The Eagles were back on Friday for their second joint practice with the Browns, and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters before taking the field. He spoke about the team’s performance during Thursday’s joint practice, which he saw from the security position, and also explained his penchant for defending his players.
Jacoby Brissett joked that Sirianni wanted to fight fans who captivated, but the Eagles head coach explained that he grew up with two older brothers and parents who fiercely defended each other, so it’s just what he’s used to. That’s how he’s always been. He knows his players can defend themselves, but he will also stand up for them.
Here’s what else the head coach had to say:
At joint training and Sunday’s game
Sirianni said you don’t really judge training sessions between teams as wins or losses, success is based on whether they improved as a team – which the head coach said they did.
“I think [Jalen Hurts] had a good day. I really did. Again, I continue to see him make progress every day, and yesterday I thought he was doing really well. He had good exercise. He has been sharp throughout the camp and I thought he had a great training yesterday.”
The head coach was asked if the OL’s pre-snap penalties in Thursday’s practice were due to the center – Cam Jurgens – but the head coach denied it was because of the rookie. He explained that they were trying to do some things with the snap count and that they needed to be more disciplined to avoid penalties.
Sirianni was under pressure over his plan for Sunday’s starters, but he wasn’t ready to wrap things up just yet. He wanted to see how Friday’s practice went and evaluate a few things before deciding whether the starters will get playing time – that goes for all starters, even DeVonta Smith who missed last week’s game.
On Devonta Smith
Since coming back from injury, Smith has seen a lot more goals than in the beginning of the camp. Sirianni said they wanted to get all their playmakers involved, and the balls are finding him lately.
“He’s a great playmaker, fantastic route runner, has a great feel about things, and you know, there are some concepts that we’re executing with him that we think they can do – that he’s going to do a great job this year. , and he did a great job last year.”
The head coach also acknowledged that Smith has gotten a lot bigger, faster and stronger since he was called up, and he’s also become an even better route runner – something he says is natural for Smith, a man who soaks up all the information he can and puts it work in.
On the safety position
“I think we have good competition in that group, you know, led by Marcus Epps and then you have some good pieces to work with. And I’m excited, we’ve got these guys in different groups – sometimes with the one, sometimes with the two – and it’s exciting to see them play with different groups.
other notables
- Miles Sanders missed his fourth practice with a hamstring injury, and Sirianni didn’t care if it was bad or when he would be back, he did confirm he had some shortness of breath and they are careful with him.
- He was asked about his expectations of Kenny Gainwell, and Sirianni commented that he’s the type of player you notice a lot more when the pads are on and they’re going full speed – like they’re up against Cleveland. They needed Gainwell to be a better blocker, which they see as camp continues, with Sirianni explaining that he can’t just be a third type. If he can block and be multidimensional, that opens things up for them offensively.
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