Nick Meets the Media

Posted: March 28th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | No Comments »

Nick Sirianni met the media on Tuesday at the Owners Meetings and offered his thoughts on a variety of subjects. There were a couple of interesting nuggets, but nothing close to exciting.

Here’s what Sirianni had to say about the RB position.

“We feel really good about the room as it is right now. We love the addition (of Rashaad Penny). I wanted to coach him for a long time. … We all saw Kenny Gainwell have a really good playoff run. And it seems like every time Kenny’s in the game he makes plays, whether it’s in the pass game or whether it’s in the running game. Boston (Scott) being back is huge. I think that’s somebody that you always want to have on your team, and really glad we have him — especially because I know how much Shane (Steichen) likes him, too. … And then Trey Sermon, really excited about him. … I can’t tell you how many times at practice he made a cut or you just saw him in his pads or he made a play on a screen or whatever it was, you’re like, ‘Man, this guy’s got a chance to be really good.’ I wish we could get him touches. So I’m really excited about that room.”

The Eagles are excited about Penny. They know he’s got the potential to thrive in this offense…if he can stay healthy. I’m curious to know just how much they like Gainwell. We know they love him as a role player. Do they think he could be the starter? I just don’t know that he’s got the size to handle that role.

Sirianni continues to mention Trey Sermon as a player to watch.

Sermon had a terrific college career, but he was disappointing in SF. He’s 43-186-1 for his career so Sermon has shown flashes of ability. He just hasn’t been able to get on the field and stay there. I expect the Eagles to add a RB in the draft. That will give them a full group heading into the summer. Sermon will have to earn his roster spot. If he does that, maybe he’ll finally get on the field and show us what Sirianni has talked about.

Or maybe we’ll annoint him the Greg Richmond of RBs.

(Your old school EMB reference of the day)

***

Sirianni talked about the coordinators he hired.

“(Sean Desai) is super organized and has a process for everything, and I really appreciate that about him. I see the defensive guys grinding and working really hard. He works hard. … We’re getting on the same page of my visions for the defense. … As far as the player profile (of what we’re looking for), obviously there’s a lot of similarities because it’s a similar defense. … Sean was the best guy for the job, but also there wasn’t gonna be a lot of change as far as the base part of the defense.

“I’ve been on a two-year interview with Brian (Johnson) and he just shines every single day. Obviously, Jalen’s play is — we’re a product of the way our players play on the field. And his player has played great and he continues to develop. And Brian’s got a really great offensive mind. … You hear the ideas that Brian brings to the table on a consistent basis and you’re confident that he’s gonna be able to step in there and do the job.”

Nothing crazy, but good to get his thoughts on them. I do look forward to hearing Desai talk to the media.

And some thoughts on the new positional coaches.

“I just know that there’s good coaches at every level, so I was looking for the best coach, period. What has to happen, when you’re a position coach, I always say to the guys, ‘Hey, there’s multiple ways you can get guys better.’ (One) is fundamentals. And that’s all the position coach. So the position coach’s main job is to be able to be good at fundamentals, be able to add value in the scheme. And so what we were looking for was guys who were gonna be able to get the players better fundamentally. And that’s what we believe we brought in with some of the new additions.”

Sirianni wants teachers. He’s not going to obsess on who has the most impressive resume or who is considered a schematic guru. He wants coaches that can focus on details and teach fundamentals to the players. That has worked well so far. It will be interesting to see if this continues to work.

Here is an article from Zach & Bo covering more of what Sirianni had to say and their take on things.

*****

As usual, Greg is on top of things. We should get official announcements at some point in the near future.

*****

The Eagles need to do something at punter. Arryn Siposs has had bad punts in the last two playoff losses. He’s clearly not the sole reason for those L’s, but you need a punter you can count on in the postseason.

*****

Jeff Lurie spoke to the media on Tuesday evening. He had a few interesting things to say. He doesn’t talk to the media often so it’s worth checking out.

The most important announcement to many of you will be this…

_

Howie Speaks

Posted: March 27th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 2 Comments »

The NFL Owners Meetings are taking place out in Phoenix this week. I think northern Minnesota would have been a better choice, but the owners seem to prefer Arizona. There must be a really good Wendy’s down there or something.

Howie Roseman took the time to talk to the media after downing a spicy chicken sandwich and a large frosty. Howie talked about all the things you’d expect. When will Jalen Hurts get his extension? What happened with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson? Why did the team bring in the guys they did?

I hate to be a spoil-sport, but nothing was very compelling.

EJ Smith’s take on Howie’s comments.

Zach Berman and his intern’s take on Howie’s comments.

  • The Eagles are going to give Jalen a big deal. It just takes time for things to happen.
  • CJGJ didn’t take the Eagles offer so they spent the money elsewhere.
  • The guys who came in are “lottery tickets”, low cost players with high upsides.

Now for the one thing that I found interesting. Some DL talk.

“We drafted Milton Williams in the third round because we really liked him. We traded up for Jordan Davis because we really liked him. … I don’t really understand the perception on (Fletcher Cox). I think Fletch is a great player. He had seven sacks. I don’t know how many defensive tackles in the league had seven sacks last year, but not many. He took less to come back. He was offered more. So when you talk about him and the kind of player he is, too, all you have to do is turn on the tape and watch him and see the power he plays with, he’s a unique guy. That doesn’t mean we’re done there. We have some young guys, too, that we’re excited to see here. But it’s a priority position. Again, we start with those guys, and we have a long time until we play the next game. I think it’s a good start.”

Some people complain about the Eagles getting too old. The team decides to rely on recent high picks and critics wonder why the Eagles are relying on young guys. Davis and Williams are unproven as starters. No one would argue that. But you can’t run out and find a good veteran DT at the right price. Everyone is going to have some kind of issue. Age. Or production. Or scheme fit. Or injuries. Price, most importantly.

I’m sure the Eagles had interest in Zach Allen. I’m also sure they couldn’t afford him. They wanted to keep Javon Hargrave. They couldn’t afford him.

Davis has all the potential in the world.

This is a guy you want on the field. There will be some growing pains, but you want him as your NT. He’ll have Fletcher Cox to his left. The DL on the right side will likely be Milton Williams, another young guy. Williams really played well in the second half of 2023. The light seemed to come on for him.

I’m excited as heck to see both guys on the field. We need to know if they can get the job done. They have the physical ability. The key is seeing if they can play well on a consistent basis while starting. It is one thing to be a good role player. It is another to be a key starter.

Beyond them, the Eagles will spend a pick or picks on DL in the upcoming draft. There are several guys who are of interest. There are good “big bodies” and there are good pass rushers. There is also Jalen Carter who is both. The Eagles will have options. We know they believe in investing in the DL. They won’t hope Marlon Tuipulotu is going to save the day.

If the Eagles want a mid-round DT who can get to the QB, Jalen Redmond of Oklahoma would be an interesting target.

One of the reasons I like the idea of trading back from 10 is to add mid-round picks so the team can look for depth pieces on the OL and DL. There are a lot of interesting options on both sides of the ball.

Howie usually moves up. I hope this is one time he goes backward.

_

« Older Entries