Tag: Nick Sirianni

Nick Sirianni tried to mend A.J. Brown’s and Jalen Hurts’ relationship by having the Eagles focus on team celebrations

A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts really do have a toxic relationship.

After long-time Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham revealed there was apparently tension between Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown earlier this week, there seems to have been a lot of simmering drama between the two Eagles stars. It’s not a great look for a great Philadephia team currently in possession of the NFC’s No. 2 playoff seed.

While Graham would try to retract his controversial comments after the fact — claiming he made an erroneous assumption about Hurts’ and Brown’s relationship — it appears where there’s smoke, there is fire.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Hurts and Brown “maybe aren’t the best of friends” in charitable terms. That’s probably OK, provided the two can continue playing well together on the field without being close pals. I’m not sure I buy that, especially since their drama appears to be mostly related to the action between the lines. Also, most of the great sports teams that I’ve heard about for my entire sports-watching life have stars who clearly like each other.

Still, the sentiment is plausible.

Think about it. Do you really like all your coworkers at your job? Or do you just coexist with them? And do y’all produce well anyway?

You can be honest! This is a safe space!

On this front, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni reportedly tried to mend fences between Hurts and Brown. How? He had the Eagles actively practice and ponder team celebrations this week in an attempt to foster unity and an atmosphere of togetherness while getting them to recognize what they can accomplish when everyone is on the same page.

That’s all well and good, but … oof. Whatever the schism is between Hurts and Brown, these are not things you want to hear about the quarterback and No. 1 receiver on a hopeful Super Bowl contender in mid-December.

The Eagles are trying to win the second Super Bowl in franchise history this winter. At the time of this writing, they still have an outside shot at catching the Detroit Lions for the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed, too. Both realities are certainly quite possible, provided Hurts and Brown can let bygones be bygones. Their dynamic is simply too critical to the Eagles’ hopeful success.

That’s the other, much more pressing question here, dearest readers.

Have you ever heard of a starting quarterback and the best receiver on a championship-winning actively disliking each other?

Yeah, that’s not a thing, folks.

Hurts and Browns had better get it together, or this promising Eagles season might go down the drain.

Eagles HC Nick Sirianni sees ‘Hard Knocks’ as advantage against Steelers

Philadelphia Eagles HC Nick Sirianni sees Hard Knocks as giving his team an edge for their Week 15 matchup with the Steelers.

It appears certain fears from the Pittsburgh Steelers organization are beginning to come to fruition: their opponents are utilizing Hard Knocks against them.

While many might assume that having a behind-the-scenes look at how the Pittsburgh Steelers operate would provide an obvious advantage to opponents, who would be bold enough to declare it aloud? Well, it appears Philadelphia Eagles HC Nick Sirianni is that bold.

Speaking to reporters on Friday morning in preparation for the Steelers-Eagles Week 15 matchup, Sirianni acknowledged that the Steelers’ identity is on full display in HBO’s Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North. He stated, “I guess you get to see it a little bit—the episodes of Hard Knocks when you get to see it. It’s an advantage you get to see some of those things.”

Teams facing the Pittsburgh Steelers down the stretch in 2024 are likely eager for every new episode to drop on Tuesdays. While HC Mike Tomlin’s impressive coaching style has been admirable to watch on Hard Knocks, is exciting television ultimately setting Pittsburgh up for failure?

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Ravens open as slight home favorites over the Eagles in Week 13

The Baltimore Ravens opened as a 2.5-point home favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13

The Eagles are atop the NFC East, and they’ll get a chance to make the ultimate statement to the rest of the league against the Baltimore Ravens, a dominant AFC North power.

Philadelphia is 9-2 after dominating the Rams (37-20) on Sunday night, while Baltimore moved to 8-4 on the season after a much needed, 30-23 win over the Chargers in Los Angeles.

BETMGM has revealed their early betting lines and the Ravens are 2.5-point home favorites at M&T Bank Stadium.

Moneyline (ML)

  • Eagles +115 (bet $115 to win $100)
  • Ravens -140

Against the spread (ATS)

  • Ravens -2.5 (-115)
  • Eagles +2.5 (-105)

Over/Under (O/U)

  • 51 (O: -110 U: -110)

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

Eagles open as slight road underdogs to the Ravens in Week 13

The Philadelphia Eagles opened as a 2.5-point road underdog to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13 on CBS

The Eagles are atop the NFC East, and they’ll get a chance to make the ultimate statement to the rest of the league against the Baltimore Ravens, a dominant AFC North power.

Philadelphia is 9-2 after dominating the Rams (37-20) on Sunday night, while Baltimore moved to 8-4 on the season after a much needed, 30-23 win over the Chargers in Los Angeles.

BETMGM has revealed their early betting lines, and the Eagles are 2.5-point road underdogs at M&T Bank Stadium.

Moneyline (ML)

  • Eagles +115 (bet $115 to win $100)
  • Ravens -140

Against the spread (ATS)

  • Ravens -2.5 (-115)
  • Eagles +2.5 (-105)

Over/Under (O/U)

  • 51 (O: -110 U: -110)

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

Is Nick Sirianni the kid from Elf? The memes, explained

This is a whole thing.

OK, let’s start with the answer to the question above: no, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is NOT actually the kid actor who played Michael Hobbs in the Will Ferrell holiday classic Elf. That would be Daniel Tay.

So why are so many people convinced that Sirianni is the kid from Elf?

The answer is: it’s just a meme. People think that Sirianni in a winter hat looks like the kid from Elf, which has led to a lot of tweets like the ones below.

Sorry to burst your bubble if you thought this was true, but it’s good to know, right?

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WATCH: Fletcher Cox raves about Nick Sirianni while explaining how ‘all he does is win’

Fletcher Cox praised Nick Sirianni on Tuesday, telling Kay Adams that all the Eagles coach does is win

Nick Sirianni entered the 2024 NFL season on the hot seat after Philadelphia lost six of its final seven games, including a blowout to Tampa Bay in the NFC Wild Card game. What followed was the firing of both coordinators, who were replaced by Kellen Moore (OC) and Vic Fangio (DC).

The Eagles made a few moves in free agency, including signing Saquon Barkley to a three-year deal. Howie Roseman landed two stars with the first two draft picks, and the Birds entered the season with huge expectations.

A 2-2 start led to some talk of Sirianni needing to be fired, but all Philadelphia has done since then is win five straight games, with both the offense and defense playing at high levels. Former Eagles star Fletcher Cox was a guest on Up with Adams and told Kay Adams that all Sirianni does is win.

During his tenure as head coach, Sirianni has guided Philadelphia to five winning streaks of five or more games. No other NFL team has logged more five-game winning streaks since the 2022 season. Sirianni’s .683 (41-19) winning percentage is the 9th-best career mark in NFL history and ranks 2nd among active head coaches, trailing only Jim Harbaugh (.692, 50-22-1). It is the highest winning percentage ever by an Eagles head coach and ranks 3rd in the NFL since 2021, behind Andy Reid (.767, 46-14) and Sean McDermott (.717, 43-17). Philadelphia is tied for the 3rd-best home winning percentage (.762, 16-5) in the league since 2022, trailing only Buffalo (.857, 18-3) and Kansas City (.773, 17-5) in that span. Including playoffs, the Eagles are 11-3 (.786) in their last 14 games at Lincoln Financial Field.

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Did Eagles lie about a Jalen Hurts injury ahead of clash with Cowboys?

From @ToddBrock24f7: HC Nick Sirianni had a confusing exchange with reporters Friday where he may have revealed a previously undisclosed injury to their QB.

Even in a season when both teams are playing below their standard, the Cowboys and Eagles always bring a little extra juice when they face off.

Trash talk and bulletin-board quotes are common in the days leading up to the next installment of the rivalry. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni even let his wardrobe do the smack-slinging back in 2018.

This year, though, it appears he may have crossed the line from motivational tactics and strategic gamesmanship to flat-out lying about the health of one of his star players ahead of Sunday’s matchup in Arlington.

Sirianni had a head-scratching exchange with the Philadelphia media on Friday regarding quarterback Jalen Hurts, who had been listed as “limited” on the first practice report of the week.

Sirianni was asked about it, and things got confusing in a hurry.

“Yeah, you know, he’s dealing with the– it was on the injury report– dealing with the ankle,” Sirianni began. “Just making sure we’re precautious [sic] with everything.”

Except that’s not what was on the injury report.

“Rest” had been the official reason given for Hurts’s limited participationon Wednesday, not an ankle injury. Though a day off for “load management” is common for many veteran players- including several Cowboys- it was apparently rare for Hurts to have received the classification, prompting the original inquiry.

After a stunned and awkward silence to Sirianni’s answer, several Philadelphia media members followed up at once, with one finally reminding the coach that Hurts wasn’t listed with an ankle issue.

Sirianni was asked to confirm: “I’m sorry. Jalen Hurts: it was an ankle injury?”

“What’s that?” Sirianni asked, looking off to the side to a team PR representative.

That individual answered, “It was a rest.”

And Sirianni’s story suddenly changed.

“It was a rest, yeah. Yeah,” the coach offered before continuing, “Sorry, I thought you were talking about somebody else. All right.”

It was even more thoroughly unconvincing to those in the room than it reads in a transcript.

Despite Sirianni’s attempt to quickly move on, the media pressed.

“Is Jalen dealing with an ankle problem, then?”

“Unh-unh,” Sirianni said with a showy shake of the head and a smirky grin, to the laughter of the assembled reporters.

“No. Rest,” he said with extra emphasis.

It certainly seemed as though Sirianni was more forthcoming with his original answer than perhaps the team meant for him to be and then tried to walk it back in order to stick to the agreed-upon version.

The Athletic‘s Eagles beat writer Brooks Kubena posted on X shortly thereafter that Hurts was warming up on a separate field from the team’s other quarterbacks, Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee.

A few minutes later, though, Hurts was seen taking a snap, dropping back, and following through on a throw. He did not appear to be hobbled in the eight-second video clip posted by NBC reporter Dave Zangaro.

Hurts was listed as a full participant on Thursday’s report as well as Friday’s. But ESPN’s Tim McManus notes that, according to his league source, Hurts has, in fact, been dealing with a mild ankle issue “for a couple weeks.”

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The quarterback has rushed for 322 yards in eight games this season, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Of his eight rushing touchdowns in 2024, six have come over the last three weeks.

He tried to laugh it off in the moment, but Sirianni’s apparent slip-up on Friday could invite a league investigation. If the team is found to have violated the NFL’s clearly-stated policy by withholding a bona fide injury (even minor), there could be fines or other punishment meted out.

In any case, it sounds as if Hurts may not be 100% heading into Sunday’s clash with the Cowboys.

And in this rivalry, any little edge could loom large for either team.

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Did Nick Sirianni lie about Jalen Hurts’ injury in weird exchange with reporters?

What happened here?!

What the heck was THIS all about?

And will the Philadelphia Eagles be disciplined for bad reporting on an injury?

Good questions all around. Let’s explain what we’re talking about.

On Friday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said that the team was being cautious with Jalen Hurts because the quarterback was “dealing with the ankle.” Hurts had been listed as sitting out practice for “rest” on Wedensday.

Which is where there’s an issue. As you can see in the video below, an Eagles PR person said that Hurts was resting, which means that if he was resting because of an injury and Philadelphia didn’t report it correctly, the franchise might be in some hot water.

Which is why it seemed like Sirianni realized he had made an error and he quickly said, “I thought you were talking about something else.”

We’ll see!

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WATCH: Brian Dawkins calls this the season of growing pains for Eagles

Hall of Fame defensive back Brian Dawkins talked about the Philadelphia Eagles slow start this season and called it growing pains

The Eagles are 5-2 and playing like one of the best teams in the NFL, but four weeks ago, there were discussions about the quarterback not being good enough to win without weapons and calls for the head coach to be fired.

Since then, Philadelphia has won three straight games, Vic Fangio’s defensive unit is growing up and making plays, and Sirianni has coached himself off the hot seat.

During a recent interview with The Eagles Wire, Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins discussed the Birds’ early-season adversity, labeling it the “season of growing pains.”

“There’s going to be more growing pains than not.” “I love the fact that they struggled early on this season, because when you begin to struggle, you really begin to learn who we truly are.” “There’s a whole lot of publicity.” “When you get into that film room though, the film shows you exactly who you are.”

A team with several flaws one month ago is now one of the most completely efficient and explosive teams in the NFL.

Entering Week 9, Philadelphia is one of only two NFL franchises that rank among the top 10 in the league in both total offense (8th, 367.1 ypg) and total defense (7th, 300.9 ypg), joining Houston.

The Eagles lead the NFL with 11 plays of 40+ yards this season, recording plays of 40+ yards in six of seven games.

Defensively, Philadelphia has allowed the third-fewest 40+ yard plays (3). Below, you can see Dawkins’ comments about growing pains, mental health, and more.

WATCH: Eagles OC Kellen Moore breaks down why Jalen Hurts isn’t under center more

Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore breaks down why Jalen Hurts isn’t under center more

The Eagles have made offensive adjustments since switching coordinators and losing six of their final seven games in 2023. Philadelphia added some motion to the offense and a star running back in Saquon Barkley.

The one approach to the offense that hasn’t altered since Jalen Hurts became the starter is his penchant for running their offense from the shotgun or pistol formation. On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore provided some insight into why Hurts is rarely under center.

According to Crossing Broad via SportsRadar Data, through Week 14 of last year, Philadelphia ran 7.2% of their plays last season from under center, which, at the time, was dead last in the league.

The only other team with their quarterback under center a little more was Shane Steichen’s Indianapolis Colts. If you count the Brotherly Shoves on third or fourth down, the penchant for running plays from under center lessens even more.

Running out of the shotgun seems to give Hurts more opportunity to create explosive plays with his legs and elite athletic ability. Thanks to RPOs and motion, Philadelphia can run play-action passes from any formation.