Q. Where did you get that?
NICK SIRIANNI: He knew I'd take all the tee shirts and wear them. He sent it to me.
Q. I disagree that play was unstoppable --
NICK SIRIANNI: It's only not unstoppable if they pick the same play, right. So if you picked down and B, it was all-out blitz and nobody blocked anybody in that game.
Q. You can just pick the passing play that looked like that alignment and if you knew you didn't pick the play right away?
NICK SIRIANNI: Then you can sprint. But you'd better have Lawrence Taylor to run across and be able to catch Randall Cunningham on that play. I've played this game so many times, I've got it.
Q. Speaking of pass pressure, what did you see from your guys up front as far as pass pressure Sunday and do you have any level of concern about their inability to get in there?
NICK SIRIANNI: No, I don't have any level of concern there. I've got a lot of confidence in these guys, a lot of confidence in the coaches that coach these guys and a lot of confidence in Gannon that we'll get to the quarterback. You know, that's something that we know we need to do to affect the quarterback, to affect him and get him off his timing and off his rhythm, and I've got a lot of faith in these guys.
So we'll do different things. We have to always put players in position to make plays and that's what we are working like crazy to do but as far as our guys, I've got so much confidence in that defensive line group.
Q. What was the message in the meeting this morning?
NICK SIRIANNI: We talked a lot about connecting today. Really, we always go through the same process each week and then we are going to have a theme of the week, message into the week and this week it's about connecting, which just so happens to be our first core value.
Again, with that, you all want them to grow with their relationships with each other. It's not only going to help them off the field but it will help them on the field. That's what the discussion was. It's not the best individuals that win in this sport. It's the best individuals as a team. It's the best team that wins.
So that was the main message this morning.
Q. What's your understanding of how the NFL is officiating quarterbacks on the run this year? What's their point of emphasis?
NICK SIRIANNI: They are always trying to protect the quarterback and we understand that. We have a quarterback like Jalen Hurts, we are obviously very appreciative of that.
I thought the referees in the game the other day did an outstanding job. They have a hard job. They have got a really hard job. It's kind of a thankless job, too. Nobody is going up to them after the game, you ref'd an awesome game. They are not getting written about or anything like that, but they have a really hard job and I really respect their job.
Q. You could do that; it might help.
NICK SIRIANNI: And we let them know when we think they have made the right call, that's for sure. I thought they did a good job, that crew did a really good job of handling it the other day. I know they will try to protect the quarterbacks in this league.
Q. The other day, Jonathan kind of dropped that Howie was involved with game planning. A lot of people took that the wrong way. Could you explain that process?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, of course. What Jonathan was talking about is when we go in, we talk about the roster all the time. We're always in communication about the roster and Howie's expertise is, you know, roster management.
So what we'd have to do and what we meet with Howie about all the time is like, hey, Howie, we are going to need this guy up and this guy up. We are going to put this guy down this week and this guy down and Howie has to make that happen.
I can't go in there and say -- I can't go and say, or make it happen that Calcaterra is down -- or make Calcaterra down and Togiai up. This is a great case in point. Howie has to make it happen. So we have to go in there and discuss with him, here is what we want to have happen on the roster this week and you have to make it happen for us and he does.
That's what Jonathan is talking about. I know it gets twisted and this and that, and he might not have said it exactly the way that -- but that is exactly what Jonathan is talking about. We have Howie's support and Howie just wants to help us do our job as best we can do and that's how he helps us there in that aspect of, hey, we need Covey up, make it happen. Hey, we need Togiai up, make it happen. That's what Jonathan is happening.
Q. Is it always a one-way conversation? Does Howie comeback and say, well, maybe not?
NICK SIRIANNI: Well, we discuss everything. We discuss everything. But at the end of the day I have the safe of who is up on game day and what we need. He's not sitting in there game planning with us either to the point -- doesn't know exactly -- I'll tell him, hey, we are going to be in 13 personnel a lot.
We discuss everything. The best teams I've been on have a great relationship between the head coach and the GM. The crappiest teams I've been on had a bad relationship between the head coach and the GM. Of course we talk through everything.
But at the end of the day, Howie is going to say, oh, you need those three tight ends up because this is -- the plan calls for it this week? No doubt. That's kind of how it goes down.
Q. What makes Jefferson unique and do you see similarities between him and A.J. Brown?
NICK SIRIANNI: I can always go back to my first initial reaction to Justin Jefferson. We were out of the playoffs and it must have been, what -- this was -- we didn't make the playoffs in Indy one year and I wanted to watch all the players in the National Championship Game that were playing that night between Alabama and between LSU, I believe that's who played in that National Championship Game -- am I right there? I wanted to watch all the receivers and quarterbacks that were going to be eligible.
So that week leading up to that, because we weren't in the playoffs, I watched burl. I watched DeVonta. I watched Justin. I watched chase. I watched all those guys, and I remember putting on the tape and like going, man, this Justin Jefferson guy is really, really good. Like he's really quick. He's got great hands. He runs really good routes.
It made the game a little bit more he enjoyable for me. I put the game in, we're watching the game and I'm watching the game with it and he catches the ball and puts his foot in the ground quick and you get the zoom up on it on the TV camera and it was like, okay, he's exactly what I thought. He does have all that quickness. That close-up view really helped me learn that.
I've always admired and respected his game. He poses a lot of problems. He's a great football player and we've got some great football players, too. Yeah, he's got great game. It was Clemson -- I asked if anyone -- okay.
Q. Britain Covey, what made him stand out in Week 1 and what did you see?
NICK SIRIANNI: What kind of made him stand out throughout training camp was his quickness. I think we talked about that before, just how quick he is, and how, you know, just being able to get from here to here so quick. That to me in the NFL, a lot of guys can run fast but the guys that really excel are the guys that can change directions and he does that and he's short-handed back there.
So you build confidence on a guy not based off of what he's done in the games, but based off what he's done in the games, but he hasn't had any games, right. It's what we saw over and over and over again in practice.
Q. What did you like out of Robinson?
NICK SIRIANNI: Big man who we liked his tape coming out and saw an opportunity there. Obviously really bummed about Derek but saw an opportunity there to improve our roster and our defensive coaches liked him. I liked him and Howie liked him, and his staff and we saw a way to improve our roster.
You'll see him out there. He is big. He is a big man. It was nice to see him and Josh eating lunch together the other day, so I may have hummed the Florida State fight song chant when I walked by him, but he's a big dude.
Q. The new faces on defense, including the safety, 12 days before the start of the season, is that a legitimate excuse for the defensive struggles?
NICK SIRIANNI: No, I don't believe so again we have to put them in the best positions we can to succeed. Of course you're always working on gelling but we treat practices like games. We always say, we are full speed to the snap in walk through. We have had so many reps to get ourselves ready to do this, and I'll never give an excuse for that.
So that to me was not -- that wasn't what the struggle was.
Q. How much pressure is on Jonathan this year and where is your confidence level that he'll be able to figure it out?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I've got a ton of confidence in Jonathan. That's why he's here. As far as the pressure, this is the NFL and this is Philly, right. So we know what the expectation is and the expectation is to win football games and that's our job as coaches to figure out how we can win as many -- put the players in position to win as many as we possibly can. Confidence level, super high. Pressure, nothing new to us. That's what the NFL is all about.
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