Sunday Notebook

Posted: April 9th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 4 Comments »

There was a time when Nick Sirianni was a major question mark. The Eagles were the only team to interview him so his hiring led to a few questions. Then his first press conference didn’t go smoothly and there were even more questions.

That was then, this is now.

Sirianni has been a great coach and just led the Eagles to the Super Bowl. Patrick Daugherty does coach rankings every year and just put out his list.

8. Nick Sirianni, Eagles 

Career Record: 23-11 (.676)
With The Eagles Since: 2021 
Last Year’s Ranking: 15

Nick Sirianni has seen it all in two years. With a young coach that would usually mean something like “went 1-15 the first season, saw all three of his quarterbacks get injured the next.” For Sirianni it means he made the playoffs in Year 1 after changing his entire offensive approach on the fly. Year 2? He did it again, going from 32nd in pass attempts to 23rd while maintaining the league’s most lethal rushing attack. He took Jalen Hurts from project to dual-threat to MVP candidate. And, oh yeah, he reached the Super Bowl and lost by a field goal. Sirianni has sprouted the NFL’s hottest new coaching tree — both OC Shane Steichen and DC Jonathan Gannon cashed in their 2022s for head-coaching gigs — by being its most adaptable man. His 2022 offense finished first in rushing EPA and ninth in passing. Sirianni finished No. 1 in Football Outsiders’ “critical call index,” a complicated metric that measures fourth down decision-making. Trusting his personnel, Sirianni ordered the fourth most fourth down attempts and converted the second most. Sirianni “takes what the defense gives him” and then beats them over the head with it. Maybe next time they won’t call defensive holding.

That might seem a little low, but the guys above Sirianni have all been with their teams since at least 2017 so they have more of an established track record. I think that’s reasonable.

Interestingly, Andy Reid was number 2 and Doug Pederson was 10th. Jeff Lurie sure does know how to hire good coaches.

Mike McCarthy was 21st on the list. This description is fantastic.

Mike McCarthy is the first Cowboys coach since Jimmy Johnson to win 12-plus games in back-to-back seasons. He just notched the franchise’s third playoff victory since the 90s. How did he celebrate? By “moving on” from the coordinator who furnished him back-to-back top-five offenses, the second of which received five starts from Cooper Rush  You see, the Cowboys weren’t running the ball enough in McCarthy’s opinion. He called their 19-12 Divisional Round loss to the 49ers a “shootout” before literally saying he didn’t want to be the No. 1 offense in the league. “I want to be the No. 1 team,” McCarthy elaborated. “And if we’ve got to give up some production and take care of the ball a little better to get that, then that’s what we’ll do because we have a really good defense.” McCarthy put an exclamation point on his retrograde thinking by making Brian Schottenheimer his new top offensive assistant. Kellen Moore did all he could to get the Cowboys at least middle of the pack in most advanced 2022 metrics. That is an area where McCarthy has made it clear he would rather be dead last. He wants to go back in time and take the Cowboys with him. He will succeed, with the likely result being the loss of his job.

I hope that last sentence is very wrong. I want McCarthy to stay in Dallas as long as possible. Heck, could we do a Shining thing where he’s the coach forever?

“You’ve always been the caretaker.”

*****

Speaking of Sirianni, we know he loves competitive players and guys with a lot of juice. I read this write-up of CB Devon Witherspoon and couldn’t help but think he is a player Nick would love.

In the Illinois team meeting room, the chattering ended and the meeting began with a booming “YERRRR!”

It was Witherspoon — “Spoon” to teammates — getting things started. And getting things started is one of his specialties.

“He was the energy in the team meeting room,” DeVito says. “His smile lights up the room, and then he’s probably one of the funniest dudes on the team.”

Undersized cornerback, oversized personality. “He’s loud off the field,” Henry says. “He’s as confident as Deion Sanders was and talks as much trash as he did.”

Witherspoon talks smack between every play. He talks smack before the game. He talks smack on the sideline. He talks smack in the locker room. He talks smack at practice. He probably talks smack in his sleep.

His opponents need more than thick pads. They need thick skin.

When Nebraska and Illinois played last October, Witherspoon matched up against Huskers wide receiver Trey Palmer, a burner who is expected to be a mid-round draft pick. When Palmer was being covered by Witherspoon, he was held without a catch. He might have had one on a deep route, but his quarterback missed the throw.

When Palmer indicated his disappointment after the play, Witherspoon ran to him, made a crybaby gesture and asked if he needed his tears dried.

His jabbering is an outgrowth of his competitiveness, which has been evident since PlayStation battles and card games with his older brother D.J.

At Illinois, there were races, games of pencil fighting, conditioning challenges and heated competitions in pinball — they even kept a leaderboard. Witherspoon competed with the other corners on Henry’s game plan quizzes, which included unrelated riddles at the end.

“The dude was about to fight in the room to decide who got the riddle right,” Henry says.

That sounds like a guy Sirianni would love to coach and have on his team. Witherspoon is outstanding in coverage and can also do this.

One of my favorite prospects in the draft.

*****

This surprised me. The Eagles have the 7th most cap space in the league.

They need some of that to deal with the draft class (especially two 1st round picks), but they have the flexibility to make another move or two. There aren’t great options available. Maybe they need the space if Howie is thinking of making a trade. We know they added AJ Brown during the draft last year.

