Nick Sirianni

Q. T Lane Johnson was a full participant yesterday. How is he feeling after having gone through that and what are his chances for Sunday? (Rob Kuestner)

NICK SIRIANNI: We’ll see. We’ve got to get through today and see how he feels today, but he had a good practice yesterday. As you know, he was a full participant.

Again, like I said, not going to say one way or the other what I think. I mean, obviously was full yesterday, so we’ll see how today goes though and we’ll get you some information after that.

Q. Did S Justin Evans suffer a setback? And that window is closing soon. What is his status? (Zach Berman)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, obviously he’s still working hard and, again, with his situation, we’ll get more information as the next couple days go on. I don’t really have any new information for you on that.

Q. How is TE Dallas Goedert’s progress coming? (Brooks Kubena)

NICK SIRIANNI: Any other questions not about injuries? He’s doing well. Coming along. We’ll see how it goes today. But, I appreciate you guys really trying to get all the injury information. You know me, I’m not going to give you much. I know you guys don’t like that though.

Q. Red zone offense, since about week five, you guys kind of turned the corner. When you look before or after, why have you guys been so successful? (John McMullen)

NICK SIRIANNI: You know, we knew we had the guys on the team to be successful in that area. It was just about the accumulated reps, finding our identity in it. There are a lot of things that go into that. Just because you were good in an aspect of something last year doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be good in it this year.

What I mean by that is your identity isn’t always the same each year. The identity of what we did last year is just a little bit different than this year. It took us a little bit more time to figure out that identity, and since we have, we’ve done a really nice job. Our players are executing at a high level.

Q. I know you were asked about the linebackers position on Wednesday, but you have had two injuries, LB Nakobe Dean obviously is out and LB Zach Cunningham doesn’t look like– Why are you comfortable with LB Christian Elliss and now LB Ben VanSumeren? (Jeff McLane)

NICK SIRIANNI: Again, as we watch practice, as we we’ve went through training camp, and then be in practice here and the things they’ve done when they’ve been on the field special teams-wise, obviously we account for everything and take everything into account of how they’re playing.

So, we feel comfortable with those guys from the practice standpoint and the plays that they’ve made on special teams.

Q. Last couple weeks RB D’Andre Swift has had runs to kind of get the offense going. How valuable has he been both as a runner and someone that can play different spots? (E.J. Smith)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, super valuable. He’s a playmaker, and the more playmakers you have on your team it’s a little bit harder to share the ball with everybody because everybody is deserving of the touches that they get and then some.

But, yeah, he’s done a really nice job. You know, how you get the running back the ball is different than how you get the receiver or tight end the ball. Sometimes it just takes turning around and handing it off to them. Sometimes the coverage can dictate some different things when you’re trying to get the ball to a receiver or a tight end.

But he just has the ability to make plays, and that’s not only in the run game but in the pass game, in the screen game. He’s just a playmaker, and we’re sure glad we have him on this team. He’s had a nice season so far. Look to continue on with that.

Q. You have a bunch of guys after WR A.J. Brown and WR DeVonta Smith who are getting snaps. Do you want to see one guy settle into the third role or keep mixing? (Dave Zangaro)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I don’t think that’s necessary. I think they all do a nice job of having their different strengths and different things they can do. So, no, I think the more guys that you can play in that role, the deeper you are, that’s a good thing for us.

So, we’re pleased with [WR] Julio [Jones], we’re pleased with [WR] Quez [Watkins], we’re pleased with [WR Olamide Zaccheaus]. They’ve all done different things in different games that have helped us win games. We’ll continue to use all three of those guys. And [WR] Britain [Covey] obviously too, has a role that maybe you don’t see a lot of plays out of it right yet, but maybe you’ll continue to see him in that as well.

Q. As someone who has made a living studying wide receivers, what is your perspective on former Eagles WR DeSean Jackson? (Zach Berman)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, big fan. Big fan of his. Got to chat with him earlier today. Just the speed that he played with was on a different level. Again, I’ve definitely studied him. He was going at a different level, and when a guy is running as fast as DeSean would run on the field, right, the guys that are covering DeSean are doing everything they can do to catch up to him, and then he would break down.

It’s a lot harder to break down when you’re in a catch-up mode than completely under control. That was always something I admired about him, the way he could get in and out of breaks when he was going so fast, and how the lack of a defensive back couldn’t get out of it because they’re working so hard to keep up with him.

You know, I told him today that we have a — he’s still on teach tapes even though I never got a chance to coach him. There is a great play of him against the Giants that [former QB] Michael Vick threw him a touchdown on. He kind of released inside on a route that he was going to bend back to the corner, and he sold his head like, ‘Hey, I’m going this way.’ The defensive back undercut him and he ripped it back out and Vick put it on him in the corner of the end zone. We still use that clip to teach our guys, ‘Hey, if you’re in this position in a trail, here is something that’s a good opportunity for you use here.’

Again, he didn’t just stick at the top. He kind of sold his head like, ‘I’m coming this way,’ and ripped so you could see — and guys don’t do that unless they have an instinct and a feel for the game of how to play the game of receiver.

So, I think to answer your question — the athleticism. Everyone sees the athleticism on the tape of how awesome he was physically, right? Then that, as a guy who loves wide receiver play, all that detail that went into that route really showed his knowledge of the game and how he went about it, so I really admire that of him and then obviously all the plays that he made.

Yeah, really excited for him today to be retiring as an Eagle.