Nick Sirianni

Q. Asking about turnovers, a lot of the talk yesterday was about how you’re showing clips of turnovers throughout the league. You spoke about it. But what was the impetus to that? Is that a recent coaching tool you’ve implemented here? Where did the idea come from? (Ed Kracz)

NICK SIRIANNI: No, we’ve been doing that. That’s part of our process that we do. We’ve been doing that since Indy. A lot of different things play into that. We have a meeting on the way teams create turnovers that [Running Backs/Assistant Head Coach] Jemal Singleton runs on Thursdays, and then we always, after each practice, look at our ball security, the way we’re taking care of it and the way we’re coming after it. So that’s in every team meeting, there’s an emphasis on that.

And then on Saturdays, we always show the things from around the league. We don’t show every single turnover, but the ones that make sense for us to and the ones we need to learn from. Anywhere from 10 to 15 clips, whatever it is.

It’s just so it’s always on their mind. Again, it goes back to we talk a lot about winning the double positive, winning the turnover battle, winning the explosive play battle. It’s just something that we emphasize, we have always emphasized. You guys have seen the posters and the banners in our team room that emphasize that.

We want it to always be on their minds. I think now we’re, what 23-1 since 2021 when we win the turnover battle? For us, it’s a huge stat. For every team it’s a huge stat, but more so for us because we’re above the league average as far as 23-1 when we win that turnover battle.

We’re constantly trying to think of new ways to teach it. We constantly try to think of new ways to implement it. Those are some of the things right there.

I think what happens, too, is I’m glad the players are talking about that in the sense of, ‘Hey, we watch this all the time.’ It’s etched in their mind, and that’s what you want.

Like I said to you to guys last night, if a play happens in any football game that they’re watching Thursday night, Monday night, during college football, they’re texting back and forth saying, ‘Hey, this guy has got to get the ball in the right hand,’ or whatever it is.

That’s what you want. That’s when you know you’ve got your culture going the way you want it to go, is when all those things like that are constantly on their mind, and sounds like that’s the case.

Q. You have so many new pieces in the secondary. Couple rookies; S C.J. Gardner-Johnson wasn’t here last year; CB Isaiah Rodgers has been playing snaps. What goes into that group being so new and playing so well together? (Reuben Frank)

NICK SIRIANNI: First, [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] has everybody on the same page of what’s required, what’s expected, how he wants things to play versus different looks.

And then you’ve got your position coaches with CP [Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach Christian Parker] and [Safeties Coach] Joe Kasper and [Cornerbacks Coach] Roy [Anderson] getting these guys in the room to be on the same page.

I think that’s such a big part. Obviously, we’re talented there. We have talented players there. The addition of the new guys we have, and [S] Reed [Blankenship] and [CB Darius] Slay being the holdovers, and [CB] Avonte [Maddox], that have been here.

But they’ve worked really hard to be on the same page. One of the easiest ways to get beat in the secondary, in my opinion, is not one-on-one matchups. One of the easiest ways to give up plays is when you’re not all on the same page.

We work really hard to do that, and these guys are connected back there. The more you’re connected as a football team the more it’s going to show on the field through their celebrations and then also them being on the same page.

Obviously, these guys have come in and are good football players, but then just constant work of being back there together as one. You know, the rookies, they have really flexed their muscles as they’ve went, with [CB] Q [Quinyon Mitchell] and [CB] Coop [Cooper DeJean].

It’s just a nice mix of veteran leadership. Slay is one of the best leaders that we have on this football team. So, the combination of the veteran leadership with the middle group as far as the guys that have played four, five, six years in the league, to the young guys.

Q. Third straight year now you guys have had a win streak of at least five games. I know personnel changes over time. What’s something you’ve learned about this current group that you have right now during that win streak? How do you maintain it over the rest of the year? (Chris Franklin)

NICK SIRIANNI: We’re just worried about the next one. I think that’s all you can do. No one is thinking about a winning streak when it’s the first game; and you shouldn’t be thinking about it in the fifth game. So, you just want to continue to play good football. And wins clump together as they have.

Again, though, we don’t think about it that much. We don’t think about that portion of it because we’re constantly in the moment of where we are.

This week, we don’t have time at all to think about a winning streak because it’s such a quick turnaround to our next game against a really good opponent.

Our focus is on getting better every day. If you can string some wins together as you do that, that’s ideal. But, getting better every day through the good things that we do and also the mistakes that we do.

Q. I know this may be low on your list of concerns, but WR DeVonta Smith averaged nine and a half targets in the first three games, and since the bye, that number has cut in half. How do you juggle the fact that your offense is striving versus not getting one of your better players as involved as you probably would like to? (Jeff McLane)

NICK SIRIANNI: That is a good question. It’s always in our thought process to get him the ball. Three of these last games or three of the last four games have been really heavy run in the second half because of the leads we had.

Probably more so I think if you add up all the snaps DeVonta hasn’t played in that portion, he hasn’t played a lot in that portion of the game. Obviously, we got to take a lot of guys out yesterday with rest.

