Nick Sirianni highlights complexities of the Eagles offense getting to the line

The Eagles head coach spoke to reporters again on Wednesday and talked a little more about the offensive operation and all the things involved with getting to the line faster on offense. He spoke about DeVonta Smith and his limited targets this season, and also explained why the Broncos defense is so tough.

He talked about different parts of the offense, but also noted that they need to be more efficient in the pass game and the run game, and said it all comes down to the coaches and players paying more attention to the details.

Here’s what else the head coach had to say:

On the offensive operation

Sirianni talked about everything involved in getting the offense ready each snap, and why they are prioritizing getting to the line quicker.

“Kevin [Patullo] has to say what personnel we’re in, then those coaches offensively have to send in that personnel — whether you’re in 11, 12, variations of 11 [and] 12, 21, whatever it is. Then, Kevin calls the play in, then Jalen’s gotta read the call there, and then everyone’s expected, obviously, to know exactly what they have to do there. Because if there’s any hesitation, then there has to be another little bit of communication, so they gotta get lined up, get set.

Then, there’s the aspect of seeing what the defense is so you can make your calls, whether it’s a run game, pass game, or anything so you can get on the same page. So, there’s so much to it. There’s so much to it that you want to be able to get up to the line of scrimmage so you’re able to go through your entire process and account for some of these things.“

The head coach reiterated that there’s so much involved to make sure they get the snap off in time and have time to get all the information they need. He noted that’s why they practice and why practice is so important.

He also mentioned that there’s a bit of strategy involved, because you want to handle pre-snap things differently in different situations — third down, fourth down, two-minute four-minute.

“We talk about this a lot: Master the things that require no talent. Because, this game forced you to play talent versus talent all the time, you gotta master the little things that require no talent. And, that’s one thing on there, and it’s obviously pretty in-depth. A lot of moving pieces to it.”

On getting DeVonta Smith involved

A lot has been made of A.J. Brown’s targets through four games, but Sirianni was asked on Wednesday about DeVonta Smith, who has even fewer targets than Brown.

“These guys know that they’re great football players, and want to do things to contribute to help us win football games. And, to me that’s normal, and we want to get them the ball. So we have to do our job as coaches to help them get the ball, they’re great players, and then we all have to execute in that situation.”

The head coach also said that when they’re game-planning for the passing game, they always prioritize getting the ball to Brown, Smith, and Dallas Goedert, but also noted there are other talented guys, too, like Jahan Dotson. Still, Sirianni said it’s early in the season, but things tend to work themselves out in terms of how the ball is spread around — but while they’re happy to be 4-0, they know there’s a lot of work to do.

“What I see from DeVonta [Smith], is him coming to work every single day, working to get better because that’s the things he can control — how do I get better today to put myself in the best position to make plays and win the game on Sunday.”

On Denver’s defense

“This is a really good defense. Lot of respect for them and the playmakers they have at every level, especially at the edge position. They;re fast, they’re quick, they’re athletic, they’re physical — all the things that you would imagine, these guys have it at defensive end. So, lot of respect for this defense.”

Other notables

• On their being so many blocked kicks around the league and by the Eagles, Sirianni said that they approach the kicking game the same as they do with offense or defense. They practice the fundamentals and detail and work out the scheme to be able to make those types of plays.
• When asked about the offensive line, Sirianni said that the group is still playing a really high level and it’s one of the strengths of the football team.
• The head coach only said, “We’ll see,” about when Nakobe Dean will be back in the active roster — the team opened his practice window on Wednesday — and what role he’ll have when he returns. Sirianni went on to note that Jihaad Campbell and Zack Baun have been playing really good football, but Dean played really good football for them in the past. So, they’re really happy to have all three, and will figure out what they looks like in time.
• He also talked a bit about how they have to make time to enjoy the wins, however they may look, because ultimately it is hard to win and they put so much hard work into preparing every week, so they need to still find the joy in the victories.