The Eagles were back to work on Wednesday and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters ahead of practice. He talked about their approach after losing back-to-back games, explained Jalen Hurts’ autonomy at the line of scrimmage, and what he’s seeing from the CB2 spot.
He reiterated that when facing adversity, they have to stay true to their process and not let it overwhelm what they’re trying to do.
Here’s what else the head coach had to say:
On losing back-to-back games
“You go back to — you’re always working to identify your issues, and identifying your strengths, and working to get better from it. That’s what we do. That’s the things you think about.
Every team is different. Every message could be a little bit different based off of where you are or where the team is. And, so, where confidence comes from is your process and things you go through on a weekly basis, the things you can control on a weekly basis to put you in the best position to succeed. Confidence also comes from past experiences and knowing that you’ve been there, you’ve done these things before.
Again, the other thing that I say is that adversities are gonna happen, they happen for every team in the NFL, they happen for every team, they happen for every person. And, you can really think back on your old experiences, you look back at the adversities we’ve had, I’m thankful for those.“
Sirianni went on to explain that kind of mindset is critical to allowing situations to make you stronger instead of break you.
On Jalen Hurts’ role
The head coach was asked about previous comments he made regarding Jalen Hurts and the autonomy he has at the line of scrimmage, and he elaborated.
“He’s our quarterback, so he’s got ability to do things he needs to do, whether that’s with the protection, whether that’s with a run-game check, whether that’s with a pass-game check, or a route checked off to something that he sees.
I think he has a really good feel of seeing that in a game, and making plays off of that. And, I think he does a really good job of letting the plays come to him with what’s in there, and making those things work to.“
Sirianni reiterated that if Hurts sees something ahead of the snap, he has the ability to get to what he needs to get to, and the coaches are good with that because he’s often right with what he’s seeing. He noted that there wasn’t like a set number of times the QB does something like that in a game, but there could be anywhere from two to five plays that he’s getting the offense into a different position.
On the CB2 job
“I think there have been elements, and periods of good football. And, I believe in those guys. I believe in our scheme. I believe in those guys to go out there and compete and be in coverage. I think when a corner gives up a play, it can appear that it’s just on him because they’re on an island out there.”
He highlighted that they need to be more consistent overall as a team, the players and coaches. He noted cornerback isn’t the only position they’ve had uneven performances from, but he’s confident in that room and the guys they have.
On players before plays approach
“Well, players before plays, but that doesn’t mean you’re separating it out plays. You still gotta think about the defense they’re running, and how you get guys open, and how you help them get open themselves. But it will always come down to players first. When I say that, that doesn’t mean the plays don’t matter, either. It all matters. in this game, it all matters.”
Other notables
- Sirianni doesn’t assign blame publicly, but he did confirm that his accountability program in the building is still in place.
- The head coach talked a bit about how the approach to overcoming adversity is something that he and the coaches work on, as well, and how part of the team connecting is sharing and knowing each others struggles — whether it’s from their football journey or personal journey.
- He was asked about the outside coaches hired this offseason, Passing Game Coordinator Parks Frazier and QB Coach Scot Loeffler. Sirianni said that they’re both good coaches — something they knew from the hiring process — and are doing a fantastic job.
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