Every play has a chance to be a big one, a game-changing moment one way or the other, and as the rules of engagement have changed for special teams over the years, Michael Clay has rolled with the tides.
Innovating. Creating. Evolving.
There has not been a phase of the NFL game that has simply up and done 180-degree turns more than special teams.
The extra point, moved to the 15-yard line.
The kickoff – at times considered on the verge of extinction in the NFL – has changed dramatically in the last decade.
The onsides kick, now rarer than ever.
And on and on and on. You're probably too young to remember that the NFL moved the goal posts from the goal line to the back of the end zone 10 yards deeper way back in 1974, so this isn't anything new.
For Clay and special teams coordinators around the league, the ever-changing rules present some great challenges.
"I think that's the beauty of special teams. When you get in on it as a special teams coach, you've always got to kind of evolve with the situations," Clay said on Tuesday at the NovaCare Complex after meeting with reporters at his weekly press conference. "When I first got in the league, you were able to move around, motion around, put in pods on your kickoff unit, and there was that dead period where teams were kicking it out of the end zone for a touchback.
"Now, you see the uptick on returns, more than 75 percent of kickoffs are returned, so it helps as a coach to be creative and help your guys out. For the players, especially those who are four-core special teamers, it helps give them more play time, more tackles, more stats that are going to help them lengthen their careers. Go out there and make plays on special teams. There are opportunities."
The focus in 2025, of course, is the kickoff rule – it's hard to believe that the extra point rule, which moved the line of scrimmage from the 2-yard line to the 15-yard line, became the norm for the 2015 season – and it is a raging topic of conversation. Big plays happen on kickoff returns, both ways. The Steelers allowed a kickoff to bounce from the field of play into the end zone, and under the old rules that would have been a touchback. Under the new rules, the Seahawks recovered the ball in the end zone on Sunday for a touchdown. New England's Antonio Gibson had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to help the Patriots beat the Dolphins on Sunday.
There is a lot going on.
Through two games, the Eagles have, says Clay, done a lot of good things. He's pleased, but certainly not satisfied.
"I think our effort and our physicality, especially with the coverage units, has been outstanding and we have to keep that up. Some fundamental things we have to clean up in the coverage lane aspect. We gave up too many yards last week (to Kansas City) on punt coverage," Clay said. "We've added some players like Josh Uche, Patrick Johnson. Sydney Brown has been outstanding. Kylen Granson is doing a great job. Always looking to clean things up.
"And our kicking game has been outstanding. Really pleased there. We always want more, we think we're close in the return game, we made some strides last week, and we're going to keep working on it."
Placekicker Jake Elliott is 3-for-3 on plus-50-yard field goals, again establishing himself as one of the best in the NFL. Clay says Elliott has "ice in his veins and we all know that" and punter Braden Mann is fifth in the NFL with a 52.5-yard gross average on punts and is seventh in the league with a net average of 44.8 yards, with three of his eight punts landing inside the 20-yard line.
Never, ever has a group "arrived." There is always the challenge of the following week. The hidden yardage game in the NFL is a vital one to win, and Clay has the Los Angeles Rams and their excellent special teams groups coming into Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday and he very much wants his special teams to take it up a notch in all phases.
"You're always working to get better and to evolve, to be ready for the unexpected," he said. "Everyone in the league is still figuring it out. We are no different. That's what makes it fun and challenging and I love that. Our focus is on the Rams. We know how big every play is."
The special teams are back in a big way in the NFL and, truly, kickoffs are much-watch plays. Longer field goals – in part due to kickers being better and also due to the kicking balls having more break-in time from teams with warm weather a factor as well – are part of the equation now.
It's all fun. It's all furious. It's all special teams, the third phase of the game that has never been more important.
