The Eagles were back in Philly after their win over the Saints on Sunday, and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke on Monday about his role in the play-calling, what he thinks about the WR room depth, and revealed that Jalen Carter earned a game ball in New Orleans.
Here’s what the head coach had to say:
On the play-calling
Sirianni was emphatic about his role in the call to run a fake brotherly shove on 4th-and-1, and said that there was really no follow-up needed. It was a pretty cut and drive situation. He made a call that he thought was in the best interest of the football team, and that’s that. The head coach said that he did expect to have two more plays after the failed attempt, with one more play and then a field goal attempt — but that didn’t happen.
He was later asked about how often he makes a decision to call a play, and what determines when he does.
“I don’t say a number. But here and there, that’s going to happen. And that’s regardless of whether it was ’21, ’22, ’23 or ’24. We’re all coming up with the game plan together. We’re all putting in the work together. We’ve got good minds on the offensive side and defensive side, and so you talk through things.
Kellen [Moore] is obviously the one calling plays, but everything is collaborative as far as the way we go through our process and in-game. Just because I did it in that one doesn’t mean there is not a play that Kevin Patullo is saying in the ear of Kellen, ‘Hey, what do you think about this there?’ and Kellen going, ‘Yeah, I like that idea.’”
Sirianni said, for example, that could be true of OL coach Jeff Stoutland, or TE coach Jason Michael. Throughout the game, when someone sees something, they offer suggestions for plays to be called.
“I also understand the scrutiny that will happen when something like that happens. I wanted you guys to know yesterday that in that scenario, with a questionable call there, that I made that decision. So that’s why I let you guys in on that, because Kellen didn’t need to bear that, because I did that.
That is why I brought you in on that yesterday. Not to open the door of, ‘Well, how many times you call this?’ or ‘How many times did you call that?’ It’s collaborative. In that particular case, I called that one, and it didn’t work.”
On the late hit to DeVonta Smith
Sirianni wouldn’t reveal any discussions he had with the league regarding the hit that resulted in the WR suffering a concussion, but said that they will submit anything they think needs reviewed.
“I don’t want to get into — I am never going to challenge anyone’s integrity. Those guys are out there playing as hard as they possibly can on both sides of the field. So, I am never going to question that. I think their guys are — don’t want to get too much into the play, but everyone was playing hard on that play.
I love Smitty [DeVonta Smith], and I am really sad that that happened to him and that he got hurt on that particular play. Just hoping that he’s recovering, continuing to recover here. But, yeah, that was a tough play to watch on film.”
On the WR room
With injuries to A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Britain Covey, Sirianni said that they still have Johnny Wilson, Parris Campbell, and Jahan Dotson. The head coach reiterated points made the past couple weeks of Dotson doing a good job in his route running and fundamentals, and noted that they need to plan some more things for him to do and get the ball in his hands.
He also mentioned the guys on the practice squad that are still developing, and added that they can do a lot of things with the tight ends and running backs they have, as well.
Sirianni was asked about rookie WR Johnny Wilson, and how he’s been developing.
“I just think he’s really tough, first and foremost. Talent is just the beginning. It’s about how tough you are if you’re going to reach your ceiling. Obviously talented and unique. He has unique traits with how big and strong he is.
He’s able to do some different things that we need, some dirty work things that we need. And then he’ll be called upon, if we need to, to make some plays catching the football.
Yeah, I loved his first catch yesterday, putting his head down. He’s a big dude, and trying to tackle him was hard for those guys. And he was able to get some yards after catch and get the first down on that. So I just think I’ve seen toughness.”
On the offensive line play
Sirianni admitted that they might change some things they are doing when guys like Lane Johnson or Mehki Becton gets injured, but he was really impressed with Tyler Steen and Fred Johnson coming in and playing well enough for them to just keep rolling with what they were doing.
He explained that they talk a lot about roles, and those guys’ roles was to be ready to go if needed, and they were.
“We played a really good defensive front yesterday. Got a ton of respect for that defense and that football team. And we played a really good defensive front.
Those guys came in and really played well. There were some things that were happening, they had some combo blocks together, Tyler and Fred, where they’re working in unison on an outside zone play that Saquon [Barkley] had a good run on. Fred had a down block on a gap scheme play on a third down where he really did a good job of displacing the defensive tackle.
They did well in protection.”
The head coach said he was so happy for those guys, and when he was walking up through the tunnel, he gave Fred a big hug.
“Man, I can see how happy [Fred Johnson] was just from the way he performed. He’s worked hard at that. That’s awesome when something like that happens. I was excited for him. I was excited for Tyler [Steen]. Parris Campbell did some really good things, too, when he was called upon.”
Sirianni was asked about Fred Johnson specifically, and said that he came to Philly and got a fresh start, and he’s worked his butt off since getting here. Jeff Stoutland pushes him, and is on all the guys to get better, letting no detail slide.
“And that’s a combination of Stout refusing to let Fred slide in any way, because all he cares about is Fred getting better, and then Fred putting in the time, putting in the work, putting in all the things that he does to get better.
Now Fred just has to build upon that. That’s a great stepping stone to build upon, and just ride his momentum right there to just continue to play better football.”
On Jalen Carter’s performance
Sirianni said that as a team they pulled themselves off the mat pretty quickly after their loss to Atlanta, including Jalen Carter, who didn’t play that well against the Falcons. But, the second-year DT came roaring back and was dominant this week against the Saints.
“He was our player of the game yesterday, so he got a game ball for yesterday because of his performance.
But what changed was — at the end of the day, and I said this last week, playing defense is about just your relentless effort. Playing defense is about striking blocks. Playing defense is about shedding blocks. Playing defense is about tackling. Playing defense is all being on the same page.
You do those things well, you’re going to have an opportunity to play good defense. So that’s what I saw from Jalen Carter. He’d strike, he was violent yesterday with his hands. He was athletic to get off blocks. He beat blocks every way you could possibly imagine. He played on their side of the line of scrimmage an awful lot.
As a result, he let other people make plays. Not only did he make plays, but he helped other people make plays. There were multiple plays where I felt like our linebackers were running free because they were hanging on the double team of his block for a little bit longer.”
On Bryce Huff’s development
“I’ve got a lot of faith in Bryce [Huff] and the things that he can do. Obviously, that’s why he’s here. I’m excited for the time when he’s going to have a big-time game. I know he puts the work in. I know he’s ultra talented. I’ve got no doubt in my mind that he’s going to continue to get better and have a good impact on this football team.”
