We won't call it a jinx, but it's relatively close. Sadly, it came from the man's position coach. The weeks are running together as we've passed the season's midpoint. However, we distinctly remember Philadelphia Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay saying kickers will begin missing field-goal attempts once the temperature drops.
We just didn't think Jake would be one of those kickers.
Come on Michael! What are we doing here?
Michael Clay offers his take on Jake Elliott's Week 11 struggles vs. the Commanders.
When pressure mounts, we question everything. Every competing NFL team is doing the same thing today. They're tying up loose ends and trying to put their team in the best position to win a Super Bowl.
Typically Jake Elliott would be the last thing on our minds in this case, but not now. Though he earned our respect a long time ago, people are worried. Regression comes quickly in the NFL. Careers can flame and fizzle quickly.
For the record, we don't believe that's happening with Jake, at least not yet. His special teams coordinator, Michael Clay spoke with the media on Tuesday, and he agrees with us.
"He's such a competitor and such a good kicker you almost take it a little bit for granted when he's out there (like) it's an automatic. I have such supreme confidence in Jake. At times, it's just not your day."
Recency bias causes us to weigh recent events more heavily than the overall picture when making guesses about the future. The last time we saw Jake, he missed two of four field goal tries and one of three extra-point attempts. He has also missed every attempt over 50 yards this season. He had previously made 15 of his previous 17.
'Jake The Make' has proven to be as clutch as they come though. He entered the regular season as the 8th-most-accurate kicker in NFL history who had attempted a minimum of 100 attempts (87.2%). He was the 13th-most accurate kicker from 50 yards or beyond (70.3%). Perhaps Coach Clay says it best.
"For him to come back and hit the field goals before the half, it just shows how resilient he is, not just as a player but as a person... Jake is such a professional and I don't think anybody is a bigger critic than Jake (is) on himself. He's going to come back and work like he always does, put his best foot forward, and get us ready to go."
If that's good enough for Clay, that's good enough for us (for now). We'll see how Jake performs moving forward. We're hoping for a bounceback.