GLENDALE, Arizona — Haason Reddick wasn’t making any excuses regarding the playing surface in Super Bowl LVII, but it was fair for the Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher to vent his frustration.
Reddick didn’t record a sack in the Super Bowl, but he did have seven pressures for an Eagles pass rush that couldn’t generate any pressure on Patrick Mahomes throughout the night. His words speak volumes.
“I’m not going to lie, it was the worst field that I’ve ever played on,” Reddick said following the loss. “It was very disappointing, it’s the NFL. You would think it would be better so we could get some better play, but it is what it is.
“I don’t know maybe the league will look at it and tell Arizona they got to step their stuff up. I don’t know, it’s not my decision to make, it’s not my call to make whatever it is and what it is.”
Reddick didn’t stop there on addressing the playing surface, also nothing that the disadvantage was the same for both the Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
“There was a lot of slipping all over that field,” Reddick said. “It didn’t even matter, I changed my cleats, still had studs and was still slipping so, I don’t know. You know, I don’t want to use it as an excuse, I’m not that type of guy, I’m not going to make any excuses.
“They still won, they’re champs, they should enjoy it. We got next year, I still believe in this team and everybody on the staff roster, we’ll be back.”
Jordan Mailata did not blame the loss on the playing surface either, but he wasn’t happy as well.
“It was definitely subpar for sure, but we have to deal with the situation and the circumstances,” Mailata said. “We can’t control the field but we have to accept the reality of the situation and (inaudible) plays of the game and we fell short.
“It’s whoever can weather the conditions. Whether it’s raining or it’s windy, it comes down to who can handle the conditions the best.”
The turf used for the Super Bowl — Tahoma 31 — is one of the newer types of grass that was developed at Oklahoma State in 2018. The turf was developed under the funding of the United States Golf Association (h/t ESPN).
The playing surface may be good for golf, but it wasn’t up to par in the Super Bowl.
“It was like playing in a water park,” Mailata said via Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice.com.
When determining what type of playing surface would be used for the Super Bowl, the…
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