Q. What's your concern level with Jake Elliot right now, and why?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I got a lot confidence in Jake Elliot. You know, he's been a good player for a long time here. Has made a ton of big-time kicks. Like I said to you guys yesterday, the wind was a lot more than what you could -- what you could tell from the stands. There was different types of wind there, and he's made a lot of huge kicks here, recently and in the past.
Confidence is very high with Jake because I know who he is and I've seen who he can be.
Q. Last night some of the offensive players were expressing some frustration about the passing offense. When that happens, what's your process for hearing that, and then funneling that in a positive way?
NICK SIRIANNI: Sure. Yeah, I mean, we didn't -- when you guys asked me yesterday what I thought, normally I've always got to watch the tape. But I think it's no secret that we weren't up to our standard in that area yesterday, and so it's just going back to work.
What I do know, when guys -- I love that guys care and they care about how they perform, they care about us meeting our standard, and that just leads into getting better.
And so, you know, my only thought is on that, hey, we're going to get to work today which we already did and watch the tape with them and make the corrections, and it's up to us as coaches how we can put them in better situations and how we can do different stuff to help out, and everybody doing their part.
So it's just an opportunity for you to grow and to get better, and that's any time you step on the field is an opportunity for that.
Q. Do you think that too much of an emphasis on the run game has affected Jalen maybe trigger shy?
NICK SIRIANNI: No.
Q. What happened on a couple of the deep throws and check downs that he threw?
NICK SIRIANNI: Which one?
Q. The second play I asked you about on A.J., first passing play. What did you see on that?
NICK SIRIANNI: What day see on that? There's always a different reason why a play doesn't -- to you guys, look exactly the way or go to a place where you go with the football. There's always a different -- I'm not going to get into that with every single play, and not in any, really, play. We'll keep it in-house and correct it in-house.
I think Jalen has done a nice job over the course of the last two months of the season of playing really good football, of going where he needs to go with the football, being accurate with the football, running our offense, getting us in and out of good plays.
You don't -- and so, like, okay, if we perceive this or that on a certain play, you know, again, you just try to correct it and get better from it.
I don't think the offense in general, as far as our pass game was to our standard yesterday, but make no mistake about it, and I know the question is coming about Jalen. Make no mistake about it; that we won nine games in a row and Jalen Hurts is a big reason why we've won nine games in a row.
Q. Maybe in a general sense in terms of throwing downfield, in terms of air yards and attempts of 20-plus yards, Jalen has only attempted two in the last four games. That's the lowest among all quarterbacks that are throwing that much. Obviously did more earlier in the season. Was good at that come willing out of the bye. Just wondering with that trend, where do you think that comes from? Is that reluctance? Is that what you're seeing?
NICK SIRIANNI: We don't get too much into air yards and stuff like that. We try to get Jalen -- Jalen tries to go to the right place with the football based off the defense we're getting and the way we're trying to attack. We try to get him to do the same thing. As far as what happens, and sometimes air yards are there to throw the ball down the field, and sometimes they are not.
So again, you do -- you read out each play individually and not based off of what a number potentially tells you before the game. You have to be in the moment of the game that you're playing at that particular moment and take what the defense gives you at that particular moment. I don't like too much into that.
Q. You kind of tell us all the time, you're hyper focused weekend and you guys have won nine straight going into the postseason again. Is it difficult to sort of weigh both ends of the spectrum that you're having success but you want to prove here, do you have to be disciplined, and say, hey, we have to improve this aspect, whether it's the passing game or anything?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, of course.
When we found out we made the playoffs, you know, that lasted a couple seconds, and then said to ourselves, now it's back to the Steelers, and no one is thinking about the playoffs and no one is thinking about anything, and all our attention should be on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that's it and how we get better for this week, and so that's our attention at all times. I think you guys know me, or have talked to me enough to know that's the same thing I say every week of, hey, how do beget better this week, whether it's in the passing game, whether it's in tackling, whether it's in taking care of the football or whether it's in taking the football away. If we saw a problem that we're having or a game where we don't have something going the way we want it to go, we'll work like crazy to do that. Penalties, whatever it is.
