The Sad PC

Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni met the media on Thursday to wrap up the 2022 season, offer some thoughts on the Super Bowl and answer a few questions about the upcoming offseason. Howie was sad. Nick was testy. Those guys are still feeling the pain of Sunday’s loss. I’ve seen hostage videos that were more upbeat.

Howie Roseman & Nick Sirianni speak with the media. https://t.co/ASnnTYnW3w

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 16, 2023

There wasn’t any groundbreaking news. Sirianni answered some questions about the game. He didn’t even consider going for it on 4th & 3 from his own 32. The analytics models say he should have and hindsight agrees, since the Chiefs returned the punt to the 4-yard line. Watching live, I thought punting was smart. Three yards doesn’t sound like much, but on your side of the field and while only down a point? I thought punting was fine.

I’ve seen a few people in the media talk about Sirianni “losing his nerve in the big game”. Ugh. The Eagles went for it twice on fourth down in the game. Sirianni has been aggressive all year, but he’s also punted at times. You don’t blindly go for every fourth down. Punting didn’t work out, but I hardly think that was a decision that should be questioned over and over. Any key moment in a Super Bowl is certainly worth talking about, but I just don’t see that as a no-brainer where Sirianni lost his nerve.

Roseman was asked about the field a couple of times and answered that both teams played on the same field. It is obvious to anyone that the field was a bigger issue for the Eagles, but no one in the organization is going to say that. They saw how bad the Niners looked with all their whining and bitching. The Eagles are taking the high road on this.

Playing field pretty much negated any matchup advantage the Eagles' DL had vs. the Chiefs' OL. Attached video is of dropbacks (didn't even include running plays), in the first half alone. Once they knew the field was trash, they could no longer play fast. pic.twitter.com/DljLQhX6Be

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) February 15, 2023

Now let’s move on to the offseason discussion. Sirianni was asked about ST coach Michael Clay’s future. He said that Clay will be back. Sirianni talked about the improvement the STs showed during the season. He wants to build on that.

Sirianni said the Eagles have good internal candidates for the OC and DC openings. Still, he wants to make sure he hires the best candidates so they will look at people outside the organization. I think that is more true for the DC spot.

We got this nugget today.

Meanwhile, #Cardinals DC Vance Joseph not only has an interview request from the #Broncos for the same role (as @mikeklis reported), I’m told the #Eagles have interest in speaking with Joseph as well & are expected to request an interview, pending his meetings today, per source.

— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 16, 2023

Joseph is flying to Denver tonight so that situation could move quickly.

Joseph is a good candidate, but isn’t compelling to me. The key is that he’s been a DC for multiple teams and has experience. If you look at Super Bowl winners, they had veteran DCs or head coaches who had a defensive background going back a long way. The last new DC with an offensive head coach was Steve Spagnuolo in 2007. And he had been a DC in college and NFL Europe so he wasn’t new to running a defense. He also had coached in a Super Bowl as a positional assistant with the Eagles in 2004.

Dennard Wilson has coached in the NFL for a decade. He’s got a good background. But he’s never run a defense, at any level. It is fair to wonder if promoting him would be wise for a team hoping to get back to the Super Bowl. You could always hire him and also bring in a senior defensive consultant to help out.

Howie Roseman talked a little about free agency. He knows they won’t be able to bring everyone back, but he wants to keep winning and he knows that means finding a way to keep some of the guys. You could tell that the SB loss has left both Howie and Nick very driven to get back there.

Roseman was asked about signing Jalen Hurts. Shocker…the Eagles want to keep him around.

Roseman did say that the sheer number of free agents means the Eagles will be getting comp picks next year. Christmas just came early for Jimmy Bama, who treasures comp pick discussions more than I do PBR and Funyuns.

Sirianni did mention that next year’s team won’t be the same as this one, specifically pointing out the DL situation. He told Milton Williams and Marlon Tuipulotu that next year will be different, meaning those guys better be ready to play a lot more snaps.

*****

#Eagles star OT Lane Johnson underwent surgery to repair a torn adductor today from Dr. @DrWilliamMeyers at the Vincera Institute and he faces a 10-12 week recovery. Johnson impressed in the playoffs despite the injury… then posted from his hospital bed. pic.twitter.com/oTVS324zdd

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 16, 2023

It is crazy to think how well Lane played on a torn groin. Just getting out there and competing would have been impressive, but he shut down pass rushers throughout the postseason. Amazing player.

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