The Eagles are preparing to face the Chiefs in their first road game of the season, and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters on Wednesday to talk about Jalen Hurts’ confidence, preparing for Kansas City, and also revealed he heard from Philips Rivers before Week 1.
He was asked many different ways about Jalen Carter and whether the DT learned from the situation that resulted in his Week 1 ejection, but Sirianni wouldn’t say anything other than all of those things are handled in-house and conversations
will remain private. He wouldn’t even talk about whether or not he agreed with the NFL’s punishment and resolution, saying that’s something else they’ll keep in-house.
Sirianni was incredulous that he respects the fact that reporters have to ask the questions, but those things will always be off the table in terms of topics and situations he’s willing to discuss.
Here’s what the head coach did say on Wednesday:
On Jalen Hurts’ confidence
Jalen Hurts said that he’s gained confidence after last season, and Sirianni noted that it’s hard for him to say that he’s noticed any differences because the QB is so consistent in his work ethic and his approach. The head coach said that Hurts’ consistency is one of the things he admires most about him.
“But, you can tell the confidence, I think, just by the way he goes through […] every part of running the offense and being the quarterback of the football team. Whether it’s his ability to get through reads, and get to reads quicker, his ability to have command at the line of scrimmage with checks and different things like that. I just continue to see that rise, and as that rises — we’ve seen in this league so many times, where the longer a quarterback plays, the more they’ve seen, the better they are, and I think that’s where the confidence comes from.”
On facing the Chiefs
Sirianni gave credit to Chiefs fans and the loud environment at Arrowhead Stadium — while also pointing out that playing at The Linc with Eagles fans is the best.
He later talked about how the tape from the Super Bowl can be helpful as they prepare for this Week 2 matchup, noting that the Eagles have only played four NFL teams every single year of the Sirianni era, which are the three NFC East teams and then the Chiefs. Just like with the division opponents, they’ll go through their checklist for playing a team multiple times in a year.
One of the things they look at in weeks when they’re playing a familiar opponent is to self-scout any tendencies. Sirianni admitted that in Week 1, they don’t have any tendencies to worry about, but it’s something they look at every week, and make sure they’re making the defense have to consider different things.
Other notables
- When asked if the new guys Tank Bigsby and Za’Darius Smith would play this week, Sirianni said that every player is different and there’s a lot of things to factor in to those decisions. They still have a week of practice so he’s not sure whether those will play, or when he expects they’ll be ready to take the field.
- The head coach credited Eagles’ GM Howie Roseman with always looking for ways to improve their team, and that Tank Bigsby’s addition gives them some additional depth at running back and also on special teams.
- Sirianni revealed that Philips Rivers sent him tape last week from when the two were together with the Chargers and played the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in 2017. Matt Eberflus was on Dallas’ staff as the linebackers coach, and Sirianni admitted they were able to take some plays from the film and apply them in Week 1.
- He talked about his philosophy for manufacturing targets for his receivers, and Sirianni explained that there are a lot of factors involved but rarely are you in a situation to tell the QB to throw to someone no matter what. It’s the coaches’ job to figure out ways to get those guys the football, but there’s an art to taking what the defense is giving.