It’s still on our mind to get him the ball. It’s still on our mind to get [WR] A.J. [Brown] the ball. It’s still on our mind to get [TE] Dallas [Goedert] the football. There will be games where it’s going to have to go that way.

Right now, we have a formula for how we’re winning. We want to continue with that, but also know we have a lot of different pieces to be able to win different ways.

I just think about the opportunity that DeVonta has gotten that he’s really taken advantage of. Obviously, he had a huge play last game against Jacksonville to help us win that football game on a third-and-20. You know, he had a big third down catch in that game as well.

DeVonta was our player of the game, I believe the game before, because of how good he played with the football in his hands and when the football went to him, and also when it wasn’t going to him.

He’s such a good teammate and such a selfless teammate. He’s blocking his butt off and doing things to change the game when the ball is not coming to him. That’s just something that happens through the ebbs and flows of the season.

Sometimes you’re getting a bunch of targets and sometimes you’re not. To be the team we want to be and to be the successful team we want to be, DeVonta Smith has to play a huge role in the offense, and he will as we continue forward.

Q. You mentioned a little bit about the short week. As much as you can, can you take us through the preparation of this week versus a normal Sunday/Monday week and how things change? Or is it that drastic? (John McMullen)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, it’s drastic I would say. Whenever you get, whatever, let’s say 100-hour work week and now you’ve got to do it in four days. You can’t be like, ‘Well, I’m going to skip this this week or skip that this week.’ It’s all the same amount of work that has to be put in.

Everybody, you don’t meet 100% of the time all together. There are portions of the week where you’re preparing on your own and then coming together to kind of talk about what you learned on your own.

And so, all coaches are a little bit different. Some coaches will do it all in the week or on the flight home, or some will do it in the week before in the little bit of free time they have there.

But no steps are ever skipped. It’s just that everything gets crammed into a shorter amount of time. So that’s what we’re working through right now, is I think a lot of guys will have big bags under their eyes at the end of the week, but we’ve got to do what we need to do as coaches to get the guys ready.

What’s important is that the players are ready to go, that they’re rested as much as they possibly can be. Like I said, it doesn’t matter how our coaches feel. We’ve just got to get the work done and get these guys prepared as much as we possibly can and be thinking sharply.

We can sleep a little later in the week. So, thinking sharp on game day and as we lead up here. I always think that these Thursday night games– I know they’re a pain in the butt to prepare for. They’re a pain in the butt for the players to turn around. I really have so much respect for the players that they have to turn around and do the things they have to do.

[Passing Game Coordinator/Associate Head Coach] Kevin Patullo and I were talking about a couple of the Thursday night games that we’ve had in the past and the week leading up to the game and the stories that we have. I always think it’s a cool bonding thing for the coaches.

I won’t see my kids or my wife very much this week, but I sure will see Kevin Patullo a lot and [Offensive Coordinator] Kellen Moore a lot and Vic Fangio a lot. There are always cool stories that come out of that. That’s the cool part of the journey, that you’re grinding together for a common goal, and you’ll remember those things.

These are the things that are so cool about being part of a football team. So, we’ll make some memories this week, but ultimately have to go out there and play a good game against a good opponent.

Q. How much have you been able to look at Commanders QB Jayden Daniels and what is he showing you in his short time in the NFL? (Tim McManus)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, obviously see him on crossover tape. Early on this week, I’ll be watching a lot more of the Commanders’ defense and then get caught up on the offense as I meet with the defense and things like that.

But he’s come out on fire. He’s got his team playing really well. Hats off to their coaches. You know, I just have a lot of respect for that coaching staff and the players on that team.

He’s playing really good football. It’s very obvious. I think everybody can see that. A really good player who started off on fire, so we’ll have a challenge here this week.

Can’t say enough good things about him. You know, how he’s going to the right place with the football, being accurate, the things he can do when things do break down.

I have got a lot of respect for him and we’ll have our hands full.

Q. Obviously yesterday was kind of like a ‘light workload day’ for RB Saquon Barkley. Obviously you wanted to get him rest, and you did, but are you still able to see his impact on the rest of the offense when he’s not touching the ball as often as he has been in the past? (Martin Frank)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, definitely, because people have to be alert of your playmakers. It’s the same thing with Smitty [DeVonta Smith], with Jeff [McLane]’s question about Smitty. Even though he’s not touching the ball, he’s still making an impact, right?

I think the same thing can be said for a good defensive player. He didn’t get a sack, but he’s still is impacting the game because all the resources that are going to prevent him from getting a sack. So, 1000%.

In this league, your good player is really based off the matchups you get and trying to prevent good players from beating you. That’s not just our theory. It’s probably everybody’s theory across the NFL.

When you devote resources to stopping one guy, something else opens up. That’s our job as coaches to figure out, ‘Hey, this is what they’re doing to stop this and get to that.’

