Q. This is a really good offense for Derek Carr. Do you see that that same way?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, they've been explosive. They got good playmakers. Derek is playing really good. Again, a lot of respect for this offense and what they've done, you know, these last two weeks.
So definitely going to be a challenge.
Q. What happened to CJ?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, he tweaked something yesterday. I won't get into the specifics, but see how today goes.
Q. Is there still a chance AJ plays on Sunday?
NICK SIRIANNI: Again, got some time. See how today goes and the rest of the -- we got today, got a little bit of tomorrow, obviously Sunday before we have to make that decision.
I know both guys are working their butts off to try get back.
Q. CJ is an emotional player. I imagine this is an emotional situation going back there. What'd the message to him?
NICK SIRIANNI: My message to him as been I love his emotion, love his energy. You know, always use that. He's got such an awesome personality; always use that personality to bring people together. So be yourself. Have fun out there. Show your emotion.
Like I would be crazy to tell him not to show his emotion because I show my emotion. Show your emotion and do everything within the rules of the game because people feed off that. Again, love his energy and just his personality.
Q. How have the players responded to this week?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, we've had a good week of practice. Obviously not done yet. Got a big one today to go out there and have a good practice. Today we had good meetings this morning. We will have a good walk-through.
Yeah, they been great. Ready to get back at it and go. Because we know that at the end of the day all we can control is our habits, and our habits is what is going to produce the results. Our habits have to be the exact same they've been, and any process we have that hasn't been what we think is up to the standard, that has to raise, too.
So guys have been great. Had a good week of work.
Q. Any curiosity to see how the team would respond to this early adversity?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, wasn't like jumping to get the loss to figure it out. No, I think -- no, the curiosity was -- I think that happens in camp. You have good days and camp, bad days in camp. It was kind of like answered in that portion.
So I think, again, we treat so many things, everything like it's -- when we go out and practice it's game-like. Those things are answered in the pre-season.
But, naturally, right, the consequences of losing a regular season game, so maybe a little bit.
But like I said, guys have really responded well. We're 1-1 and ready to go out there and play a good football team and get back out there on the field on Sunday.
But we got to have a good practice today.
Q. What have you seen from Cooper DeJean as far as his readiness to step in?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, he continues to impress as he's out there as far as starting with his special teams abilities. He made a really good play. You guys weren't out there still, but made a really good play in special teams yesterday in practice that was showed in front of the team today.
And you know, he's really had some good reps with the defense. He gets reps with the defense and also gets reps on scout team. He's just I think been stringing together practice after practice after practice, and our confidence is continuing to grow in him because we know he's a good football player.
I know he wants to be out there on the field and contributing to this team.
Q. The decision to let Jalen address the team after the loss, is that something you thought about in the off-season?
NICK SIRIANNI: No. No, I think those things happen organically. What happens in those scenarios is Jalen, you know, while everyone is walking in the locker room, he got emotional himself and started to talk to everybody.
When he started to talk to everybody, man, this is exactly what you want to happen from the leaders on your football team. Really at the end of it, wasn't anything for me to say because he said everything I would say.
He said it with great emotion and care. Like I said, I just said, let's take a knee. That's something that I talk to these guys every single day, right? We have team meetings every day. I break down practice sometimes. I just say, hey. After a practice, too. Sometime I say nothing and I say you guys got it or sometimes I say something.
And so like when the leaders on your football team are preaching exactly the same things that you know are your core values and are important to the football team, like that's awesome. Best thing that can happen. Best message that you have.
Sometimes you do that in team meetings. Like if I feel like something that I'm saying, I've said it a million times and want them to hear from another person's perspective. You use video clips of Roger Clemens saying something. First person that popped into my mind. Roger Clemens talking about the same thing. We talk about connect. We have shown the Phillies video from the '93 Phillies team.
That's just teaching, right? It's not always me talking. You find different avenues to do it. Jalen had an opportunity and he was awesome. Showed how good of a leader he is. I just really appreciated what he said and the team appreciated what he said to start the process of, hey, getting over this loss and going on to the next one.
Q. Vic said yesterday Zack Baun had never seen chop blocks before. Shouldn't that have been addressed in practice or camp?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, you do that in camp, in practice. Now, I always talk about O-line, D-line, or full go. Even though you're not tackling to the ground, O-line, D-line are full-go. We don't let them cut in practice for obvious reasons.
Same thing with the tight end slicing back on to a defensive end. You wouldn't want that collision in practice, but you drill it and try your best to make sure, just like you do with tackling drills.
You know, even though you're not going to the ground you're drilling it and trying to practice that. Bobby King has practiced that. Our defensive line, that happens to them, too; they continue to practice that.
So you just got to find ways to drill it. Now, if it happens in a pre-season game, that would be another thing, too.
But, yeah, he's drilled it. And Zack has played defensive end as well. It's a different block when a tight end is coming back to slice or offensive line is coming out to cut you.
But, yeah, we've drilled that and definitely even sometimes you drill things even more if you don't have a good game doing it. He knows he got cut a couple times, so emphasized it the last couple days in practice.
Q. Challenging place to play with a new center and right guard. How do you prepare to that?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, just try to simulate as much as you can. Same thing, cut blocks, simulate, tackling, try to simulate it. It'll be loud out there this practice. Today it's been loud. Our ears are ringing from the crowd noise yesterday.
Sometimes you try to even put it up a little bit. We have it up as loud as the speakers go, but to make it louder you use instead of music, the crowd noise, which can be annoying, but that's what we've done.
So communicating and being on the same page, and the noise is one of our keys to win this game. That's really any time you're on the road, but especially in New Orleans.
That's just, again, like a rain game, you put water on the ball. You have periods with water on the ball. It's the same thing in one of those environments. We've let the noise be even louder, like in a game.
It kind of goes like this, noise is loud during the play and comes down and then back loud. We to keep it loud the whole time, so constantly having to communicate within the noise.
Q. We saw you in the locker room the other day, which is atypical for you. What's your approach or philosophy?
NICK SIRIANNI: I actually was going around to ask a couple guys a question. My approach is usually that's their space. I don't go down there. There is a barber shop. I'll get a haircut in there.
Every once in a while I might go play a game of ping pong with somebody. That's their space to be together as a football team. I only go in there if I know they're in there at a certain time or I got to ask somebody a question or talk to somebody about something. That's the only reason I was in there the other day.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports