Kevin Patullo

Q. When you look at the tape, what does it show you about the second half? (Reuben Frank)

Kevin Patullo: We’re working through that right now still. We watched it right after the game as a staff. We watched through it on the plane, then we went through it yesterday, and we’re still going through some stuff now as we speak. Really, when you look at it, is the amount of drives we had and plays and some of the starting positions, it was the first down thing again. We had four drives where we had inefficient first downs, put us in four second-and-longs, and then from that, we were in three third-and-longs. When you’re doing that, when that’s happening, it’s going to be very hard to move the ball. That’s the unfortunate part of it. We had the one backed up drive from the minus one, we have to get it out. We ran again on second down; we didn’t get much. Then third down, we had some pressure and that was a punt.

When you look at those drives, it gets frustrating. We need one play. All we need is one spark, one thing to get those things going and we’re out of it. There [were] a couple– there was one drive, we were very close on the one where we went first-and-10 pass, then we went second-and-10. We had [WR] DeVonta [Smith], we had a little bit of pressure, we almost made the play. He had a great route versus man coverage [that] we won, and [it] just didn’t happen. Third-and-10, we don’t convert. Those are the frustrating pieces that we’re looking at as a staff. How do we get out of those? What do we need to do better as a coaching staff? How do we execute better? Because really, it’s not just one person, one thing, one play style, one call. It’s everything. We’ve got to look at everything.

It never comes down to one thing, but it’s the whole full picture of everybody working together, making sure we’re on the same page, and getting those done because that’s what really was frustrating in the second half. You can feel that because the first half, we had some things that we did nicely, and in the second half, we wanted to run the ball and get it going. It just got off and we got those second-and-longs, and that’s what was really frustrating about it. When you look at it, like I said, we’re still looking at it right now. We’re going through other games to see how things played out, how we can continuously improve from this and get guys in positions. Once we get them in position, we’ve got to execute it and let it play out.

Q. I wanted to ask about one of those second-and-longs. The last drive, I think it was second-and-13 run to RB Saquon Barkley, and then after that, I guess, took a shot. Are those two plays part of the same philosophy or was there just an opportunity on third to– I mean, obviously, he’s pulled down, catches on third-and-four, but overall in that sequence, what were those two plays in terms of– (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: The second down one, you’re kind of playing the game of, without getting too much into the strategy of it, ‘Okay, they’re probably going to expect something here, we have an opportunity to sneak one in here and get back to a manageable third down or maybe hit a big one.’ And we were close. If you look at it, we were really close blocking that thing out. Then the third down one is kind of one of those concepts which you want to say is like, ‘Hey, if you have your guy in a position to get a one-on-one, do it.’ If not, we work the other side of the field and we have other options. Both of those plays are obviously independent, but you’re kind of playing the percentage game, giving yourself the best chance to execute a second down to get into a manageable third, and then to execute a third down to try to pick it up in that moment.

Q. In terms of the play clock, it seemed in the first half, you guys were getting plays in. [QB Jalen Hurts] was getting to the line quicker. Second half, not so much. Was that by design? (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: No, I wouldn’t say that was designed at all. I think it might have just happened that way.

Q. Then what had been the issues in getting him to the line quickly? (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: As far as?

Q. I mean, a lot of the plays, the snaps are going off at the clock. I assume that’s because he’s getting to the line too late or– (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: When you look at that, I don’t think it has really anything [to do] with getting to the line too late. I know we get out of the huddle, for the most part, the guys get out at a decent pace, and so it’s just a matter of just orchestrating what we have within each play. Whether it’s a motion to shift, if there’s a couple plays in one, if there’s something we’re looking for, if we’re trying to ID stuff. Knock on wood, fortunately we have not had delay of games. We’ve got to continue to do [well] in that area. I think as far as that, there’s a piece of it. Then sometimes, we’re able to do different things on the ball, and that picks up the pace obviously, too.

Q. Head Coach Nick Sirianni has said that he wants to improve the operation. He said there have been a few instances where it has been better, but what can you guys do to improve that? What have been the issues that have– (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: The biggest thing as far as it goes [in] practice, when we’re in practice mode and we’re trying to stress getting to the line of scrimmage, once we break the huddle, we’ve got to get to the line of scrimmage and do a good job of getting our cleats in the ground and getting set. Like I said, if there’s a motion, we’ve got to get it going with some pace and see it. Then it’s all about just, how much do we need to see prior to the snap? Are we trying to look for something? Are we trying to set something up? We have to re-ID, re-point, make a change. It’s just putting that all into action, playing with pace, playing with speed, and actually a lot of it, too, is getting back into the huddle from the previous play. That’s a big piece of it, too. I think it’s just all one, just constantly working through those kinds of things.

Q. How frustrating is it when you see a deep pass to WR A.J. Brown that could have changed the game at the very end, and was obvious interference? (Merrill Reese)

Kevin Patullo: That’s part of the game. I mean, that’s just something you’ve got to deal with, so you just don’t worry about it. You’ve just got to call the next play and keep it going. It happens in every game. You watched last night. There were some, too. It is part of it, and then we’ve just got to do the best we can from there.

Q. You mentioned the plan was amping up [the running game] in the second half, which makes sense. Were you happy with the looks? Sometimes it looked like you were running into unfavorable looks. Is that fair? (John McMullen)

Kevin Patullo: I mean, there were a couple of plays where we were just running to run it, and so we’ve got to do a good job of making sure we put everybody in the best position to do what they need to do, and then we have to execute that play once we get those called. Some runs are, ‘Hey, we’re running it no matter what.’ Some other things have some options off it. It just depends on how the play goes in.

Q. You’re at the end of your first year as the play caller. Is there anything that has hit you that, ‘Hey, I didn’t expect this,’ or it’s been different than maybe you envisioned? (Bob Brookover)

Kevin Patullo: That’s a good question. I wouldn’t say different. I think what I’ve realized is– and I’ve always been such a big part of it, even going back to when I was with Nick in Indianapolis, and even here from day one with all the different coordinators in the roles I’ve been in. I think when you look at it, it’s just how much each week in-game and even leading into the game, you’re changing. Whether it’s your personnel, whether it’s their personnel, whether it’s the in-game adjustment, the communications, because there’s so many people involved at so many different levels. I think just making sure you’re constantly communicating with all those different people and making sure we’re on the same page. It’s been critical, and we’ve done a good job of it at times. We’ve got to continue to do that as we make this push through the playoffs.

I think I’ve learned a lot from day one until now and I think we all have, even as coaches just working together, and that’s the best part. We’re up there meeting right now as a staff and I think those are the moments you enjoy the most being a coordinator and having everybody in the room together, whether it’s players in a setting like this installing, or even as coaches going through it. I think I’ve enjoyed that part the most. Then watching those things come, in-game moments unfold, and getting them to play out is really exciting. Getting to see the guys have joy within each play. The play to [TE] Dallas [Goedert] for the touchdown, I know he got that record on that one. When we put that one in, it was like, ‘Okay, this could be the one.’ When you have those moments, I think that’s kind of the stuff you reflect back on and makes you want to continue to find new ways to do those things.

Q. After the game, Head Coach Nick Sirianni mentioned maybe wanting to be a little more assertive in between series. From your perspective, how does that play out and how open are you to that? (Dave Zangaro)

Kevin Patullo: He’s done that with everybody since he’s been the head coach here. He’s always been involved and he does a great job of just talking through things in moments. Whether it was myself or [former Eagles Offensive Coordinators] Kellen [Moore] or Shane [Steichen] or Brian [Johnson], he’s always done a great job of just saying, ‘Okay, hey, what are we starting with? What are we doing? What are we seeing?’ His knowledge and expertise of just football in general can help talk through discussion points, whether it’s just with me or the staff or the players or, ‘Hey, what are you guys seeing? What’s going on?’ I think that’s really [how] he can help, and he’s done a good job of that throughout the years.

That’s kind of helped us in moments of just talking through things because when you’re down there looking through plays and you’re looking at the surface, you’re looking at your call sheet and piecing it together, sometimes somebody else asking a question can bring you to a different direction, which is really, really helpful. He’s done that throughout the years and there’s been moments– even last year, I go back to where him, myself and Kellen are having conversations and he’ll ask a question, then it steers us in a direction. I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, okay.’ It’s just a matter of those communications and the conversations are really, really good.

Q. Head Coach Nick Sirianni has pushed back on the idea that you guys are being conservative while nursing a big lead. From your perspective, what’s the best way to manage a big lead or a double-digit lead in the second half? (Zach Berman)

Kevin Patullo: I don’t think we’re trying to be conservative at all. I think the biggest piece is– it comes back to what we talked about earlier. If you’re not successful on first down and/or second down, you’re behind. Now the defense is dictating to you what’s going on. I think that’s happened to us a few times, and unfortunately, it’s been with leads like Tampa and this game, and so we’ve had those moments where that’s happened and that’s where we’ve got to get out of because when you go from first-and-10 to second-and-10 or more, now you’re in this weird game of, ‘Okay, I can’t pressure the defense.’ That’s what’s happened to us a little bit and we’ve had limited plays. When you have those moments, you have limited plays. I think that’s where you get stuck in those ruts where you’ve got to get out of them.

