Nick Sirianni Addresses Eagles Major Problem: ‘It Makes You Mad’

Nick Sirianni

Getty Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni wants his team to keep pushing forward after a strong start to the season.

Head coach Nick Sirianni called Sunday’s 35-10 victory a “pretty complete game.” The Philadelphia Eagles were excellent – scratch that, dominant – in all three phases: offense, defense, special teams. They put an old-fashioned whupping on the Tennessee Titans.

However, there was one major problem area that needed to be addressed. The Eagles committed 12 penalties for 80 yards, including 5 in the first quarter alone. Their usually reliable offensive line – arguably the best blocking unit in the NFL – accounted for 8 penalties. Sirianni shouldered the blame, saying he has to do a better job of coaching that stuff. He was calling in the offensive plays too quickly and throwing out too many odd formations. The devil is in the details sometimes.

“It makes you mad that you had that many pre-snap penalties because that is always a reflection of me,” Sirianni told reporters. “Like I said, I have to do a better job coaching that. I have to do a better job coaching it, and we’ll clean that up.

“But that was a pretty complete game for us, and I think that is a really good football team. I have a lot of respect for the players and coaches over there, and I just think that is a good football team.”

Left guard Landon Dickerson was the biggest culprit versus Tennessee. He was personally responsible for four penalties: 2 false starts, 2 holding calls. Other players drawing flags included center Jason Kelce (holding), right tackle Lane Johnson (holding), and left tackle Jordan Mailata (false start). Tight end Jack Stoll (false start) and Jalen Hurts (false start) rounded out the laundry bin, plus there was an illegal shift call.

As sloppy as things got, the Eagles’ offense never skipped a beat. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 380 yards. Receivers A.J. Brown (119) and DeVonta Smith (102) both went over 100 yards. And tight end Jack Stoll set a new career high with 3 catches for 41 yards.

“As far as the performance by Jalen [Hurts] and the offensive line in protection, and then by Jack [Stoll] getting going and then having two guys with 100 yards, that was pretty big,” Sirianni said. “That was pretty sweet for A.J. [Brown] to have that game. I know that was important to him.”


Defense Registers 6 Sacks, Shuts Down Derrick Henry

The Titans make no bones about being a one-dimensional offense. They rely on Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry to move the chains. As he goes, Tennessee goes. Henry ran into an impenetrable brick wall on Sunday as the Eagles held him to 30 yards on 11 carries. Sirianni credited the defensive line first, then threw flowers on the secondary for “closing the gaps.”

“Derrick Henry is a phenomenal player,” Sirianni said. “We knew we couldn’t let him get to that second level free, so the defensive line was going to have to work. We have a good array of defensive lineman to keep throwing guys in there and they are fresh. They all did a nice job. I thought we played well up front. I saw our secondary players closing the gaps once they got cracked on. I saw [Darius] Slay get in there on tackles and James [Bradberry] get in there on tackles and Marcus [Epps] and Reed [Blankenship].”

The Eagles’ defense also racked up 6 sacks – highlighted by Josh Sweat – and held Tennessee to 209 yards of total offense. The Titans looked out of sync all afternoon, especially on third down where they went 4-for-14.


Britain Covey Breaks Out in Return Game

One knock on the Eagles in recent weeks has been their lack of an explosive return man. Britain Covey came into Sunday’s game averaging 6.8 yards per punt return, not an awe-inspiring number as calls to replace him started slowly to trickle in.

Sirianni stuck with Covey and the undrafted rookie rewarded his trust. He fielded 6 punts for 105 yards versus Tennessee, including a 27-yard romp. After the game, Sirianni gave him and the entire special teams unit a special shout out.

“What our special teams did today gave us a spark,” Sirianni said. “When you start at the 40-yard line consistently, I mean, obviously that’s huge. So, it was just a spark that we really needed. It was. That’s why it felt like just a complete game by our entire team today.”

Read More
,