There’s a widespread belief the New England Patriots own a distinct coaching advantage over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. Considering Bill Belichick and his five Super Bowl rings (as a head coach) will patrol the New England sideline, it’s hard to argue.
But Doug Pederson and the Eagles coaching staff obviously aren’t without merit. Philly won an NFL-best 13 games — the same as the Patriots — and the Eagles reached the Super Bowl despite losing starting quarterback and MVP candidate Carson Wentz to a season-ending knee injury in mid-December.
The Eagles’ preparations for the Super Bowl are unsurprisingly very involved, and they’re going to heights Belichick himself likely would appreciate.
The Eagles are even building a mock halftime into their practices this week ahead of Sunday’s game. The Super Bowl halftime show is much longer than the typical halftime, and it can sometimes be difficult for teams to make the adjustment as the second half begins.
“We’ve done a lot of research on when exactly we can get (back) out (on the field),” special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said Wednesday before practice, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. “There’s a lot of dynamics to the thing. Pregame ceremonies. Festivities. Halftime stuff.
“But we’ve kind of laid all that stuff out. (Wednesday), at practice, we’re going to kind of go through a mock halftime situation deal. We’re going to stop, go in the locker room, do what we do on game day and then come back out. So that should be good.”
That’s the kind of attention to detail and preparation for every imaginable scenario on which Belichick has built a Hall of Fame career. It’s likely the Patriots are doing similar preparations, although they’ve been here a time or two, and have plenty of Super Bowl experience.
The Eagles aren’t doing anything groundbreaking here with their preparations, but it can’t hurt to be ready for everything once Sunday rolls around.
