Q. (Off microphone). This isn't completely out of the norm, but is that a concerted effort for you to make a statement or anything like that?
NICK SIRIANNI: No. You know, I'm not doing anything I don't normally do. You know, sometimes a correction is made with a smack on the butt, and sometimes a correction is made with getting after them.
It's just the way -- and the art of coaching is figuring out when to do one and when to do the other one. So I don't believe I'm any more animated than I normally am. You would have to ask the guys.
Q. With guys like Kelee and Sydney Brown and some of the younger guys starting out with the threes, what does that give them to be able to start out with the threes? What does that give them to start out with the threes and maybe less pressure than twos or ones?
NICK SIRIANNI: There's pressure on all of us no matter what. You know, what we like to do with some of our young guys is you'll see that we have developmental periods at the end of practice. We have developmental opportunities and walk-through.
What we're trying to do for them in those periods specifically is let them build their confidence and going against some other guys that are in their same situation.
So that's why we do our developmental periods. One, to get them more reps so they get better and they continue to rise, but also to help them build their confidence as they go against guys that are in a similar spot.
Q. (Off microphone)
NICK SIRIANNI: I won't ever get into that, you know, hows and whys with injuries, but we're hoping that -- he has been getting better. We're hoping he gets some reps out here today with some individual stuff. So excited that he is going to do that, and we know how much he changes a game when he is in there.
Q. So he is back?
NICK SIRIANNI: We'll get you all the lists of how much participation, all that stuff, but he is going to be working some individual today, yes.
Q. Is Avonte's toe the same one he had trouble with last year?
NICK SIRIANNI: So he is just still recovering from some stuff. But, yeah, he's still recovering from some of the different things. I think it's the same toe. I don't know, right toe, left toe, but yeah.
Q. Are you having red zone game one again? That's sort of been your theme. What's the philosophy behind that?
NICK SIRIANNI: It's not -- it's a hard thing to start off with. It really is because the field shrinks, and it's not a great -- it's hard. As an offense, right, you always feel that, man, this is how we're starting the things off.
But the design of it is that, one, obviously red zone is super important, and, two, it's not always about how much you're on the field but also the distance you're running while you're on your field, so it is part of the progression of how we're getting these guys going back into football shape.
Q. D'Andre Swift, what have you seen from him?
NICK SIRIANNI: Oh, he has unique ability. He has unique ability, which is part of the reason why we wanted him to be on this football team.
So we really like some of the things that he can do out of the backfield as a runner and also as a receiver. He is showing that he has that ability of what we thought that he had when he was in Detroit and then coming out of Georgia also.
Q. As a follow-up to that, last year you guys had the fewest pass attempts with two running backs. I imagine your top three targets had something to do with it. As the offense evolves and the personnel evolves, do you expect that to change?
NICK SIRIANNI: Again, your offense is based off of your skill, first of all, and the players that you have, first of all. It's foolish for us to do something that our guys can't do.
With that being said, you have these different boxes that you want to be able to check of plays that you know or schemes that you know are important to attack a defense. Those can be supplemented a lot of different ways as far as the way your backs get touches, the way your tight ends get touches. You can put a receiver in the tight end spot as a number three, whatever, number two and do some different things.
So you can supplement these things different ways, but the harder you are to defend -- you're harder to defend when you have a lot of guys in different positions that you can do it so you can be in these different personnel groups and still running similar plays for your quarterback.
We're excited about what he brings. We love what Kenny has done out of the backfield as well. But, yeah, the pass game still runs through Dallas, DeVonta, A.J., and I assume that is going to -- we'll keep going, but it's looking like that will be the same thing.
But, again, it's nice that he is making some plays out of the backfield right now.
Q. Nolan Smith has gotten some first-team opportunities. How has he looked?
NICK SIRIANNI: It's always hard to tell with the O-line, D-line before you get the pads on, so we're still in the acclamation period before we get the pads on. It will show out even more once we do.
You obviously see his talent with his athleticism and how hard he plays. So it's very noticeable of not only his get-off of how he gets off the football, but also how he retraces to get to the football. Whether that's running down a play that's gotten behind him or what not, you see how hard he plays on a play-to-play basis.
Q. When do the pads come off?
NICK SIRIANNI: I don't know. I'm worried about today, and I don't know exactly the day they come on off the top of my head without looking at a schedule.
Q. Throw it to the backs, screen game specifically. Is that something -- you haven't done a lot of that. Do you feel like you have the personnel with the athletic O-line and the backs to be able to do that?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, most definitely. We think we can a lot. Our O-line gives us options to do a lot of different things, a lot of different schemes because of how talented they are, and screen game is one of those things.
So we'll see how the offense evolves with that, but yeah, we just think the O-line gives us an opportunity to do a lot of different things.
Q. Brandon Graham was talking to us about his role, and he wasn't talking about snaps. He was talking about getting young guys better, specifically. What kind of benefit does that give you?
NICK SIRIANNI: When your leaders on your team really are motivated to connect with other guys and also help them develop, not only by showing them but be willing to open the door and talk to them through it. They're going to show them every day of how they go about their business, but when they really have that ability to want to help the young guys, that's a big deal.
I think you see that with Jason and Fletch and BG and Lane, just to name the guys that have been here for ten years. They're really committed to that. They understand that what's good for Nolan Smith, to say one young guy, is going to be good for the team, which is going to be good for Brandon.
It's special. It's a special group of guys, and that's what we want. We want guys to connect. When you're truly in it to have the relationships and you're truly in it to get better as a team, understanding that the best teams win, not the best groups of individuals, that makes for a special team, and that's why we have special leaders on this team.
So I'm really excited to hear Brandon. It doesn't surprise me. I understand that's who he is as a person, but really you have to understand how exciting that is for me as a coach who is trying to continue to make sure that we're coming together as a football team.
You don't do that as a coach without special players on your team, and those four guys definitely do that.
Q. How have you seen the defensive guys specifically get acclimated to Sean?
NICK SIRIANNI: I see them flying around and executing well and making plays. So you always want to see that energy out of them.
You're always going to have some mistakes here and there each day, but I think that Sean has done a good job of letting them understand what the scheme is, how the scheme works, similarities in scheme that they were a part of last year to this year and the differences.
So I think the defense is on the right track, and Sean has done a great job of connecting with the players and really painting the job description of exactly what he wants on every single play versus all the different looks you could get.
Q. The Kelly green uniforms were unveiled yesterday. What are your thoughts?
NICK SIRIANNI: I think they look pretty cool. I look forward to -- I won't do it, but my wife will buy my kids jerseys, and I'm sure that they'll have Kelly green ones when they have an opportunity to buy them.
I think they look cool. I think the one Eagles jersey I have is a Mike Quick jersey that just so happens to be Kelly green, so I think they're cool. Yeah, I'm excited that the fans are able to get those.
Q. (Indiscernible) I know it's early, but what have been some of your take-aways?
NICK SIRIANNI: I go back to the question on Nolan, it's always hard to tell when you don't have pads on. So what you are looking for is the movements. What you are looking for is making sure that he's on the same page with who he is next to with Jason and Lane, which he has been, and the communication that's happening there.
I'm really pleased with the way he looks, and I'm also pleased with the communication that's happening between those three guys. It makes an easier transition of having a new right guard when you have two guys like Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson that's playing between them.
Q. (Off microphone)
NICK SIRIANNI: Again, really early. I think to say that he is there and he is there exclusively would be unfair to the other guys that are competing with him because, again, you're going to find out more and more as the pads come on.
So he'll be there today again, but nothing is in stone, and we'll just keep working to make sure that we put the right five guys out there when we go.
Q. (Indiscernible) left tackle, a day on, a day off. That hasn't been the case at right guard. So will you continue going with --
NICK SIRIANNI: Today. We'll see. Time will tell, but right now today Cam will be out there.
Thanks, everybody.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports