Q. With them making a change in offensive coordinator, how much does that change for you guys in your preparation?
NICK SIRIANNI: I got to go back and look at some things that Coach Kitchens did at Cleveland and some of those things like that. Of course, you look for every advantage, every edge. Some of the tendency things. You got to back and look.
I've said this before in here, it's a different play-caller. There's going to be different looks, different things that he does, that Coach Garrett didn't do or vice versa.
We just got to be ready for everything. When you don't know exactly what you're going to get, you got to play your rules, rules on each individual defense that you get.
Q. How do you do it on a short week with a holiday?
NICK SIRIANNI: How are they doing it?
Q. No, how are you doing it? How big a wrinkle is this?
NICK SIRIANNI: Again, it's a change. If Shane was calling plays as opposed to me, if Kevin was calling plays, Brian Johnson, it's going to look that. We understand that. Same thing, if Gannon is not calling the defense, Dennard Wilson was, there's going to be different things.
Again, when stuff like that happens, again, you got to go back to -- I think I've talked about this before -- unscouted looks. You got to go back, play your rules. Every defense, every offense has rules written into it if you get different looks.
That's where our preparation in the off-season, our preparation throughout each week is going to really pay dividends.
Q. Saw Taylor had surgery yesterday. What was it? Is it a knee injury? Do you expect him back this season?
NICK SIRIANNI: He had surgery. Again, we could get him back. Nothing's ruled out right yet. I don't want to give a timetable on anything there.
But it was his knee. I don't know exactly if it was -- exactly the terminology of what it was or anything like that. It's his knee that he had the surgery on. He could be back later in the season.
Q. Update on Brandon Brooks?
NICK SIRIANNI: I don't have one yet. I don't have one yet.
Q. Will he be the starter, be right back starting?
NICK SIRIANNI: Again, we don't have to make any decisions right yet about anything because I don't have any new updates for you. Yeah, I'll stay tightlipped on that.
Q. Has he had a setback?
NICK SIRIANNI: Again, not a lot of new information on that, so sorry.
Q. You've been the best team in the NFL on third downs over the last month. Why have you had that success? How demoralizing is it to a defense when Jalen can make plays with his legs?
NICK SIRIANNI: That's an extra added element that you have, is when your quarterback can get out of trouble, create with his legs, whether that's a running play or a passing play that breaks down in some way, some shape, some form. That's a big advantage to have.
If you look at teams that are high on third down, in the past they've had that ability to create -- the quarterback's had the ability to create with his legs. That's a huge advantage.
Obviously to keep the chains moving, when the chains are moving and you're converting third downs, right, that's more opportunities for more plays, which means more points, which means more run attempts, which means more opportunities for guys on the field to get touches.
That's a huge part of our preparation obviously, which it is with everybody in the NFL, is that situational football, that third down and red zone.
I think when you're running the ball the way we are, moving the sticks consistently the way we are, you always got to look at -- and we're scoring the points the way we are, it always is like, Okay, they're moving it well in different ways, but they're staying in phase and they're staying on the field because they're converting third down, scoring a lot more points because they're doing well in the red zone. Situational football is big.
Q. JG has been blitzing more since the Raiders game. John and you said hope the defensive challenge more. Is this a direct result of that?
NICK SIRIANNI: Again, I think you start to find out what works for you, what's working better. You kind of get on a roll.
Every game is going to be a little bit different of how you play it, as you guys well know. Of course, you adapt throughout the year. You double down on the things that you know are true, you adapt your schemes and your schedules, different things. Yeah, that's a result of that.
Q. Getting back to the change in New York. A couple weeks ago in Denver they didn't have Pat Sherman, different circumstance. In these times today, do you think about that more, there might be a change at a particular time?
NICK SIRIANNI: Because of COVID?
Q. Yes.
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I think you got to. You got to have, just like players, the next man's got to be up over and over with the defense, with special teams, with offense. That's definitely been something we've talked through, is who is up, who is the next man up if something with COVID hits our coaching staff as well.
Q. You said after the game you got too conservative fourth quarter play calling. What is the process there? What would you do differently? How do you balance wanting to move the clock but maybe put it up in the air?
NICK SIRIANNI: I think, again, we got pretty run heavy. Again, that's kind of been what we've been doing this last month of the season. That doesn't mean you just don't pass the football.
I don't know. I call the screen to Reagor. The way their defensive ends were playing, I didn't love that call. Hey, I pass it there, I was being a little conservative on the type of pass I used. That's one play I really want back.
But again, we were running the ball well. It got a little bit sloppy. I just felt like I started that with the way I was calling it.
Q. In terms of not making the same mistake twice, what was your reaction when Miles ran out of bounds?
NICK SIRIANNI: We pulled him out of the game and down reminded him again to stay in bounds. He had two in Carolina.
Repeat offenders of things, we usually get mad about. He knows. Shoot, if he had that next carry and didn't have to come out of the game to be reminded to stay inbounds, he would have had a hundred yards. He found that out and he knows that. We're working on getting it fixed. I know Miles wants to get it fixed more than anybody.
Q. What role did Jalen play in keeping whether it was morale up or the guys together when you were in some rocky waters?
NICK SIRIANNI: All the leaders on the team, Jalen in particular. Again, just sticking to the process of going to work every single day, of putting your head down and working every single day. That's who he is. He's the same guy every single day.
That's not only a challenge when everyone tells you you stink, but that's a challenge when everyone tells you how good you are. That's the message today. Jalen did a good job of that throughout some of the hard times. That's the challenge today, right?
Now everyone is telling you how good you are, your family members probably are here for Thanksgiving telling you how good you are. The message remains the same: put your head down, work, do the things we need to do to put ourselves in position to be 1-0 this week. We know what that process is of what we need to do to put ourselves in position.
Jalen has just been consistent and steady. I think that's what you want out of your quarterback, out of the leader on the football team.
Q. You've been by committee at running back. Is that the plan or is that just the way things are? Are you willing to go hot hand?
NICK SIRIANNI: Definitely willing to go hot hand. Definitely willing to do that. But, yeah, right now it's just been by committee. We think that's working well. If somebody gets hot, no doubt we'll stick with it.
Q. The last four games when you were running the ball so well, Kenny Gainwell hasn't been a big part of that, what is your message to him? What does he need to do?
NICK SIRIANNI: Just stay ready. My message to him is just to stay ready. I know he was not active last game. We still have high hopes for him. We still think very highly of him. He's still here to have a niche on this team, especially with his receiving ability. We haven't used it a lot these last couple weeks.
I think Kenny knows -- it's tough, but he knows how much we respect him and how much we need him on this football team. These things go like this sometimes in a season, where you're quiet, you're quiet, boom, you have a big game. That's the way of this league.
So we're going to need him. Just keeping him into it, which he's awesome, he's an awesome kid. He'll be into it and is ready to go when his number is called.
Q. In the meeting today what was the theme and message, what example did you use...
NICK SIRIANNI: Same thing I said to you guys. Hey, make sure that our intensity at practice is the way it needs to be, make sure that our detail in the meetings and on walk-through is the way it needs to be, what it has been, because this week there are a lot of distractions. It's Thanksgiving. The schedule is a little bit different.
But I said even though I'm going home to spend time with my parents and my family and my wife and kids, I'm still going to make sure that I get my meeting stuff done, everything I normally do in a week. It's just different of how you're handling it, right? There's going to be extra meetings at lunch today, extra meetings tonight. We get them out a little bit earlier tomorrow so they can be with their families because that's so important, that we want to be with our families on this holiday.
We still have to go through all the process that we go through each week. That just looks different of how it happens. Don't leave any stone unturned, make sure we're going hard. Again, Nick Saban had an awesome message. What was that, last year?
Q. Two years ago.
NICK SIRIANNI: When people are telling you how good you are, what that is. You guys can look that up (smiling).
Just put your head down and work. As you guys can see, my message is pretty consistent whether we won the three out of the last four or started off 2-5. It's all about how you put yourself in position to win the game on Sunday. The only way you do that is by working yourself through the week and getting better every single day through the week.
Q. Are you going to walk-through today?
NICK SIRIANNI: We're doing walk-through again today, yeah. With the late bye, we want to make sure our guys are healthy.
Q. Physicality the past couple weeks, nastiness. Davion was a big part of that defensively. Are you confident you're still going to have that presence on the defense?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, the guys that are stepping in for him, Alex will take the brunt of that, the most of that, and Shaun and Patrick. I'm very confident.
Q. Are they going to be ready for this?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yes. That's me wishful thinking. I kind of jumped the gun on that one. We'll see. Play that day by day.
Q. Every Wednesday will be a walk-through?
NICK SIRIANNI: We'll play that after the bye again. We're doing it because we're a little bit later in the year and our bye is later. We'll play that by ear. I don't want to cement anything down right yet.
What I felt like last week is that we had a great Thursday practice, we had a -- when you do a walk-through as opposed to when you do practice, you get a lot more reps. You get double the reps. Those are things that are constantly changing. That's not something we double down on. We constantly change that to do what's best for those players.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports