By Art Beitchman
The 2014 Eagles season was affected by injuries throughout the roster, but special teams coach Dave Fipp had one of the very best in NFL, arguably winning them two or three games when the offense sputtered.
Darren Sproles (photo above), Eagles running back, punt returner extraordinaire was simply amazing this season. Sproles won NFC special teams player of the week twice, getting TD’s on punts versus the 49ers and Panthers that were timely, to say the least.
Specific players were brought in to bolster this squad, include back up TE James Casey, Bryan Braman, Chris Maragos, and Trey Burton.
The special teams scoring binge started with Chris Polk’s 102-yard kickoff return versus the Redskins. One week later against the 49ers, TE Trey Burton blocked an Andy Lee punt and Brad Smith recovered it for the TD. In a victory over the Rams, Casey blocked a punt, and Chris Maragos scooped up the ball and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown.
These teams made such an impact, the 2014 Eagles became the first team since the 2002 Ravens to score a special team touchdown in back to back games.
Surely, with the success they sustained this past year, the same emphasis should be maintained going into the 2015 season
