Nick Sirianni

Q. This is your first time being a head coach in the middle of a presidential election. Given how divisive that can be, is that something you talk about with the guys, something you address? (Bo Wulf)

NICK SIRIANNI: No. Good question, but no. I haven’t.

Q. I know the beginning of the game, part of it is about exploring, figuring out what opposing defenses are doing, information gathering. Have you had discussions about the balance of that versus attacking as you’re looking to see the reasons why you’re not scoring as much in the – (Tim McManus)

NICK SIRIANNI: Sure, yeah, everything is on the table. And sometimes it is to gather information, and sometimes it is to attack. It’s always to be able to score points.

And generally speaking, there are games where you do both. It’s not only about gathering information.

Like I said, we haven’t started well, and everything is on the table, and we’ve got to do whatever we’ve got to do to score points.

Q. As someone who’s really big on family, what do you think of S Sydney Brown taking on his brother, Bengals RB Chase Brown, this weekend? (Dave Uram)

NICK SIRIANNI: Man, it’s things like that that I think are so cool. [S] Tristin McCollum was in that a couple weeks ago, but they both play defense. I have a lot of respect for their Brown [Bengals RB Chase Brown] and our Brown [S Sydney Brown], and the fact that that could be a collision is pretty cool.

I think that’s a special moment for their mom. I think that’s a special moment for their family. I think that’s a special moment for them to be able to – I’m assuming they’re trading jerseys after the game. Because for forever, they’ve been on the same team, right? High school, college. And now there’s an opportunity for them to go against each other.

Yeah, I think that’s special. I think that’s really special. I’m looking forward to that moment for them after the game because not only will they have their jerseys – I’m assuming. I haven’t even talked to him about all this, but I’m assuming that that picture will be in their homes forever. I’m assuming that those jerseys will be – they’ll have the picture. Hopefully our Sydney is smiling more in the picture than Chase is. But I think that’s so cool, and I love that moment. I love football and the things that it can do to bring people together and this situation.

Q. WR A.J. Brown said yesterday that the moment he was most proud of last week was the block he had on RB Saquon Barkley’s 55-yard run. WR DeVonta Smith also had some good blocks in the run game. This is something they’ll have to do when you guys do run. How do you get star receivers like that to buy into doing that? (Jeff McLane)

NICK SIRIANNI: I think, first and foremost, it’s the people that they are. [WR] A.J. [Brown] and [WR] DeVonta [Smith] are just such great people and great teammates. And they take pride in the way they catch the ball. They take pride in the way they run routes. They take pride in the way they change games with the ball in their hands. And they take pride in the way they block and help their teammates succeed.

One of my favorite plays of A.J. and DeVonta is A.J. blocking for DeVonta in the playoffs in ’22 against the Giants on a little bubble screen, and how excited A.J. was for DeVonta that he scored and that he set the block off.

I think that comes down to the type of teammate you are, so it starts with them. We talk a lot about team. We talk a lot about the things that it takes to be a team, and selfishness is the opposite of team, and selflessness is right in the same line.

We talk all about that a lot. But again, it comes down to the type of guys they are and the type of team that we have, that they’re truly happy for each other in scenarios like that.

That’s always something, too: as a wide receiver and then also coaching wide receivers, there is a great feeling that you have when you set off a block. You’re like, ‘Oh, okay, I get to feel how offensive linemen feel on this particular one.’ And it is this great feeling that you get, that you set a long run off because of the block that you got. It’s almost – I’m not saying it’s exactly like scoring a touchdown or having an explosive pass, but it’s almost on that same level.

Q. In the summer, you sounded excited to see Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio put game plans together. What’s it like behind-the-scenes for a match-up like this? (Zach Berman)

NICK SIRIANNI: Obviously, a fantastic offense we’re going against this week with unbelievable players. A lot of respect for the Cincinnati Bengals, and [Bengals Head] Coach [Zac] Taylor, and this team.

So yeah, when I get to pop into the defensive meeting and look through the process of the week, it’s truly a pleasure to sit in on that because there’s no stone left unturned. I love the process that they go through.

These weeks leading up to these games, there’s just so much work that goes into it. As you guys all know, there’s so much work that goes into it, and you pour everything you have into it. And it’s fun to be able to see it on both the offensive side and the defensive side.

Q. Every game, of course, is tremendously important. But is it any extra motivation that the Eagles have never won in Cincinnati? (Merrill Reese)

NICK SIRIANNI: I did not even know that.

And you have a great voice, regardless if it’s on the radio or even asking me a question in here.

I didn’t even know that. I try not to get too wrapped up into that stuff because what does that have to do with me, really? I’ve never been on this team where I’ve been there, or [RB] Saquon [Barkley] –

Q. But you could take the team to their first victory ever at that place? (Merrill Reese)

NICK SIRIANNI: That’s cool. That’s a cool thing. I think before we played New Orleans, I remember someone telling me that we hadn’t won there in a long time. And I’m like, ‘I’ve never even played there as part of the Philadelphia Eagles.’

I think it’s an interesting stat and an interesting thing. I don’t think it’s productive for us to think about that. It’s productive for us to go, ‘Okay, hey, we’re playing in a hostile environment, so we’ve got to do the things we need to do to prepare for a hostile environment.’

Really, I didn’t even know that until you just said that. So we’re going about our process the exact same way as if we were undefeated there.

What is the Eagles’ record at Cincinnati?

Q. There are two ties. You’ve tied two of the last four games. (Merrill Reese)

NICK SIRIANNI: Gotcha. We’re looking forward to the challenge.

Q. Speaking of S Sydney Brown and the challenge that Bengals QB Joe Burrow and Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase and the others present, the secondary as a whole is something you all were trying to improve over the off-season. What do you think the state of that group is right now? (Brooks Kubena)

NICK SIRIANNI: Our secondary? Yeah, I think they’ve done a really nice job.

Again, [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] does a good job of putting them in positions to succeed. I think we’ve got great secondary coaches with [Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach Christian Parker] CP and [Safeties Coach] Joe Kasper and [Cornerbacks Coach] Roy [Anderson] leading the way there of getting the guys on the same page.

And then, I can’t say enough about the leader that [CB Darius Slay] D-Slay is. I won’t say his first name. He’s just such a phenomenal leader, bringing guys together. Slay has done an awesome job. [S] Reed [Blankenship], [S C.J. Gardner-Johnson] Chauncey back there as safeties. [DB Cooper DeJean] Coop has done a nice job. [DB] Avonte [Maddox] has done a good job as he’s filled in, obviously as the nickel and now in a different role. [CB Quinyon Mitchell] Q is really competitive. And I love [CB] Isaiah [Rodgers], [CB] Kelee [Ringo], and our backups there, as well, because I know they’re ready to step in.

Yeah, I think it’s a good group with good depth. Those guys work hard, and they’re good players, and I’m really pleased where we are right now. But again, like I always say, you’re only as good as your next game, and this game will be a challenge. Because we know we’ve got good guys on our side, we know they’ve got good guys on their side, and that’s the cool part about the NFL. There’s always good match-ups like this.

Q. Where did you come from going with two tight ends last week? (Zach Berman)

NICK SIRIANNI: We were comfortable with that. We felt like we had the right guys in place for that week. Every week is a little bit different with the game plan and different things like that.