Q. Saquon is on pace for I think it's 377 touches this year. Where are you on kind of monitoring that? I know you give him some Wednesdays off practice. Do you get concerned about that number when it gets real high?
NICK SIRIANNI: I try to take care of them and do what you need to do to win each and every football game. You try to take care of them throughout the week.
I think the two games, obviously not last game, but the game before that and the game before that we were able to get him out in the fourth quarter.
You know, so you try to monitor as much as you possibly can, and that's really our jobs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and being aware of it on Sunday.
But, yeah, always considering that with each and every one of our players with load management. I think our strength and conditioning staff and trainers and doctors give me really good insight on how to do that give our stuff really good insight on how to do that.
Yeah, always on our mind with how many touches he has.
Q. The edge rushers, actually their snap counts are way lower. I think Josh has the highest snap count; 42 or something like that.
NICK SIRIANNI: Uh-huh.
Q. Last year they played a ton of snaps.
NICK SIRIANNI: Sure. That's the flow of the game. Last game was 53 snaps. I think last year we had a game with like 90-something against Buffalo. Yeah, that plays into it.
You're trying obviously to -- you're thinking about that with everybody, but not every position has rotations. Offensive line don't rotate; defensive line does; running backs do.
The flows of the game, the way the game is being played, that can dictate a lot of different things. So every season is not apples to apples. I know it's the same amount of games, but every game is a little bit different in how they play out.
We're also are aware of that and that's good for our guys and I think that is good that our depth has that that we're able to do those things at defensive end.
Q. Why did you guys ultimately not make a trade before the deadline?
NICK SIRIANNI: I think that would be a good question for Howie. I know you don't get him until the end of the year. On my end of it, I feel strongly about our team and where we are, you know, when talking through all those different things. Just feel so strongly about our team, and Howie has done a great job building it to date. Didn't feel like at that time there was anything to do.
So, yeah, I feel really good about the people we have here, the guys we have here. Feel strong about the depth, the starters and the depth at that position. So that speaks for the work that Howie and his staff have done from the draft really now at the end of the day.
Q. What's Bryce Huff's role going forward?
NICK SIRIANNI: Still be in the mix, in the rotation of the rushers. Again, I think the ability, with Jimmy's question, of less rush reps for some of those guys, yeah, one part of it is that we played a little bit less plays, but also that we feel good about the rotation.
I think all four of those guys have done a nice job.
Then we'll see if Jalyx getting into the mix as well. I think he's been doing a good job at practice to be able to go.
So we feel like we have five guys in that rotation that can get after the passer, crush the edge on the run.
So, yeah, I got a ton of faith in him. Like I said, you guys know he had something going on after warmups last week. That is just the way that game went and how he was feeling.
Yeah, got a ton of confidence in him and the things he can do.
Q. This franchise has lost six in a row in Dallas. You've been here for three of them. Every year is a new team. What do you make of this team's, franchise's struggles down there recently, and how eager are you to snap that?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, you're always eager to get out there and win the next football game. I think the way I feel about the team, obviously we haven't won there since I've been here. I kind of look at this the same way as New Orleans. Same question was provided for us in New Orleans.
Hey, you guys haven't won there since whenever. Merrill made it very clear we hadn't won in Cincinnati ever with that awesome voice he has.
And that doesn't mean anything to us. Like if you're worried about -- unless it was something like the weather or the dome, we just got to go out there and play a good game against a good football team and handle their crowd and their noise and things we do for any football game.
We're treating this week like every other week. Looking to get better this week to give ourselves the best chance to win against a really good opponent.
Q. ...has been really good since the bye week. Is there one thing you would attribute that to, like it clicking, coming together? What do you think that is?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I think just everybody continuing to be on the same page. Defensive football at the end of the day, and I think Vic calls a really good game week in and week out. That's why he's one of the better defensive coordinators in the NFL.
But defensive football is always going to be about tackling. It's always going to be about physicality. It's always going to be about being on the same page. Always going to be about relentless effort getting to the football and playing team defense.
We're getting better at that. I think we're getting better as a football team because of the way that we're practicing and just the way we're meeting, walking-through. You can see signs of us just getting better with our tackling, ball security, getting better with the way we're on the same page.
It's like there is no secret to success. The secret to success is work your butt off, have good people in place, and try to get better each week. And control the things you can control.
So I got a ton of confidence in the defensive staff. Bobby King, you want to talk about somebody that's so focused in on the fundamentals. All he cares about is getting these guys better at tackling, getting them better at block destruction, getting them on the same page. All he cares about is how the guys come out there and try to take the football away.
So I think that's a buy-in from everybody. We know fundamentals is how we reach another level. Again, it's just not how you do team periods, it's how you drill, all those things.
I think there is a price to pay for success. It's working hard.
Q. Are you expecting to get Dallas or Slay back? Do you have an update on AJ?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, we'll see on all those. You guys will get an injury report later today. See how today goes and where we are. Still got a little bit of time before practice. See where they are.
Q. What does Bobby King bring specifically? Had three changes there. One you had to.
NICK SIRIANNI: (Smiling.) I think, again, I think that Bobby is -- have you guys talked to Bobby?
Q. Yeah. Not in a while.
NICK SIRIANNI: I was fortunate enough to work with Bobby with the Chargers. This guy is a relentless worker. Like I said, like I just find him somebody that he's always thinking about how he gets players better.