The key here is that it gives the Eagles flexibility and allows the Eagles to have options. That’s critical when you’re building a roster.

*****

Beau Allen was a solid player, but he was a great part of the chemistry on the Super Bowl team of 2017.

*****

Jimmy Bama is a hack and should not be trusted, but he did have an interesting idea the other day. Should the Eagles consider WR Kenny Golladay as a free agent target?

Golladay will go down as one of the worst free agent signings in Giants history. So, uh, why should the Eagles have interest?

Well, the Eagles have two star receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and then there’s Quez Watkins, who had a bad 2022 season. Otherwise, they have virtually no depth whatsoever at wide receiver.

The Eagles are shot play passing team, and Golladay is a down the field receiver. While there is plenty of blame for Golladay for his play in New Jersey, there’s also a decent excuse to be made for him that his talents weren’t being maximized while playing on one of the worst — and most conservative — offenses in the NFL.

In the three seasons (36 games) with Detroit before his signed with the Giants, Golladay caught 155 passes for 2591 yards (16.7 YPR) and 18 TDs. Extrapolate those numbers over 17 game seasons, and he was averaging 73-1224-9 per season. He has talent. Maybe the Eagles can coax it out of him?

As far as a potential role, Golladay was thought of as a good blocker in his time in Detroit. If he is willing to take on a Zach Pascal-like role, he could actually be a significant upgrade. Of course, Golladay is a player who has made around $50 million over his career, so he’d probably have to convince the Eagles that he would embrace a dirty work role if he were interested in joining a Super Bowl contender.

I hadn’t really thought of him, but there is some logic here. The Eagles may prefer to see how the draft shakes out before considering a move like this. I think they could take a WR as early as the 2nd round. I don’t anticipate that, but anything outside of the 1st round is possible.

Golladay was a volume receiver in Detroit. He caught 135 passes in 2018 and 2019 combined. In the three seasons since, he’s caught 63. There are circumstances that led to the decline, but you wonder if Golladay would embrace being a role player now.

*****

One OL prospect I haven’t talked much about is Steve Avila from TCU. He is 6-4, 332. He’s started at LG, C, RG and RT. Big, strong, nasty blocker.

He’s the LG in this clip.

Nasty finish.

Showing his physicality and finishing ability here. Avila will likely be a 2nd round pick. I don’t know that he lasts to 62. If the Eagles were interested, they would need to move up or back.

He makes sense because of his versatility and style. He’s not as athletic as the Eagles prefer so I’m not sure if he’s a player they would target. At the very least, he is a fun player to watch. Always great to see OL mashing on defenders.

_

4 Comments on “Sunday Notebook”

  1. 1 Eagles News: The best edge rusher fit for Philly? - News Load said at 2:42 PM on April 9th, 2023:

    […] Sunday Notebook – Iggles BlitzI hadn’t actually considered him, however there may be some logic right here. The Eagles might choose to see how the draft shakes out earlier than contemplating a transfer like this. I believe they might take a WR as early because the 2nd spherical. I don’t anticipate that, however something outdoors of the first spherical is feasible. Golladay was a quantity receiver in Detroit. He caught 135 passes in 2018 and 2019 mixed. Within the three seasons since, he’s caught 63. There are circumstances that led to the decline, however you marvel if Golladay would embrace being a task participant now. […]

  2. 2 Eagles News: The best edge rusher fit for Philly? - Camel News said at 2:52 PM on April 9th, 2023:

    […] Sunday Notebook – Iggles BlitzI hadn’t actually considered him, however there’s some logic right here. The Eagles could desire to see how the draft shakes out earlier than contemplating a transfer like this. I believe they might take a WR as early because the 2nd spherical. I don’t anticipate that, however something exterior of the first spherical is feasible. Golladay was a quantity receiver in Detroit. He caught 135 passes in 2018 and 2019 mixed. Within the three seasons since, he’s caught 63. There are circumstances that led to the decline, however you marvel if Golladay would embrace being a job participant now. […]

  3. 3 Eagles News: Best Fit Rim Pusher for Philly? - uuldesign said at 3:35 PM on April 9th, 2023:

    […] Sunday Notebook – Iggles BlitzI haven’t really thought about it, but there is some logic here. The Eagles might prefer to see how the draft fades before considering such a move. I think they could take WR early in the second round. I wouldn’t expect it, but anything outside of the first round is possible. Golladay was Detroit’s biggest receiver. He caught 135 passes in 2018 and 2019 combined. In the three seasons since, he’s caught 63. There are circumstances that led to the decline, but you wonder if Golladay will accept his role now. […]

  4. 4 Eagles News: Best Fit Rim Pusher for Philly? - starkedsf said at 4:15 PM on April 9th, 2023:

    […] Sunday Notebook – Iggles BlitzI haven’t really thought about it, but there is some logic here. The Eagles might prefer to see how the draft fades before considering such a move. I think they could take WR early in the second round. I wouldn’t expect it, but anything outside of the first round is possible. Golladay was Detroit’s biggest receiver. He caught 135 passes in 2018 and 2019 combined. In the three seasons since, he’s caught 63. There are circumstances that led to the decline, but you wonder if Golladay will accept his role now. […]