And that's our job is just to get better each week and not, like again, when you -- if we can just keep getting better each week and just figure out how to play this game and go against the Pittsburgh Steelers and focus on getting better, the rest of it will take care of itself. We're not worried about any of that. We're just worried and focused on where we are today. That's going to be the beginning stages -- first of all, was the review of the game and now it's in the beginning stages of prepping for the Steelers.
Q. You said to the players after the game that you wanted them to enjoy the win. I'm curious because it does seem like there was a lot of frustration on the offensive side of the ball after that game. Are you worried at all about where the team's head is at despite having an 11-2 record?
NICK SIRIANNI: No, not at all. I think this is a very mature team of very great leaders and mature guys that are, you know, hyper focused on how to get better and are you going to have moments of being disappointed that you didn't reach your standard of how to play -- now the win, it's always our standard to win. That's the main goal and that's the main thing, as Jalen would say. That is the main thing.
So when you do that, you have to be able to enjoy that. Like I said, I like the fact that guys when we don't reach our standard of how we want to play and show everybody how we play each week that they are disappointed in that. But you also have to remind them in those moments, it's hard to win and enjoy those moments. I know this; that when you lose, that will sit with you and you're sick about that. So you have to find some enjoyment. Because when you lose at the end of that week and all the work that you put into it, that's a bad feeling.
And so I'm not saying that it equals out because us as coaches and us as players, the losses do sit with you harder than the wins do but you have to make it -- you have to find a way to be, you know, positive in those scenarios because you do work so hard and it not always going to be pretty. You've got to give the other team credit. We are in the NFL. This is a hard -- week-in, week-out, we saw it yesterday, there were teams that were supposed to win or weren't supposed to win that didn't. You're in the NFL and anything can happen every single week.
And to come out with a win in those -- and to have it for the last nine weeks is special but the best thing about winning nine in a row gives you an opportunity to win ten in a row.
Q. One of the things that stood out in the locker room was the offensive players saying that in the passing game you're not on the same page. Curious what examples you're seeing of that and why that is the case this deep into the season?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I think everyone has to be able to watch the tape after the game and kind of look through that. Football is an imperfect game. You show me a perfect game by somebody, it's not like pitching in basketball where you can have a perfect game. It's an imperfect game. There's going to be mistakes. Every play there's a mistake and that's the way the game goes sometimes. It's just never going to be perfect. So there are elements of every -- if you show me a game of whoever played yesterday, I'll point out a mistake I need to play and that's just the way, like I said, that's just the way it goes. You know, you're striving to make sure that you're playing as perfect as you possibly can and play as good as you possibly can but you know, there are going to be errors and so they are frustrating when they happen and you know, of course, like we talk -- I think what I say to the guys before every walk through period, work to be on the second page because that's where it starts is everyone being on the same page so you can go out and execute and so you're constantly trying to do that and we always talk about that, and so you get frustrated when it's not but like I said, this is an imperfect game, and you know, sometimes there are going to be times whether it's week 14, week 1, Week 17, week 20, whatever it is, there's going to be times where there's mistakes and you've just got to be able to play the next play, correct it and be able to move on.
Q. Early last week, you said that you want to win the double positive, winning the explosive battle and winning the turnover battle. As it relates to the passing game yesterday, do you feel like the emphasis on winning the turnover battle came at the expense of attempting to generate explosive plays and if so how can you encourage a better balance?
NICK SIRIANNI: We did -- by our standard we did win the explosive play battle and the turnover battle yesterday.
So the turnover -- the explosive play battle does not Justin include passing yards, right. It's run yards, passing yards, special teams, everything, everything's involved. And so I've explained this to you guys in the past; that that's -- you know, there's -- you don't want to turn the ball over but you don't want to not push the ball down the field and be explosive in the pass game. It's a hard balance. It's not easy as far as doing that. You know, we've won the explosive play battle many times in these past nine weeks and we've shown that we can be explosive.