Q. In the fourth quarter, you had TE Dallas Goedert as the fullback. Why’d you like him in that situation versus TE Cam Latu? (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: Just really, I think there’s some packages that we’ve kind of messed with and talked about putting him in different spots, and it’s really just [that] you can do different things when you move guys around.

Q. What’s the reason for the inefficiency on first down and why does that seem to pop up in the second half a lot versus the first half? Is it play calling? Is it execution? I mean, I know you said it’s not just one thing. If you had to look at it, you said you’ve been studying it. What are some of the key things that you find in that trend? (Christiaan DeFranco)

Kevin Patullo: When you look at the first half, second half, it’s not so much play call or execution. I think there’s really not too much a difference. What’s happening I think, or happened the other day, is we had some inefficient runs and that got us behind a little bit. When you get in second-and-long after an inefficient run, now you’re in a goofy spot because now you’re trying to say, ‘Okay, I’ve got to get us back on track and hopefully get positive yards so we have a manageable third down, or I could take a chance and try to go do something here, and then I still could be in a third-and-long.’ You’re constantly playing that game and we’re looking at, like I said right now, the whole season, what’s happened with some of these inefficient things. There’s something we kind of see a little bit right now, we’ve just got to keep working through.

I don’t think it’s one schematic thing or something the defense has been doing necessarily, and that’s why we’ve got to keep working through it. It’s not just about one player, one coach, one call. It’s all of us together. We’ve got to all make sure we’re on the same page as far as coaches, players, execute it, call it right. We’ve got to do the right thing. I think we’ve just got to continue to press on getting these things done when we’re having a moment of, ‘Okay, we didn’t have what we wanted on first down,’ we’ve got to get it going on second down, so we don’t have these moments.

Q. There’s a lot of discovery over the course of a season. Now that we’re nearing the end point, who is the offense, the personality of the offense? What do you want to lean into as you go into the postseason? (Tim McManus)

Kevin Patullo: I think there’s some things that we’re starting to see now that this is kind of who we want to be going forward. It’s popped up as we’ve gone on throughout the season, because we’ve played such different games with different opponents that we’ve had and different styles of defenses. I think there’s certain things that Jalen’s doing a really, really nice job of, and we’ll continue to lean into that. His exposure to things and experience in the playoffs will really help us going on the long road.

Q. In terms of getting maybe the defensive personnel in general you might want, but not the look you might’ve been going for. I think Head Coach Nick Sirianni talked about it in terms of educated guesses. What have you learned about that process in terms of maybe not getting what you want out of that play and what you do afterward? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: That’s the biggest thing, right? As a play caller, and even as anything, whether it’s [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio], myself, even [Special Teams Coordinator Michael] Clay, you’re always playing a little bit of percentages when you research it and you study it. ‘Okay, this is what they do, this is what they [have a] high number of doing, this is kind of the lower stuff that they do,’ and you’re playing the, ‘Okay, they like to do this, now we have this type of personnel, are they going to do this or not?’ That’s the game you’re constantly playing is, are they going to do what they want to do or are they going to change because of our personnel and who their personnel is?

You are playing that game, and when you have those moments [when] you kind of guess right, necessarily, or you’re like, ‘Okay, this is what I think’s going to happen.’ You’ve got that play on, you’ve got to make sure you take advantage of it. Hopefully we continue to do what we need to, and when we have those moments of, ‘Hey, this is what we think we’re going to get,’ we’ve got to execute in those spots. I think it is a back-and-forth game a little bit and there’s certain things that you want to say, ‘We’re going to take advantage of what they do,’ or ‘We’re going to do what we do in these moments to just stay on track.’

Q. At this point in the season, do you feel like you are what the film and the data says you are, or is there a switch that can be flipped going into the playoffs? (Zach Berman)

Kevin Patullo: I wouldn’t say there’s a switch. I think we’ve been a little inconsistent, and we know we have it in us to do what we need to do because we’ve done it in spots. That’s what we’ve got to really lean into and press into and be detailed and do what we have to do.