who probably wouldn’t take that time on the court.
In Utah, Covey backed up 92 kickoffs, an average of 11. 9 yards per throwback and four touchdowns.
The Eagles were impressed. That’s why they gave a 5-foot-8-inch, 173-pound player the chance to make the 53-man roster by signing him last spring as an undrafted free agent.
Covey, meanwhile, made sure he was ready. He said he hit at least 50 clearance kicks every day during the offseason at his home in Utah. He often played with BYU bettor Ryan Rehkow. When Rehkow couldn’t come, Covey hired a high school punter to play with him.
Covey would also seek the recommendation of Vai Sikahema, a well-known Eagles pitcher in the 1980s, who, according to Covey, is a close friend of the family circle. Darren Sproles.
Sikahema, of course, is known for hitting goal posts after scoring a touchdown. Is that something Covey would do?
“He gave me permission,” Covey said with a smile. But there’s one thing Covey probably wouldn’t try to emulate from Sikahema.
“I’m going to box with Jose Canseco,” he said.
It turned out that Sikahema eliminated Canseco in a celebrity boxing match in 2008. Covey already has enough to worry about catching liquidation boots with items, and teammates, coming straight to him.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline. com. Follow @Mfranknfl on Twitter.