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Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni wants to see his team continue to be "mean and nasty," this week against the Cardinals.
It might sound more like something Buddy Ryan would have said than Nick Sirianni, but it was the Philadelphia Eagles second year head coach who sent a message to his undefeated team to be mean, nasty, tough, and physical during his Friday press conference. This comes as the Eagles have risen to be on a “collision course,” to face the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl, according to Heavy NFL insider Matt Lombardo.
“We talked a lot about our identity as a football team and what we’re continuing to build,” Sirianni said during his October 7 press conference. “One thing we talk about is physicality, and that was kind of like our identity last year, we really felt like we’re mean, we’re tough, we’re nasty, [and] we’re physical.”
Sirianni wanted to make sure that identity isn’t lost as the Eagles rise from being a dark horse contender going into the season to being one of the Super Bowl favorites.
“That’s kind of what the message was – same message this week,” Sirianni said. “There are a lot of football clips to show guys being mean and nasty, tough and physical. There were a lot of clips at my disposal and I used one of those.”
The Eagles visit the 2-2 Cardinals on Sunday, so it could easily be viewed as a trap game that the head coach wants to make sure his players are up for.
Eagles and Bills Have the League’s ‘Best Rosters’
On The Matt Lombardo Show presented by Heavy Sports, the NFL insider credited Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and his Bills counterpart Brandon Beane with building the two best teams in the league.
“There are two teams in my opinion that really seem like they’re on a collision course to meet in the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, in February, and those two teams are the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills,” Lombardo said. “They have the best rosters.”
Lombardo went on to highlight Roseman’s draft day trade for
A.J. Brown, as well as the continued development of quarterback
Jalen Hurts, as key factors making the Eagles a contender.
Eagles Without Avonte Maddox and Jake Elliott Sunday, Jordan Mailata Doubtful
The Eagles released their
official injury report Friday, and they’ve ruled out kicker Jake Elliott with his ankle injury, as well as slot cornerback Avonte Maddox with an ankle injury. Left tackle Jordan Mailata is doubtful with a shoulder injury.
It appears Jack Driscoll will get the start at left tackle if Mailata is unable to go, as Andre Dillard is in his 21-day practice window coming off of the
injured reserve, but was not getting first team reps at practice during individual drills according to
Zach Berman of The Athletic.
Josiah Scott filled in for Maddox last week, and will likely be called on again. Meanwhile, Cameron Dicker will handle the kicking duties after being signed on Tuesday.
Linebacker Patrick Johnson is also out with a concussion, while Boston Scott is questionable with a rib injury and Kyron Johnson is questionable coming off of a concussion.
Ryan Messick covered the NFL for Heavy.com from 2022 to 2023, with a focus on the Philadelphia Eagles. A Philly native, he has covered Philadelphia sports since 2010, including stops at 97.5 The Fanatic, Philly Sports Report, Yahoo Sports radio and play-by-play broadcasting for the 76ers G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. Messick is also the winner of a World Series of Poker bracelet. More about Ryan Messick
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