"We Were in the Wrong Formation" - DeVonta Smith Explains Sideline Exchange with Jalen Reagor
In the second half of Sunday’s loss, the camera caught DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor exchanging a few words on the sideline.
This was after a 3rd down incompletion where the Eagles had trouble getting set and barely got the snap off, with about one second remaining on the play clock:
https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1482805340483862530?s=20
Smith was asked about this Monday during the day-after player Zoom calls, and this is what he said:
“What I was talking about, it wasn’t even Jalen’s fault. It was discussing the call and things that were supposed to be done. It was nothing that was his fault in that case, we were just discussing it. We were in the wrong formation. He was in the right spot.”
Here’s the clip, in case you don’t remember it. It’s 11 personnel, four-wide, with Richard Rodgers and Quez Watkins joining Smith and Reagor on the field:
"We were in the wrong formation. He was in the right spot."
DeVonta Smith explaining the 3rd and 10 play where it looked like Jalen Reagor wasn't sure where to line up: pic.twitter.com/UbQCNmlmF8
— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) January 17, 2022
I didn’t notice this at first, but Rodgers backs off the line as well. Jalen Hurts is trying to move Reagor to a different spot, but Smith is being demonstrative at the top of the formation and trying to get some kind of message across.
Regardless, Reagor gets enough shit as it is. A lot of it is deserved. But if Smith says Reagor was in the right spot and it was a formation problem, then we’ll take that answer at face value.