We missed something in the game - without getting too much into it - he's like, hey, here is how I got to drill this, here is what I'm thinking here. I admire that. I admire, okay, the linebacker missed this and he's thinking what he can do to help them be better at that.
That's coaching. That's why we as coaches put everything on our plate when something goes wrong on the field because we have the opportunity to bring them the things we think they need to get better at and then the opportunity to do so.
So I really admire him about that. You guys see it. He puts that vest on and they strike the crap out of him. They put their hands on him. He's jarring his back. I'm assuming he's only got so many more years of letting them hit him in the chest because it's probably been happening for a long time.
It's obsessive and they'll hit the crap out of him and he'll be like, nope, that was too bendy or strikey or whatever it is. I admire he's always trying to get them better at fundamentals.
As a position coach, the coordinator, it's a group effort when you're coming up with a plan. There is no doubt about that. You take inputs from everybody. But as a coordinator -- pardon me, as a position coach, your biggest job, most important job, is how you get those players better at their fundamentals.
You got all different types of players. It's how do you get those guys better fundamentally. How do you get them to understand their job more. I knew that about Bobby, and seeing it firsthand as he continue to do grow in his coaching.
Yeah, can't say enough good things about him.
Q. You think across the board you're getting higher level of coaching from your position coaches this season?
NICK SIRIANNI: I think I've really been pleased throughout as far as our position coaches throughout the time we've had here. We've had a lot of the success. That success has contributed through the entire organization. First and foremost, Howie getting the guys in here, giving us the talent here to help us do our jobs at very high level, the players making the plays, and the position coaches and the coordinators doing their job to get them better.
You know, I'm not going to compare one to the other. I think like I said we've had a lot of success; won a lot of games; everyone shares in those successes.
But to say the guys that we have now, love our coaches that we have. I've been with Jason Michael this is seven years. Like I got so much confidence with the type of coach he is.
And Aaron Moorehead going back to when he did an internship with us for Indy and now him being the wide out coach.
Jemal Singleton. Didn't know him before we got here. We hit a homerun with Jemal.
I love what Clint is bringing to the table 6as far as how he gotten the defensive tackles better.
Wash is one the guys -- and Stout, guys that were here.
I think we got really good position coaches. A lot of them could be coordinators and have been coordinators and they know how to get guys better. I mean, I could go on. I want to be able to say everybody's name.
I'm really pleased with the guys that we have here right now and they're doing a great job. They work their butts off. They have relationships with these players. The players trust them.
They're getting our players better. That is very obvious.
Q. Along those lines, is there an example from your career in the NFL where maybe you or another coach really helped change the way a guy who had been in the league for a while was doing something and improving? The idea being that a guy who has been in the league a while is set in his ways, and yet a coach was able to really help him improve.
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I think what players want from you as a position coach, coordinator, how do you get them better. I've never really run into -- I think I've never really run into a guy that is like, nope, this is how you do it and I'm not doing it any other way.
Why is that? I think the reason is that you provide them -- you show them that you know what you're talking about and you provide them an opportunity to get better. They get better, and then you got them hooked I guess to say, right?
And so I haven't experienced that. I get that that happens, but we feel like we do some things -- like, yeah, I have not experienced that. I guess I've been around really good guys.
Again, like I said, what are you doing to get them better, and that's got to be the first and foremost. Like if we're not doing anything to get them better, they're buddies, older buddies. I guess I can say that now. I'm a little older as a coach now.
Our job is to have a relationship with the players to get them better. First and foremost, the job is to get them better and work tirelessly to do that through, like I said, with Bobby King getting them better through drills and thinking of different things and the coaching points.
Really comes down to as a position coach or as a coach, of being a bulldog and not -- at some point if we keep telling you the same thing, at some point this guy is going to be relentless. If I keep messing this up, this guys is going to be relentless and now I got to fix this because he ain't going to shut up about this.
There is something to that, being a bulldog. I know Stout is a bulldog. We got a lot of bulldogs on this staff. You mess something up, they're going to tell you. They're going to keep telling you over and over again.
Q. Jalen Hurts said coming out of the bye week that it was one of the most efficient bye weeks he's ever had. Comes out and has played four very good games. Do you see anything he's doing differently over the last month that he wasn't doing perhaps in the first month?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, again, the things that you do in the dark eventually show up in the light. It's like he worked his butt off and been working his butt off.
It was a great bye week. Just the conversations, the film watching together, the collaboration of things.
You know, he has, he's played great football this past month. He's a great player, so you love when that happens. Because, again, you're always promoting, hey, make no mistake about why we're getting better. We're getting better because of the work. We're getting better because we're capable and we have good players and good coaches in this room.
We're getting better because of the work. That doesn't matter if it's in practice, walk-through, meetings, bye week, you get better because of the work. It's such a long season, and you just want to continue that rise.
Jalen played really good this past month and has done a great job taking care of the football. He's done a great job leading this team.
Yeah, I'm proud of how he's been going.
Q. With Kellen real quick, he has a long history in that building. It's been a while, but he knows them, they know him. Complicate things? Help things in your experience?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, you're always looking for any advantage you can get in everything. I'm sure they are, too.
We will turn over every stone we can. I'm sure they will as well. So sometimes you can get too wrapped into that. So, hey, go through the process of what we do when we have information there and use what we can and takes discernment, wisdom to know what to use and what not to use. You do that through the studies and the tape and everything like that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports