It’s time for the final Eagles’ training camp edition of everyone’s favorite summer assignment: What Nick Sirianni Said, What Nick Sirianni Meant. The Eagles must cut their roster down to 53 players by 4 p.m. on August 27, with the biggest question mark hovering over the secondary.
There is a lot of talent and limited spots, leaving no room for former Eagles’ Super Bowl hero Jalen Mills despite the nostalgia factor. It should be an interesting few weeks in Philly, especially as the first presidential debate gets set to take over the National Constitution Center on September 10. No politics, just facts.
Anyway, let’s get to Sirianni’s press conference from August 21st and figure out what’s on the mind of the Eagles head coach and where he might be leaning towards at certain key spots. Away we go …
What Eagles HC Nick Sirianni said vs what he meant
Question: At this point how much of the roster is set in your mind? How much of your conversations at night with Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman and the coaches are about the roster?
What Sirianni Said: Yeah, we talk about that daily, and to say what’s set, what’s not set, there’s been so much work that’s done. You can imagine all the work that’s done, today’s practice counts in it as well, but every day is an evaluation, and now we’re at the last day of training camp. Everything will be in consideration. I don’t want to say a percentage of this or that, but they’ve been going through a competition through the entire training camp and off-season.
What Sirianni Meant: Dude, Howie is like that annoying fire alarm that starts randomly beeping just when you put your head down on the pillow. Chirp, chirp, chirp … stops for a minute or two … then chirp, chirp, chirp. Every single night. Over and over and over again until you have to get out of bed and find a battery — only there is no battery in the house. It’s a whole vibe. Anyway, I’m planning to pop an edible on August 26th and ignore the call. Let’s be honest: Howie calls the shots. He’s going to make the final decisions on everything Eagles.
Question: With a couple veterans you have that have missed a lot of time like WR Parris Campbell and LB Oren Burks, in the evaluation process, how much do you look at what they’ve done in their past versus the limited window you’ve seen from them in camp?
What Sirianni Said: Yeah, sure, everything is in play, obviously. That would be crazy of us not to take everything into account. Yeah, everything is in play.
What Sirianni Meant: Didn’t you read the ESPN report? We’re trading for a third receiver, maybe we rob the Titans (again) for Treylon Burks. Or, this would be fun, we sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a free agent and get rid of James Bradberry to make room for him.
Question: In terms of the offense, what’s popped up in training camp that didn’t come up in OTAs in terms of something that may have surprised you about the organization, the players, building ideas?
What Sirianni Said: Well, the one main thing is there there’s pads on, and that’s how football is played is with the pads on.
What Sirianni Meant: That’s a clown question, bro!
Question: Not that anything ends today, but training camp, two or three things you’ve seen from QB Jalen Hurts maybe that have stood out to you this summer?
What Sirianni Said: Yeah, again, I just feel like he’s had an outstanding, outstanding camp. I’m really excited about where he is, just in complete control of the offense, delivering accurate balls, protecting the football. Man, he’s had a really, really outstanding camp. Taking what the defense gives him, whether that’s pushing the ball down the field, like you saw yesterday with the deep shot to A.J. [Brown] or checking the ball down to Saquon [Barkley] like he did yesterday, as well. Just what an unbelievable camp he’s had. I’m really excited for his year.
What Sirianni Meant: I thought you guys were keeping stats on Jalen. I read he had something like 305 straight passes without an interception. I won’t name names but there were guys in the media making banners and fitting him for a gold jacket. Like, Super Bowl MVP for the Eagles was the ceiling. So, yeah, I guess more than two or three things stood out — 305 things stood out.
Question: Is that something you feel that you will dial down? (question was in regard to Eagles HC Nick Sirianni showing his outward passion on the sideline).
What Sirianni Said: You know, one thing that I read when I was reading a leadership book this off-season was if you want everyone around you to have accountability and you want yourself to have accountability, then you fussing at the refs is not — it’s almost like, ‘hey, this happened, so I’m going to blame that.’ When I read that, I was like, yeah, that hit me some sort of way. When I think about me with a referee potentially on the sideline and I complain about a call, is that really sending the right message to the rest of the team as far as our accountability goes.
What Sirianni Meant: That leadership book was actually “The Shining” by Stephen King. Human nature, baby, grab it and growl. I’m not changing my personality. It defines me. So … get on the tracks behind this crazy train and let’s murder some refs — umm, I mean, win some games. Fly Eagles Fly, baby!
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