Saquon big time has an impact on the game when he’s not touching the ball or even when he’s just on the field. Really, even when he’s not on the field because there is always a threat of him being able to make a play. They don’t know when he’s going to be on there and not be on there, so they’ve got to call the game accordingly.

Q. When it comes to scramble drills, what do you think are the biggest keys to being successful there? (Dave Zangaro)

NICK SIRIANNI: That’s a good question. There are a lot of things. I think, without giving away too many of our secrets, the best way to explain it on my end is kind of like in basketball you’re trying to space the court and find the open spots and free yourself up, right?

So, you don’t want to get two guys in the same spot. You want to make the defense cover the entire field. It’s about space distribution with the receivers. There are different things that you do to free yourself up. You’ve got to be aware of the boundaries so you don’t get pushed out of bounds. There are different ways to free yourself up to unlock against a guy that’s covering you.

Then it’s really just like how we all kind of grew up playing football. When we’d go to somebody’s yard and there wasn’t anybody drawing up plays there. Somebody is running around, you’d count to five Mississippi and then the guys come and rush you and you would run around and everyone would try to free up. So, it’s just trying to find space in there and find ways to get the ball.

And then with [QB] Jalen [Hurts], I think he’s done a really nice job of escaping different ways. You know, escaping around the pocket, both right and left. Escaping up through the pocket, which makes it very difficult for the defense. It feels like we’ve made a lot of plays, particularly yesterday, on our scramble drills.

That’s something that we work all the time at practice. That’s always an emphasis of ours at practice because we know those plays lead to explosives. We also know those plays come up — you can’t explain when they’re going to come up. They’re going to happen when you’re off rhythm and not on time. It’s the second play.

So, we put a lot of emphasis on that. We put a lot of emphasis on what our rules are there, and the guys have done a really nice job executing, starting with Jalen and the guys distributing themselves throughout the field to get themselves open.

Q. Could you describe the job that WR Jahan Dotson has done since he’s been here? How big of an adjustment has it been for him? He was targeted a lot with the Commanders. He probably knew it was going to change some. Talk about that. (Bob Brookover)

NICK SIRIANNI: I think he’s done a nice job. Obviously, the last two weeks he’s made some big time plays, explosive plays for us.

You know, coming off each game, he hasn’t got as many touches as he has in the past, but I think that’s the nature of the third receiver here. Again, DeVonta and A.J. are going to be the two receivers that get the most thrown to them.

That’s always tricky because you have to be able to take advantage of the opportunity you get. Jahan is used to in college and even at Washington, five, six, seven targets a game. Maybe you’re only going to get one, two, three targets a game here. What are you going to do with those opportunities?

I think the guys that take advantage of their opportunities are the ones that get rewarded with more opportunities. So certainly, a case with Jahan is Jalen continues to trust him, as the coaching staff continues to trust him. But it’s really a tribute to him and the player and the person he is.

That’s not easy to have all those opportunities and then all of a sudden not. It comes down to moving on, play the next play. Yeah, you might not have gotten the play here, but you never know when the play is coming to you, and to be able to make it and take advantage of those one, two, three opportunities you get a game.

Jahan, the last couple weeks, has done a really nice job of that. What’s unnoticed probably about him is when he runs off, the space on the field he can create with his vertical speed. He has a handful in the last couple of games, too, of really nice blocks that have set some runs off and some bubbles and some screens and stuff like that off.

So, we’re pleased how he’s playing. He’s playing tough. He’s playing physical. He’s playing and taking advantage of those opportunities. So, he needs to continue that. We expect him to continue that. I’m really excited that he’s part of this football team.

Q. Is T Jordan Mailata a possibility for Thursday night? If so, how do you ascertain his readiness in a week of walkthroughs? (Zach Berman)

NICK SIRIANNI: Good question, Zach. We’ll see. We’ll see how this week goes of putting him in positions to see if he can do some things. You know, obviously we’ll have to be creative there knowing that we will be doing walkthroughs. There are some different things we’ll do later in the week that will be a little bit more than walkthrough to help with that as well to get their bodies going.

We’ll have to be creative with that with Jordan. One thing is that even though we’re doing walkthroughs, we’ll still have some individual periods at times to get the guys going, again, just so their bodies are moving. So those will be opportunities for him to do that.

Like I said we’ll see where he is by the end of the week. We don’t have to make a decision now. We have time. Excited he has the possibility to be back. [T] Fred [Johnson] has done a nice job, and we’ll play it by ear. If Jordan is not ready, he won’t go. If he is ready, he’ll go. We will see where we are at the end of the week.

Q. Just curious what your conversations were like with Commanders Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury when you were interviewing him for the OC position? (Bo Wulf)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, a lot of respect for him. He’s been a really good coach at different levels for a long time, and then I respect him being the former player, quarterback. I’ve got a lot of respect always for former quarterbacks that become coaches. You know, with how they have seen the game and how they can relate to the game.

Thought he was outstanding in the interview. Obviously chose Kellen in our particular case, but both guys were great possibilities. So, a lot of respect for Kliff and the job that he’s done to date in Washington and his career as a whole.