The Eagles didn’t have the best showing on Saturday against the Browns, but head coach Nick Sirianni chose not to play starters and wanted to see more from the depth players. He spoke after the team’s 22-13 loss about what he saw from the quarterbacks, why he has confidence in rookie S Andrew Mukuba, and more.
Sirianni also made it clear he knows that people are waiting for him to announce starters, but they still have time and he takes every opportunity into account with his evaluations. Whether naming a starter or making a roster cut, each decision is important, so they want to make sure they do it the right way.
Here’s what the head coach had to say:
On the QB rotation
Sirianni explained that they wanted to get both Dorian Thompson-Robinson and rookie Kyle McCord with both the twos and threes, which is why they were rotated a bit.
“I felt like it was just not great complementary football today. When you have the heat like that, you want to be able to– defense had some long drives, offense had some three-and-outs and you want to be able to play complementary football in that area.
I have to watch the tape. Obviously, [DTR and Kyle McCord] had some good moments and had some plays that they made, but also we missed some plays. But, that’s not always just on the quarterback if there was a misplay. I’ll have to go watch the tape. It wasn’t good enough out there on the field today. Coaching, playing, anything.”
The head coach also noted that he opted to sit Tanner McKee after having two joint practices during the week. Typically they only get one joint practice, but since they had two, McKee was able to get a lot of good work in and they didn’t need to see anything else from him this week.
On rookie S Andrew Mukuba
“I always thought that [Andrew Mukuba] has a knack for the football; how he practices, watching his tape whether it was at Clemson or at Texas, and he has the ability to take the ball away as a playmaker. Any time you go out there and make a play, that’s big. That was exciting, the interception. And even the one when he was there for the fumble recovery after they had a missed exchange. Guys that have a knack for the football just find ways to be around the football and I think that’s what we saw today.”
On WR Ainias Smith’s development
“I think you’ve seen [Ainias Smith’s] explosiveness that we saw at Texas A&M, and his ability to get out of breaks. I felt like I started to see that as well last year as he started to recover. He’s got the ability to separate, he’s got ability to make plays, and he made a couple nice plays. He had a third-down conversion early in the game and then he had the third-and-nine at the nine where he separated and had the touchdown catch. He has the ability to separate because he has good body quicks.”
On the joint practices this week
The Eagles offense struggled against the Browns defense in their second joint practice, but Sirianni didn’t seem concerned. Even with A.J. Brown and a couple OL sidelined, the head coach pointed to having too many plays in which the offense moved backward – whether that’s a pre-snap penalty, a negative run, or being sacked.
On OLB Azeez Ojulari
“I think you saw his ability to be around the football, rush the passer, make some plays in the run game. We like the things that [Azeez Ojulari] can do. He’s been productive in this league and we’ve gotten to see him two or three times each year when we have to prepare for him. So, I think he’s coming on and had a good game today.”
See More:
