Q. I want to ask you about a game like this when things start snowballing, what steps can you take mid-game, in the game, on the sideline, to try to get the thing back on track?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, you're just trying to make adjustments that you can make that give you a chance to put the guys in positions to succeed first and foremost. I'm assuming you're asking me the coaching perspective of it.
First and foremost, you're trying to put guys in positions to succeed and make the adjustments that you need to make. And then, right, there is a time where it's, hey, encouragement and hope. There is a time where it's try yell and inspire or do something in that realm of it.
So it's one or the other in that.
But first and foremost, it's trying to get the guys in positions to succeed and adjust to the things that are going on, and then the other things I said.
Q. How do you know which direction to go with that?
NICK SIRIANNI: It's just got to be a feel obviously. The feel that I had yesterday wasn't the right one. You know, because we didn't kick out of it.
But, again, I don't think there is a -- you know, you go into things sometimes, Roob, it's like, hey, here is what I want to run against this coverages and here is what I want to do against this offense. Here is what I want to do here.
When you're dealing with Xs and Os, you can do that. When you're dealing with human element and people, there is not a blueprint on that. There is not a coverage beater list for that if that makes sense.
You can lean back on past experiences, but you try different things to try to get it going. We were down in a hole right from the beginning. I think I was watching the offensive tape again today and we had six plays and we were down 21-nothing. That's a product of everybody. First and foremost coaching and offense, defense, and special teams.
And so, again, there is just so many different variables, different thoughts that you have based off prior experiences and things that you learned from different coaches.
But not something that you say, this is what's going to work in this particular case.
Q. Quick question. With Ben VanSumeren, is that because of the numbers or is he a fullback for you guys?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, we'll see. I don't think that's something that the opponent is going to know and that's not something I'll discuss here.
So we'll see what is going on there with him. I know he's been doing some really good things on special teams. You know, he has great athletic ability.
Again, to me, Ben, when we were pointing out our roles at the beginning of the year, Ben was a guy I looked right at and said, you got to be one of our best, Top 5 core special teams guys leading the charge with your athletic ability and toughness and physicality.
He's done a nice job of that so far and see where at that leads.
Q. It's clear that throughout your team you've have people take personal accountability players throughout the locker room were saying that. Jalen was saying that. You yourself have taken personal accountability. Do you feel like there is still times to pick spots as a disciplinarian? How do you see that approach in terms of accountability lead to action and change on some of the mistakes you're going to happen?
NICK SIRIANNI: Brooks, you're only getting a piece of what's going on, right? You're seeing what I'm telling you in these interactions. You're seeing what the players are telling you in these interactions. We got a lot of time in there, too, where the mistakes are being corrected. We're going to take accountability first and foremost because that's the only way you can continue to.
That doesn't mean as a coach that you're not -- yes, as a coach I'm going to go up there in front of the team first and foremost and say what I screwed up. Then I'm going to tell them what I feel like they screwed up, right.
I'm going to tell the -- that's my job as the head coach. I'm going to tell the coaches what I think they -- the coaches before the players even get there what I think they screwed up. That's not an indictment on anybody. It's all in the attempt to get better.
So, again, accountability is key if you're going to fix mistakes and you got to look at yourself first.
But then as leaders on the football team, you got to point out what the mistakes are. That's my job as the head coach. That's the coordinator's jobs. That's the position coaches' jobs. That's the leaders of our football team's job so to point out the mistakes that are happening.
So I do want you to see in public that's it's only us taking accountability for ourselves and not pointing the finger at anybody else, because that's where with starts. There is a lot you don't see obviously behind closed doors of how we get things fixed.
Q. With a veteran defensive coordinator, curious your role in developing the game plan on that side of the football? Then what did you make the game plan defensively yesterday?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, you know, obviously they'll do the majority of the work obviously and come to me and then I'm going to ask them, hey, what are we doing in this scenario, what are we doing on that scenario, against this type of run.
You know, so there is a long checklist of things we cover as far as after they go through the game plan process. Obviously you know that I'm involved with the offensive game planning, and then it's just there is different things of situational things that I'll have a vision on.
Doesn't necessarily mean that's everything. I have a vision on how we're going to do this or that, but there are certain things that I'll have a vision how I see our team playing.
But I hired him, obviously hired Vic to do a job and he's done a good job being a defensive coordinator in league for a very long time. I think the game plan when you play like we did yesterday, you're going to look first and foremost and say could we have put these buys in better positions? If the answer is yes, you take those notes. If the answer is, hey, we had them in good positions and they didn't succeed, that's noted as well. So I think any time you play like that there is a little bit of yes to both.
So I mean, the question you're asking me how do I feel like the game plan was yesterday. Obviously I don't feel good about the game plan yesterday because we didn't play good. And we didn't coach good, and that's why we lost.
That's where I am with that.
Q. Ask you about Jahan Dotson. Been here six weeks. Just doesn't seem as involved. Third team receiver. Top two guys around. He didn't seem to have a big role yesterday in terms of targets. What needs to be done to get him more involved?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, it's hard to force feed someone the football based off -- again, as a offensive coach you want to be always on the attack. There is being on the attack and then also taking what the defense gives you.
The ball went to him when it was supposed to go to him yesterday. You know, there were some times where the ball could have went to him where something might have happened that took that away.
And so again, you're a product sometimes of how the defense is played as a wide receiver. It's a little different sometimes at wide receiver of how the ball gets itself to you.
Yeah, again, just didn't find -- the ball didn't find him as much yesterdays. It hasn't the first couple weeks. That doesn't mean we're any less high on him than we were when we first got him. He has great play making ability, potential, and we got to find ways how to figure out how to use it.
Q. Curious if you could give us your assessment of how Jalen played in the first four games? More specifically, what you see if there is any common thread between the turnover problems that have been happening?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, you know, again, I think as a football team, I know there will be a lot that's always brought on the starting quarterback. That obviously we understand. As a football team it's just been consistency, right? Offensively, defensively, it's just been or consistency. That's something I got to do a as head coach, make sure our consistency is there.
You know, we missed one tackle lasts week. We missed 14 or whatever this week. Again, just the consistency of third down, consistency of red zone. We haven't been great in the red zone. Yesterday we were a little bit better there.
So, again, it's just that consistency thing of the entire team and myself, Jalen, offense, defense, special teams, it's all of us.
As far as the turnovers, that will be something we really dive into on a bye week this week and spend a lot of time on that. Again, I've told you guys it's not sustainable that we're minus six. That's not a sustainable stat.
You're going to be -- shoot, I'm not sure you're 2-2 when you're minus six many times. Somehow we are, but we got to make sure that that makes a big change both taking the football away as a defense, and protecting it as an offense.
So that would be something that when you go into your bye week, you study everything. You study the turnovers, you study the negative plays, you study the sacks, you study third down, and all the different scenarios.
Study two-minute, four-minute. You study everything. I mean, everything is on the table. You study anything you deem yourself insufficient as an offense and defense. You study everything you think you're good at to try to make sure you're finding your identity and doing what you do well.
So everything will be on the table. With the turnovers again, that will be a big emphasis this week of what -- I mean, we got on idea obviously. We got a good idea because it's only four games into it, but we'll be looking at it even more in depth with the what, the why, common threads among players, among plays, play types, down and distance situations, all that stuff.
Q. To kind of follow up on Dave's question about the defense and the game planning, you and I were talking a little last week about Vic and his experience, something you haven't had before. If you go back to 2021 with Jonathan in the slow start, you made some adjustments and went in there. Curious if that experience with Vic, I don't know the right word, if you hesitate at all because he's done it for so long, or is it something you need to do no matter what?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, that's my job as the head coach. Again, the product that's on the field is a direct reflection of me, and I know Vic feels that way about the defense.
But I still as the head coach, yeah, I mean, if I feel like -- if something is on my mind, I'm going to tell Vic about it. You know, obviously you guys spend time around me here, but I'm not real shy about telling how I feel. At the end of the day all I care about is us winning.
That would be malpractice on my part if I was feeling something about the defense, Jonathan Gannon, Vic Fangio, you name the coordinator, I mean, if I didn't say anything about what I feel.
So, again, you have visions of things of how you see it. Different scenarios, but we watch that tape together. We sat in there together, watched the entire tape together, went through all of it. We talked about what the issue was for each play that we failed on, what the answer, the solution was. We discussed different things, players, personnel, past experiences of what has worked against those different things.
So that's an organic conversation. That's like we talked about with the offense, everybody is involved in that. Not just Vic, not just me, not just Vic and I, but the entire defense.
Q. Nick, on Jalen, on the strip sack Jalen fumbled, how much of a situational awareness should he have had on first down in that situation? Also in some of the stacks that he held the ball too long and took in terms of again, situational awareness?
NICK SIRIANNI: Obviously we're going to want some of those plays back. There are different reasons for why. On the one that was a fumble. They did a good job clouding up the picture to that front side.
Then the back, you know, was eaten up in protection on that particular play. So you don't have your check down. That happened on the other side, too, where they eat your backup and sometimes you don't have that check down.
So there are different things that account for that. Jalen, Saquon steps up, makes a good initial strike, kind of moved around him.
Again, sometimes it's hard to see right behind you where it is. I know that we got to talk about like that clock in your head, too. There are so many different things. How the defense played. How somebody ran a route.
Grant had to go do something different on the route based on where the safety was and then cross his face, so it took a little bit longer to develop. I get it. I get that the quarterback is always going to be the guy that's scrutinized for the fumble because it goes on him.
Same thing as a interception.
But there are different things that account for it. I thought the protection was good on the play. Sometimes it isn't. I'm never going to sit here and say -- sometimes it is his fault. I'm not going to tell you on this particular one it was this or that. I'm not going to do that.
There is different things that account for the ball -- again, like I said with Grant, but does he have to have that clock in head ticking? Yeah, of course. That's part of his job too as the quarterback too. There are so many different things this account for a turnover.
Again, you win as a team and you lose as a team. You turn the ball over as a team and protect it as a team. It's never ever -- you know, you win on a collection of plays, not just one play, and I think that's something that we got to put our head down and just grind to make sure we're fixing all the mistakes, because you never know when that play will be, when that turnover will be.
But again, this is the greatest team sport there is. I say that a lot after wins. I know I say that a lot after wins and how honored I am to be part of a football team.
That also applies in losses as well and on bad plays as well, that os it is a full, full team effort.
Q. The quarterback gets paid more than anybody else on the team for a reason.
NICK SIRIANNI: Sure, he does.
Q. Jalen is the fifth year, four year as a starter. Just wondering when you're making the corrections that is something that's being pointed out to him specifically, that situation on first down?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, again, any time there is a mistake on the tape, the number of that person is put up there. Doesn't matter who you are. Doesn't matter how long they've played, how many pro bowls they've made. The number is put on there, because, again, that would be malpractice by myself, Jeff, if I didn't correct and our coaches didn't correct mistakes that are happening.
We're just trying to get better so we don't make the same mistakes twice, so that's the same thing there.
Q. You talked a little bit yesterday about still looking for an identity and everything. Curious, how long does that typically take? Obviously week four and you guys have had all the training camp. Just wondering how long it takes and what you need do to get that identity? What needs to happen?
NICK SIRIANNI: Identity is what you do well, what you do consistent, what you hang your hat on.
That changes year in, year out. What our identity was in '21, '22, '23, all those years had little differences in who you are.
Same thing now. You figure that out as you go throughout the year. I'm not sure you see any team right now that says this is our identity. There are some probably, but there is not a lot.
It is still a small sample size and you're trying to repeat the things you do well, hide those things, complement those things, trying to not do the things that you don't do so well.
Again, it always starts with what the players do well first and foremost. Not what I like, what Kellen, what Kevin likes, what Stout likes, but what our players do well. That's forever changing throughout the season.
I think your identity you can say is this, but it's constantly evolving through the season. I know one thing we can say our identity is as a football team that we talk a ton about is our team, our accountability, detail, right, and our toughness that we're constantly trying to work on and become better at that at all times.
We feel like we have had moments of that throughout every game that we've had and shown that, but like anything, we got to make sure we're consistent with it.
Q. You mentioned fundamentals a lot, they need to get corrected. Assuming part of that applies to the missed tackles. What is your level of surprise or concern four weeks in? What do you think is the biggest area of concern specifically with missed tackles, and do you think there at all a correlation to how infrequent you guys and other teams do live tackling in practice and in camp?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I think fundamentals are tackling -- on defense they're tackling, block destruction and how you got off blocks. Those are the main ones that are a defense fundamentals. How you cover, how you rush.
