Shane Steichen

Q. Would you say that first half is the best you’ve seen QB Jalen Hurts play? (Bo Wulf)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, he played really good football. And I think the whole offense, as a whole, played the best football we played in the first half.

Everyone was on the same page. That’s three weeks in a row we didn’t have any penalties, too. You know, the self-inflicted wounds, not getting any of those.

The offensive line played exceptionally well. Receivers blocked, tight ends blocked, backs ran it well and [QB] Jalen [Hurts] played well.

Q. What area do you think Jalen Hurts has improved the most over the last month or so? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think just within the pocket, he’s still making those plays outside the pocket, but you can see him stepping up in the pocket.

He had one in the two-minute drive he threw to [WR Jalen] Reagor down the sidelines, a stop route. He stayed in there and got drilled. I mean, that’s great strides right there, seeing that, making those big-time throws.

Q. How do you coach that out of somebody, the tendency he has to sometimes take off? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think it’s repetition. You do it in practice over and over. Like Coach always says, it’s the repetition, the preparation part of it, seeing those things and trusting it when guys are coming in and out of their breaks.

The timing, the anticipation he threw with there, it was a big-time play and we got to keep doing that.

Q. How much has the shift to a little bit more of a run game benefited him? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: It definitely helps, it definitely helps. Obviously, when you’re not throwing it as much. I mean, you got – what did we have, 23 pass attempts? I think we only threw it three times in the second half.

That first half, he was lights out. It was good to see, and we got to keep working on that.

Q. Your best rushing performances have come without your starting running back. When RB Miles Sanders is back, how do you navigate that? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think we have a lot of good backs and we’ll work through that this week and see where that goes.

A lot of guys can do different things for us, some good things, out of the backfield running the football. It’s a good problem for us.

Q. How much has RB Jordan Howard helped with that physicality aspect that Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni was talking about pregame and postgame? (John McMullen)

SHANE STEICHEN: He’s a big back. And you could see it, again, he did it again this week. He sees the holes and he hits it and he’s physical and he breaks tackles. He did a great job of ball security and keeping that thing high and tight when he was going through those holes.

Q. When a wide receiver runs precise routes and is as technically sound as WR DeVonta Smith is, from a quarterback perspective, how much does that help your confidence throwing the ball to him and knowing he’ll be there? (Mike Kaye)

SHANE STEICHEN: That’s big time. And I think that definitely helps. Those guys played together in college, so coming in, they were kind of on the same page when they got here.

But then keep repping it through the Springtime, when we drafted him. And now going in, we’re midway through the season. And you can just see the timing from those guys, when the ball is coming out, when he’s coming out of the breaks, that definitely helps.

Q. I assume you watched the film of last year, Jalen Hurts versus the Saints. What did he do then that was successful against them? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: I mean, he ran it well. They ran it really well last year. You look at the run game against them, they ran it well. He did a good job of when to keep it, when not to keep it in the run game and he made some big-time plays.

Q. What do you like about having different backs with different skill sets and kind of committee-type thing as opposed to one guy getting 22 carries? (Reuben Frank)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think within the scheme of what we’re doing and going through the game plan, I know Coach talked about it the other day, we rotate those guys but also have specific plays that we want those guys in. Certain runs we want them in, certain passes we want them in. What those guys do best, we try to cater that to them.

Q. Nick spoke last week about the benefit of having Eagles Quarterbacks Coach Brian Johnson on the sideline. How has that affected you? How has that kind of helped you in terms of communication with Nick? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: It’s been fantastic. [Eagles Quarterbacks Coach] Brian Johnson is a heck of a football coach. We’re really happy to have him here.

Obviously, him and Jalen [Hurts]’ relationship is big and that definitely helps on the sideline with him talking with him, that way I can talk to [Eagles Head Coach] Nick [Sirianni]. So, it’s really good.

Q. In those first seven games, how much time did you spend with Jalen between drives as opposed to with Nick? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: I spent some time, obviously, with Jalen [Hurts] going through the pictures and then I was going through the pictures. And then the next series getting ready to go and then we’re trying to get the next series ready. So, it’s been a great help having Brian [Johnson] down there.

Q. What did you see from TE Jack Stoll and TE Tyree Jackson getting that extended playing time with TE Dallas Goedert out? (Mike Kaye)

SHANE STEICHEN: Those guys keep improving every week. Obviously, [TE] Tyree [Jackson], his second game in, I thought he did a really nice job. And [TE] Jack [Stoll]’s continuing to get better. And that’s credit to those guys, their weekly preparation and [Eagles Tight Ends] Coach [Jason] Michael does a heck of a job with those guys.

Q. What have you seen with the growth of OL Landon Dickerson over the weeks and how much does the shift to more running helped him as a young player? (John McMullen)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, no doubt. [OL] Landon [Dickerson] was drafted where he was for a reason. Obviously, [Eagles Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] saw that in him. I think everyone knew he was a good player and what he’s been able to do these last couple weeks and keep improving and grinding.

He’s a big, physical guy. So, when he gets those one-on-ones, he’s doing a good job. And when he’s double-teaming guys – when you can get 600 pounds on 300 pounds on double-teams, it’s going to help.

Q. Former Chargers QB Philip Rivers was on the Manning Cast last night and he said that he would send you and Nick plays of his offense in high school. What was kind of the extent of that and is he a resource for you, by any chance? (Bob Grotz)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, we still stay in contact all the time. He sends us little clips and tidbits of the plays he runs with his high school football team. And they use the terminology we use. So, when we’re talking, he says, ‘Hey, we hit this play,’ and, obviously, we know what this is. So, it’s pretty cool to see that.

Q. Is he using your offense? (Bob Grotz)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, the terminology. Not as in depth, obviously, but the terminology is similar.

Q. It seemed like there were maybe a couple plays you got late in the play clock in the first half. I think you had to use a time-out in one and the other one looked like Jalen Hurts was – was there an issue with the communication? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, I think we just wanted to get in the right play there. It was one of those deals, we wanted to get in the right play. So, we just said, ‘Let’s just take a time-out here and let’s talk about it.’

Q. To be able to run the ball 20 out of 23 snaps I think it was in the second half, a lot of those against stacked box where they knew you were going to run it, what does that say about the way the running game is? (Reuben Frank)

SHANE STEICHEN: It’s, obviously, a credit to the guys up front. Those guys are doing a heck of a job. Any time you have the element of a quarterback runner, obviously, you got an extra guy that we can read in the zone read game, so it definitely helps. Even if they stack the box, we can still be accounted for unless they bring blitz zero. They got an answer there.

Q. Is it difficult sometimes to figure out how a defense is going to play Jalen Hurts just because there aren’t a ton of quarterbacks in the league like that? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: That’s a great question. I think each week, we have to go in prepared for everything because he’s a unique player. Obviously, they’re going to play him different than a typical drop back quarterback that’s not going to do the zone read game.

So, I think we got to look through those things and expect the unexpected week in and week out with him at quarterback.

Q. What’s the way in which you’ve seen the biggest improvement in Jalen Hurts over the course of the season? (Bo Wulf)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think he’s starting to see it really well, the checks he’s starting to make. I think, again, that’s the repetition of going over and over and starting to see it and feel comfortable.

We said it the other day, he’s in his 13th or 14th start and I think that’s just getting comfortable and seeing certain things defensively that he’s seeing.

Q. How much is it you guys getting to know him more, as well? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, no doubt, I think that’s huge, getting to know him, what he does really well. And I think that’s starting to show on Sundays, what we’re doing with the offense. So, we are going to keep improving on that.