Nick Sirianni
Q. I know you said you were probably going to watch the game last night. You watch situational stuff around the league. Curious what you thought about going for it on fourth down there by Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell? (Eliot Shorr-Parks)
NICK SIRIANNI: I haven’t really seen too much of it. I fell asleep during the third quarter. So yeah, I haven’t seen too much of that.
We’ll look at those all next week.
Q. I know it’s not your primary concern, but with RB Saquon Barkley closing in on the franchise record for single season rushing, is that something you take joy in, being a part of that? (Dave Zangaro)
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, of course. Any time in a storied program like this, a franchise like this, where you can set records, that’s always awesome.
I think back to – we had some opportunities to break some records in ’22. [WR DeVonta Smith] Smitty broke the receiving record for a rookie in ’21. So, yeah, you get excited about that for the guys because that’s a team award.
Is it [former Eagles RB LeSean McCoy] Shady?
Q. Yeah. (Dave Zangaro)
NICK SIRIANNI: So potentially overtaking one of the greatest running backs to play here. If not the greatest running back to play here, and one of the great running backs that’s played in the league.
Q. How do you balance that, like if he’s close and the game is out of hand? You’ve seen it already. (Ed Kracz)
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, not thinking about that too much as the game unfolds right now in this part of the season.
Q. Just in general, talking about the aggression. You haven’t seen it yet, but what does that do for you as an offensive coach, when you are aggressive? (John McMullen)
NICK SIRIANNI: As far as?
Q. As far as putting pressure on the defense, four downs… (John McMullen)
NICK SIRIANNI: Oh, you’re talking about fourth down decisions?
Q. Yeah. (John McMullen)
NICK SIRIANNI: You always try to keep drives alive however you need to be able to do that. Scoring seven points as opposed to three, or scoring three points as opposed to punting, or scoring seven points as opposed to punting. Those are different scenarios you can have.
It helps change the game. You try to make the best decision that you can for the football team at the time, taking in all accounts.
You think about a lot of things. You think about your past. You think about what the analytic charts say. You think about what your past history has been in those scenarios. You think about your players. You think about your plays that you’re going to run in those scenarios. You think about the league and what everyone has done in the league as you watch and study those scenarios.
The most important thing is the players making a play in that position, and you trusting them as coach to be able to do so. So a lot of it goes down to the trust that you have in your players.
Q. What’s the thought process between having a true third tight end on the game day roster compared to a big wide receiver, extra O-lineman, fullback potential? (Zach Berman)
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, everything plays into that, what your game plan is. There are benefits to having one, and as you gain something with one type of player, you may lose a little something because everybody has different skillsets.
You think about what you’re getting, first and foremost, from the players in all those personnel groups, what you’re getting from the defense when they see those personnel groups. There are times you don’t put a personnel group in there because you don’t want to see a defensive personnel group that they show.
So all that is balanced, all that is thought about, all that is talked about early in the week and as you progress throughout the week. Every week is a little bit different based on who you’re playing and then who the player is in that scenario.
Q. What does it mean to the offense to get WR DeVonta Smith back for the first time? (Olivia Reiner)
NICK SIRIANNI: Obviously DeVonta is a great football player who has contributed so much to this offense and this team over the past four seasons. Any time you have an ability to get a guy like that back into the lineup, that’s big for your team. That is harder for the opposing team.
He is a great player. He’s a great teammate. So we’ll see where we are by the end of the day.
Q. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio was saying earlier in the week that he’s comfortable with a three man rotation at edge. A, how do you feel about that? B, what does that say about OLB Jalyx Hunt that he’s progressed to this point?
NICK SIRIANNI: You always want to have depth and be able to rotate guys in. We’re all a product of scenarios we have been in in the past.
I know [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] has had success doing it with three rushers. We have had success here doing it with three four, five rushers. Sometimes six with the way [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] has built the team and the depth that he has gotten us at that position.
So we’ll do whatever we need to do to win the game and play whoever we need to play. As guys need rest, we’ll look at that as the game progresses.
As far as [OLB] Jalyx [Hunt] goes, I was just saying in a team meeting today, emphasized how [OLB] Nolan Smith was running to the football and how it feels like Nolan Smith is always running to the football.
Well, it felt like [DE] Brandon Graham was always running to the football, and Jalyx now being in that role where he’s just violent and running to the football at all times.
We stress that a lot. We talk about that a lot. But he’s got the guys in front of him that have helped him learn the way. And we like how he plays with aggression and violence and physicality.
Obviously, his hustle is showing up on tape. So a lot of credit to Jalyx that he’s able to be in this position in the rotation. Also credit to Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, [OLB Josh Sweat] Sweaty, the guys in front of him that have really helped pave the way and show him the way to play.
[Defensive Ends/Outside Linebackers Coach Jeremiah Washburn] Wash is a great coach and holds him to a high standard. Vic is obviously a great coach, holds him to a high standard. Jalyx is doing a good job doing all those things.
Q. A word you used this summer: joy. As you guys keep winning and your focus is work, work, work, do you also try to make sure they’re enjoying this, having fun? (Zach Berman)
NICK SIRIANNI: The journey should be the joy, coming into work every single day. There are obviously moments you have after games. There are moments you have throughout the week.
But I think that the most special thing is the time that you spend grinding out the week together, the work that goes into it. As boring as that sounds, or as not joyful as that sounds, there is joy in the process.
That’s what we talk about a lot. Yeah, we’re focused on the next game, but it’s been fun. I think you can see our team having joy. I think you really can see that from how they celebrate together.
The cool play in the Baltimore game on the 3rd-and-1 stop by [LB] Zack [Baun] where you see all the white jerseys around, running together and celebrating.
[RB] Kenny Gainwell’s touchdown against the Rams, you can see how cool is it on the sideline, them celebrating together.
And so, again, we are talking about work, work, work. But there are elements – you can see it on tape, the joy that’s on the field.
I see that every day here in the building, some things you guys don’t get to see every day in the building. The guys hanging out in here, shooting baskets. Hanging out together in the locker room. Hanging out together in the cafeteria, eating meals together.
So I really see that joy and our team continuing to come together. And that’s what our mission is, to get better at that each week. We will keep trying to improve on that.
Q. Have you done anything with your messaging this week to emphasize why you can’t take opponents lightly? (Tim McManus)
NICK SIRIANNI: When you go out and you work every single week the same way – I think somebody asked me last week, is this game a little bit extra for you that you’re playing the Ravens?
We’re not doing our job if before we play a game – whether people think it’s a big game, or not a big game, or against a good opponent, whatever it is – we’re not doing our job unless we go into that every single week.
The message has been consistent. The message this week has been just to continue playing with relentless effort. That’s what we talked about this week. But we know that we have a good football team coming in here that’s been in some games over the past month of the season, that’s continuing to get better.
Our mission is to continue to get better. I can see the Panthers continue to get better. There are a lot of good players over there. They have our attention.
We know we have to be on it and play our game. It’s about us and going out there and playing our style of football.