Getty Eagles GM Howie Roseman chats with head coach Nick Sirianni prior to a game in 2021.
The Philadelphia Eagles released Episode 1 of their new behind-the-scenes video series titled “Unscripted: Inside the 2022 Eagles Season.” It starts by detailing Brandon Graham’s rehab from a torn Achilles, then dives into team’s experience at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The whole episode is insightful and worth the 27-minute run time. The best part – aside from Jason Kelce singing the National Anthem at a Sixers game – focuses on new assistant general manager Alec Halaby, a title he shares with Jon Ferrari after a front office restructuring was announced on June 3. The analytics guru from Harvard has never addressed the media, so it was telling to hear him describe his information-gathering process on prospective draft picks.
“So, I would say the Combine is really invaluable as a source of information, right? And I mean information in the broadest terms,” Halaby said. “Like, when we sit down with a player for formal interviews and we’re talking about what it was like to grow up, we’re talking about what their coaches told them, and they’re taking us through a blitz that they ran on third down in the national title game … that’s information we’re learning about the player there. It’s really unstructured. People have subjective interpretations of it. Then we get some really hard data for what happens on the field.”
Setting The Foundation
Watch the season premiere of Unscripted, presented by @lincolnfingroup.
Halaby explained that “hard data” can be mined from watching players on film, then the next step is seeing how it translates in the drills they run on the field. Meanwhile, assistant director of scouting Ryan Myers and director of player personnel Alan Wolking addressed the importance of attending Pro Days.
“It’s a major part of the process,” Myers said. “Coaches are coming out and spending time with these young men. We’ll interview guys. We’ll see how well they can retain information and spit it back it back to us. The mental part is key, obviously.”
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Nick Sirianni Delivers Spirited Pep Talk
Head coach Nick Sirianni welcomes the guys back with a spirited pep talk prior to the start of OTAs. His youthful energy and genuine passion really seems to resonate with the team. The motto for the 2022 season is simple: “If you want to fly fast, fly alone. If you want to fly far, fly together.” Their journey started on January 17 after the wild-card playoff loss to Tampa Bay.
“Really our journey started after the season, and you guys haven’t been sitting on your ass not doing anything. You all have been working your ass off to get better,” Sirianni said. “So it started at the end of the season and it starts even a little bit more together today.
“Because the best teams I’ve been on, that I’ve been a part of, right, have these things in common. They’re close. They connect. They compete. They’re vicious competitors. They’re accountable to each other. They’re smart football players. And they have good fundamentals.”
Kelce Steals Show with National Anthem Display
Kelce’s gravelly voice didn’t miss a note during his memorable rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” on March 14 prior to the Sixers-Nuggets game at Wells Fargo Center. He went through some rough patches during the song, but no one complained. Kelce’s performance was one for the ages, especially since it came on the same day the 34-year-old announced he wasn’t retiring.
“I don’t think I’ve been nervous really, like, nervous, nervous, in years. I’m nervous, nervous right now,” Kelce said prior to the game, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “My knees were shaking out there doing the sound check so we’ll see how this goes.”
Jason Kelce is a national treasure.
His nerves didn’t show. And that scene is one of the best moments in Episode 1 of Unscripted. Better yet, Kelce helped raise a ton of money for Connor Barwin’s Make the World Better Foundation.