-
Tim McManus, ESPN Workers Author
SÃO PAULO — The sphere situations had been a serious speaking level after the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers on Friday night time.
Numerous gamers misplaced their footing in the course of the sport and later attributed it to the slick floor at Area Corinthians, which is generally a soccer stadium. For the Eagles, it stirred some not-so-great latest recollections.
“It sort of jogged my memory of the Tremendous Bowl turf,” stated tight finish Dallas Goedert, referencing the floor in Arizona when the Eagles misplaced to the Kansas City Chiefs in Tremendous Bowl LVII.
“I imply, y’all noticed on the market that it was sort of tough to get traction,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts stated. “Undoubtedly difficult on that discipline. It is not the kind of discipline we’re used to taking part in on. We have had that kind of discipline earlier than. They needed to play on it, as nicely. I am simply completely happy that we discovered a technique to determine it out as a group, overcome it.”
Eagles operating again Saquon Barkley was one of many first to lose his footing, leading to a 5-yard loss on his first carry in an Eagles uniform. After the sequence, he went to the sideline and advised his teammates they wanted to change to longer, seven-stud cleats.
The change labored out fairly nicely for Barkley, who went on to hurry for over 100 yards and completed with three complete touchdowns.
“It is a kind of fields the place the highest simply got here off fairly straightforward,” sort out Lane Johnson stated. “That is what they make studs for. That is why we pack ’em. They don’t seem to be snug, however they’re useful.”
Having discovered from the previous, some gamers made the transfer earlier than the sport.
“I ran a route full pace after we did the walkthrough [Thursday], slipped, and I stated, ‘I am not going to make the identical mistake twice, I’ll seven studs,'” Goedert stated.
The Packers had been feeling the results as nicely. Coach Matt LaFleur advised a sideline reporter in the course of the sport that “it has been an issue for positive.”
“I imply, there have been some instances the place I used to be slipping,” Packers security Xavier McKinney stated. “It was a little bit slippery. Totally different than clearly what I am sort of used to. It is simply one other circumstance. Clearly, each discipline goes to be completely different. We acquired to have the ability to, irrespective of the circumstance, nonetheless do our jobs and do it at a excessive stage.”
Not everybody was as diplomatic. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took to social media and wrote: “Man this field sucks!!!”
It wasn’t for lack of effort. Eagles head groundskeeper Tony Leonard labored with NFL discipline director Nick Pappas “for months” upfront of the sport, Philadelphia assistant normal supervisor Jon Ferrari stated final week, to get the situations good for an NFL sport.
“It is a soccer pitch, but it surely’s been type of retrofitted,” Ferrari stated, “so it is in nice form.”
