Eagles OC Explains Lobbying Isn't Uncommon In The NFL

On Sept. 28 in Tampa, Eagles' receiver DeVonta Smith had the fewest targets over his four-plus years in the NFL.

"You know, everybody handles things differently," Smith said after the Bucs game. "
I control what I can control. You know, the play calls are the play calls, the coverages we get are the coverages. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want it to, and that's just that."

Without the big numbers, the frustration was growing for Smith and fellow star WR A.J. Brown.

"I think that's where the frustration comes in at. Nothing on offense is going good right now," Smith said. "And I think that's where the frustration comes with a lot of us. Not that, we just want the ball and things like that. We want the offense to be moving in the right direction, and right now we're not doing it."

That's been rectified over the subsequent three weeks, where Smith has all of a sudden become one of the higher-volume pass-catchers in football, ranking fourth in receptions over that span and third in receiving yards, helped along by a breakout nine receptions for a career-high 183 yards during a 28-22 win over Minnesota in Week 7.

“He’s had a lot of opportunities and he has made the most of them,” offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo said earlier this week when discussing Smith. “He’s a dynamic player, right? He’s a Heisman Trophy winner. He is one of the best players in the league still, obviously. We’re going to use him in any capacity we can, and his energy is just infectious at all times."

Smith really brought the house down during an old-school shot play against the Vikings that he lobbied for.

The traditional play-action hook with max protection, Smith pounded the table for had old friend Isaiah Rodgers getting caught up in Smith's double move, only to get lost in translation and trailing behind what turned into a 79-yard touchdown.

"He had a lot of confidence in that look," quarterback Jalen Hurts said. "Had a lot of confidence in that. And he was chirping about it and ended up getting called. I say great feel by him, great execution from the eyes of the front. And then great call by KP."

Patullo explained the Genesis of the shot.

"That play was put in on Wednesday when we put the [game] plan together," Patullo said. "It was a play off of a play. The process started Wednesday with the installation. We walk through it, we go through it in practice, and then as you get closer to the game, we identify which plays we like going in. There's some setup plays that lead to a play like that. When you go through that process, the guys know it's on their radar, and obviously, that was one that potentially could go to him or to [WR] A.J. [Brown.] They're both on high alert for like, 'Hey, if this gets called, this is my deal.'

"What was going on early in the game was we had some formations and some plays that set up the looks potentially."

Patullo went on to laud the football IQ of players like Smith being able to recognize something that could be coming to life.

"What's great about our team is their football IQs are so high, so when I asked them a question like, 'Hey, can you run what I need you to run here, what's his leverages?' The guys are really good about identifying what they're seeing and telling me," the OC said. "Once we got the question asked and he answered it, then it was a matter of like, 'Okay, can we protect this and get this done properly with what they're doing?' So then, you've got to go to the O-Line, and the communication goes from there. All the guys are on the same page because once that play gets brought up, they know what we're trying to do, and then it's a matter of finding the proper window to get it called.

"At halftime, it was one of the plays that we discussed that were going to come up early if we got the right opportunity, and it presented itself."

The key was understanding the plan coming in.

"That's the biggest thing that when the guys know the plan, and that's what we kind of talked about all last week and we continuously do, is when you know the plan and you understand it, it's easy for them to adjust and grab what we're trying to do and execute in those moments," Patullo said. "It's really a team thing. I mean, you can see how connected everybody is within the plan on the offense, and they understand. I know Landon [Dickerson] talked about it, too. He knew what we were trying to do. Everybody knows, 'Hey Kev, we talked about this. Here it comes, we can protect it. Let's let it fly.'

"So, it's pretty cool."

And how about Smith's part in all of it?

"What he brings to the table is [the] same thing: high football IQ, he gets the game, he gets moved around a lot, he understands what his job is in moments," said Patullo. "He makes those plays and he’s been a clutch player for us, and it’s really been fun to watch him.”