I really think when I'm thinking true basic, basic fundamentals, block destruction, right, block destruction and tackling. On offense, combo blocks the offensive line does together and ball security. Same thing on defense, how you take the football away, how you catch the football.
Those are the this things we talk about every single day, that we drill every single day, that's in team meetings every single day, of how we're doing in those different things. It is an emphasis of ours what we want to be really good at.
Now, this will be the week, too, that we relook at some of drills we're doing. You try to do as many drills as you possibly can do that simulate tackling as much as you possibly can. Tackling is something that's difficult for the entire league to really simulate how you do that. You're not doing the thing live.
Well, same thing with ball security. You're more susceptible to fumble the ball if you're truly getting tackled. It's a long season, and I think what you have to do is put your guys in positions to simulate it while also protecting your guys to make sure that you have your guys every Sunday.
And so I think what I'll do definitely this week is, okay, let's look at, all right, we know that the issue -- what are the common themes of tackles we're missing? I got a pretty good idea what they are. How do we simulate that in drills? How do we show it in meetings from around the league? So you emphasis it.
And that will be the process this week. With the amount of tackles we missed in this last game, right, it led to a lot of extra yards by them. You're going to miss a couple tackles each game. That wasn't to our standard, and there were different circumstances of why we need to correct. Any time I talk about -- I'm so passionate about details and fundamentals that that hurts me when we don't tackle well. I know how much time we put into it.
I'm going to, again, first and foremost say what did I not do well enough? The things I'm talking about to you guys are the things I didn't do well enough and how do we correct that from a coaching standpoint to get better.
And the different things we do fundamentally is going to be big.
Q. Another turnover question for you. Jalen in 2021 and 2022 averaged 0.6 turnovers per game; 2023 and this year, up to 1.4. Drastic difference. Double and then some. Forgetting what the issues are turnover-wise this year and last year, what worked those first two years?
NICK SIRIANNI: Good question. You know, it's a different product, different things that happened in the game.
You know, again it's never -- there are so many different variables. Let's talk about it from a quarterback standpoint. Sometimes it's how you carry the ball when you're running and carrying the ball when you're escaping. You know, then it's the time to throw, developing plays. Sometimes it's about the protection and having a hat for a hat. Sometimes it's about losing a one-on-one there.
You know, again, it's going to always -- sometimes it's about the route detail and the route discipline and how that is affected. You know, a missed throw or a misread.
Like the criticism is always going to go to him the most because he touches ball the most, and always going to have more turnovers than anybody else on the team per se. Now, we've turned it over as a football team. Again, I go back to this: We turned it over as a football team these past -- again this year is always I'm focused about -- and '23 more than we had in '21 and '22. We're seeing the results of that.
As I've told you guys, it's not sustainable winning games when you're turning the football over. Again, you win as a team; you lose as a team. You turn the ball over as a team; you protect the football as a team.
Again, it's important that we all understand that. Coaches, players, we're all in this together. Only way to get the win/loss column fixed is the protection of the football.
Q. One of the sentiments among the defensive players out the locker room a last night was that Baker was getting ball out really quickly and the coverage on the back end needed to be stickier. Why do you feel there was that shortcoming? Was it more the coverage that was being called or the execution within the structure of the defense?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, again, there is times on those -- if you kind of come back and look through it, there is always going to be a combination of both, right? We're never going to say as coaches it's just the players and we're never going to say, well, it's just with the coaches.
It's a team game that takes everybody. You know, there are times that you could say, yeah, let's be tighter in these scenarios. There were times we were tight. Baker got the ball out and we missed the tackle. There are times we didn't cover down fast enough in our disguise. We want to hold the shell and disguise, but then it sacrifices you coming down late and they can get the ball out.
That's on both sides of coaching and playing. We're in this thing together and it takes everybody, so the answer on -- it's never going to be 100% here and there, because that's not the way this game is played. That's why it is the greatest team game, and I'll stand on it's the greatest team game whether it's a win or a loss. But that's how you continue to come together through the tough times, through the good times to become a team.
I know scenarios like yesterday, you know, getting beat the way we got beat yesterday will bring this team closer together. You're either continuing to come closer together or you are falling apart.
Our goal is to make sure we're staying together through the adversity from yesterday and move on and get better from it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports