Shane Steichen

SHANE STEICHEN: I’ll just start off. Gosh dang, what an unbelievable performance up front by our offensive line. [T] Jordan [Mailata], [G] Landon [Dickerson], [C Jason] Kelce, [G] Isaac [Seumalo], [T] Lane [Johnson], and then [T] Andre Dillard when he stepped in there. To go for 363 [yards] on the ground, I’ve never been a part of something like that. That’s a credit to those guys and the preparation they put in every week, and [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line coach Jeff] Stout [Stoutland] doing what he does with those guys, and obviously the tight ends Jack [Stoll], Grant [Calcaterra], Tyree [Jackson] stepping up, and [Tight Ends coach] Jason [Michael] doing a hell of a job with those guys.

But it was unbelievable. It was fun to watch, fun to be a part of.

Q. What are the instructions for QB Jalen Hurts about protecting himself and why is he so good at it? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think he has a natural feel for it, to be honest. He’s been a runner for a while, obviously in high school and college. Just having a feel for when to get down and when to get out of bounds and protect himself. I think that’s a natural thing.

Obviously, you got to coach some of those things up, but he has a nature knack for that.

Q. Head Coach Nick Sirianni mentioned that QB Jalen Hurts would come to the sideline and offer up some suggestions. How much more is that happening this year? What have some of those been? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: It’s been great. Any time you’re playing at a high level like he’s doing right now and he’s seeing things really well on the field. All those guys, the receivers, [QB] Jalen [Hurts]. I mean, when they see something that we can take advantage of because they’re the ones out there doing it, obviously we want to take those into consideration every time and then we go from there.

Q. How many teams have spied QB Jalen Hurts versus not through this part of the season? What are the benefits of each from your vantage point? (Tim McManus)

SHANE STEICHEN: Without getting into too much detail from a competitive advantage standpoint, obviously some teams do spy him, some don’t. I’ll leave it at that.

Q. You mentioned T Andre Dillard playing guard. How did that come about? What made you guys put him in when you did? (Martin Frank)

SHANE STEICHEN: [T] Andre [Dillard] is a really athletic guy, and obviously [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line coach Jeff] Stout [Stoutland] does a great job cross-training those guys, guard-tackle, and he’s able to do both. It was really good to see him go in and play the way he did when [G] Landon [Dickerson] was out. But really impressed with what he did.

Q. What’s impressed you the most this year about the way RB Miles Sanders is running? (Reuben Frank)

SHANE STEICHEN: The consistency. The consistency week in and week out and taking care of the football and the way he’s running with the physicality that he’s doing and taking care of the football. He’s seeing it good. I know I keep saying that every week, but it continues to be the same message. It’s consistency and the way he’s doing it and taking care of the football.

Q. When it comes to WR Quez Watkins, he had a lesser role early in the season with WR A.J. Brown coming in, but now with TE Dallas Goedert, sort of those dominoes. Just talk about his ability to step up. (John McMullen)

SHANE STEICHEN: It’s been tremendous to see that. You know what? I think a guy like that, he is a big-time playmaker, and just the patience he’s had. I talked to him after the game and I said, I really appreciate your patience, because I know guys want the football and it’s his time to step up, and he’s been doing that.

That play at the end of the half to leave 13 seconds on the play clock to get that touchdown was huge. We trust [WR] Quez [Watkins] in those situations to go up and get it, and [QB] Jalen [Hurts] made a heck of a throw and it was a one-on-one matchup and he’s continuing to go make plays and we got to keep doing that.

Q. Head Coach Nick Sirianni said the thing about WR Quez Watkins, about how he accepted his role. How much conversation did that take with him, for him to accept that lesser role? How much management did you have to do with him? (Bo Wulf)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, I think that was early in the season, obviously you sign [WR] A.J. [Brown] so you got AJ, [WR DeVonta] Smitty [Smith], and [TE] Dallas [Goedert]. You got three guys, and we always talk about there is one football to go around and your time is going to come around.

He’s been patient doing it, and obviously with Dallas down it was his time to step up. He’s accepted his role and he’s making the most of it right now.

Q. Even though you don’t have to directly scheme against Titans RB Derrick Henry, how much does his ability affect what you guys have to plan and game plan on offense? (Chris Franklin)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think we control what we control on offense. We take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves. I think that’s the message for our offense, is we got to control what we can control and go score points.

Q. With Jeff Stoutland’s role as run game coordinator, what does that mean and how does that manifest during the week? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: It’s great. [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line coach Jeff] Stout [Stoutland] obviously looks at all the runs and how we go about operating the run plan, and he comes up with his ideas and we get together at nighttime and we go through the plan, and then we marry everything up with the run and pass game.

He does a heck of a job putting those guys in positions. There are so many different techniques from a defensive line standpoint and how are we going to put our guys in the best position to make plays, whether they’re in this front or that front or whatever it is and what’s the technique of the defensive line. Are they up the field? Are they readers? There are so many different things that go into it.

He does a heck of a job putting his guys in position to make plays.

Q. What’s the process during the game of adjusting to the way things are going? So if you see the run working, going off script perhaps than sticking with what’s working? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, 100%. So, what are they doing defensively? How can we adjust quickly to what they’re doing? Obviously, we go in with a plan of what we see on tape, and if they stick to their plan defensively, we are going to stick to ours offensively, but you got to be ready to adjust quickly if they’re switching things up, and that’s what we can do on the sidelines and that’s the process we go through.

Q. How often as a play caller does it go as planned compared to adjusting? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: That’s a good question. I can’t give you an exact number, to be honest, but there are some games where we got to adjust and some we don’t. Last week was pretty good.

Q. When you’re putting a game plan together, how often do you put something in for the purpose of making future teams have to worry about something that you put on tape? (Bo Wulf)

SHANE STEICHEN: There is always that thought process. Everything we do, you know, [Head Coach] Nick [Sirianni] has a long checklist we go through of everything, of marrying ideas and putting stuff on tape and does it fit that week versus the defense we’re playing.

There is always that thought process we go through.

Q. With WR A.J. Brown and ball security, anything standing out? (Tim McManus)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think the biggest thing with him, and he knows this, too, we obviously got to take care of the football. We got to keep drilling it in practice. It’s wrist above the elbow, elbow locked. When you get in traffic, you got to have the clasp hand on it when you’re going through, when you get in those voids.

But I thought he did a heck of a job. Obviously had the fumble, but he bounced back and had the touchdown on that first drive of the third quarter, which was good to see.

Q. Is the usage of C/G Cam Jurgens a reflection of your comfort in how far he’s come along? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: He’s been great. Yeah, [C/G] Cam [Jurgens] has done a nice job obviously. We put him in there on that short yardage play and then down in there, and then we got the big one with the scramble with [QB] Jalen [Hurts].

Cam has done a nice job. [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line coach Jeff] Stout [Stoutland] has done a nice job with him, and then learning from [C Jason] Kelce. He’s a smart football player. He’s tough. He’s going to have a hell of a future here.

Q. Getting back to WR A.J. Brown, I think after you had the drop QB Jalen Hurts went right back to him on the next play. I know it’s a little thing, but how much do you think that matters to a guy like A.J.? (Martin Frank)

SHANE STEICHEN: Drops are going to happen and [WR] A.J. [Brown] is an elite football player and we have total confidence in him every time he steps on the field, so no issues there.

Q. RB Kenny Gainwell has got nine touchdowns now in less than two seasons. How do you think he’s handling his role in limited reps? (Josh Tolentino)

SHANE STEICHEN: He’s done a heck of a job. Obviously, got three backs in the backfield that we feel really comfortable with, and he has done a nice job and he is continuing to get better.

Q. Tennessee, that defense, where do you start? What do you see? (John McMullen)

SHANE STEICHEN: Defensive line-wise, [Titans DT Jeffery] Simmons is a load up front. This is a physical group. I know I say this every week being a heck of a challenge, but this is a darn good defense that we got to be ready for. They do a nice job.

Obviously, [Titans Head Coach Mike] Vrabel puts them in good positions, along with their defensive coordinator. They’re good on the back end. Obviously, they got [S Kevin] Byard back there. The two corners are solid. They’re sound in what they do and they’re a very physical football team that we got to be ready for.

Q. How has RB Miles Sanders done at breaking tackles? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think that’s the biggest thing. [Running Backs/Assistant Head Coach] Jemal [Singleton] does a heck of a job with those guys going through, and obviously you guys see us out there in individual period working the ball security stuff and running through those things.

But just the consistency and the physicalness of running through the tackles. That touchdown we got off the turnovers, heck of a job by our defense getting the turnover there. [T] Lane [Johnson] got the kick-out on the trap and then he ran through the arm tackle of the nose guard there and then broke another one.

I think that’s just the relentless effort and pursuit to go score. That’s what he’s been doing week in and week out, and we need that.

Q. He talked about taking better care of himself coming into this year. Do you see the product of that? Does he seem different physically? (Reuben Frank)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, I think he’s doing a nice job. I think all these guys have their routine going into every week on how they take care of their bodies getting ready to play, whether it’s the stretching, the weight room, the yoga, whatever, massages, like all those different things. Everyone has their routine.

I think as you get older, as a veteran player, you find your routine. He’s found that obviously over through the years and it’s been good to see.

Q. You spoke about the information that QB Jalen Hurts brings between drives. What is that sequence like for you as the play caller? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, it’s awesome. So obviously after sequence of plays, I’ll go look at the surface real quick and then I get my thoughts together on the next drive of what we’re thinking. Then I’ll go to [QB] Jalen [Hurts] and Jalen will be talking with [Quarterbacks coach] Brian [Johnson] during those situations, and then boom, we’ll go over and he’s like, hey, this looks good here. We can get to this, this would be awesome.

Obviously if I see it on the surface as well I’m like heck yeah, let’s do it. So he’s doing a nice job with that.

Q. TE Tyree Jackson was gone for a long time, obviously rehabbing from the ACL. He has gotten back, got his feet wet. What have you seen from him as a developmental player? That’s a big transition. (John McMullen)

SHANE STEICHEN: I mean he’s a big, long guy that can run and catch. Obviously, it’s been two weeks since he’s been back, but just continuing to give him the reps in practice, getting him comfortable back in this thing. I think he had five reps in the last game, but continuing to work him in there week in and week out. He’s showing good strides.