Again we're looking at a total, I think as far as the way we calculate it, explosive play differential going into last week we were No. 1, meaning we were not giving up -- with the amount we gave up and the amount we created. It's a true team stat defensively, offensively, special teams-wise, and so again, it's so important that you take care of the football. We are playing the Steelers this week who are No. 1 as of today in takeaways so again it's going to be very important that we protect the football and don't give them short fields and that we are explosive. That's a battle you fight as a player, as a coach, all the time because both are important. It's not just one is important.
They are both important, and for the past, you know, last year was the year but in '21, '22 and '24 right now, we have been high in that, in, both those categories, in the explosive play differential category and the turnover battle.
'23 we weren't great in the turnover battle, and so we're doing a good job of that. And so -- but it is -- it is a battle. It is tough to balance both but this game is not easy and so inch has got difficult jobs to do.
Q. When you watch the tape, when anyone watches the tape it almost looks like A.J. is open every time all on slant plays and he shows his frustration. Do you ever have to say to him, yeah, I see what you're doing, and I can understand your frustration but this is what it is. Did you ever have that conversation with them?
NICK SIRIANNI: We talk about it. We talk about everything. I'd like to think I'm really close with A.J. and he'd probably say the same thing. And so you talk about everything. A.J. is a great football player that we always are trying to get the ball in his hands. There's no doubt. Because he's a great player. It doesn't always work as simple, as easy as that. There's other factors of things that they can take away. You're running the ball well, the situation in the game. There's a lot of factors that go into that.
I think what's important that we talk about always is controlling the things that you can control and you know, A.J. can control who is going out there and doing a good job of beating the man over the top of him when he's running a route and blocking the guy he's supposed to when he's in the run game and so A.J.'s missed, what, three games and has 800-plus yards. So he's making a big contribution.
But I know he wants the football because he knows how much he can help our team when he touches the football. Just like Saquon, just like DeVonta, just like Jalen, just like Dallas Goddard, Kenny Gainwell, when they get the ball in their hands, they know he can affect the game. Again I know that A.J. is a great teammate and a great person, and those things I know for sure about A.J.
Q. Switch to the defense, Carter, obviously you guys are not as deep as you were at the edge rush position. How much would -- has Carter become and how much do you think opposing offenses have to plan for him in order to try to be effective?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, we have to account for him every play just like we have to account for really good players on their defense every play. So I think you're seeing that. You're seeing teams do that. And I think Jalen has done a good job of being disruptive at that first level of the defense. He's fast. He's quick. He's strong. He gets to the football. And so he has been disruptive. He's playing good ball right now and I know when you see that as an offensive coach, you have to do what you need to do to help, to, make sure you account for him every play.
Q. The decision to punt, that's the closest to the goal you've ever punted in the fourth quarter of a game. You've attempted tough kicks before. What's the thought process there in between attempting a kick, even with the challenges of the wind, but that could give you a two-possession lead and giving them the ball with the chance to take the lead there?
NICK SIRIANNI: Good question, everything is in play. You go in every single game with a plan of like make no mistake about it, we have a plan for that specific moment and every specific moment. It's really -- it's really, you find yourself coming up with new things every week as you study the league of like, man, okay, put yourself in this scenario. So your list of things and the moments that you're in just grow and grow and grow.
But you have to do that. You have to put yourself in that moment to make those decisions.
With that said, you have a guile of what you go on but then there's circumstances in the game that you must be able to not just follow the guiles of what you've come up with and the work you've come up with but also the feel of the game and how things are going.
The wind. The way your defense is playing. The way their offense is playing. You know, those are a couple things.
So in that particular case, I felt like that was the best decision to make to help our football team win. You know, a lot of credit -- and I know they got out of a backed-up area when they hit that pass on third and 11 but man how good of a play was that by Avonte Maddox and -- and braid en, you know, to get that ball into that area, and so those guys did a phenomenal job there. Made me look right in that particular case but you trust your players in that aspect to -- if you do decide to punt, again, you trust them, if you decide to kick, you trust them if you try to go for it and you trust them in the scenario if you decide to punt it that they are going to go ask do their job, and they did a really good job of that and the defense held.
So everything is accounted for but you have to account for the unknowns, too, in those scenarios like the wind, like the defense, like all those different things, and then like I was really proud of the guys and I'm proud to be associated with the guys and the fact that we talked about playing with relentless effort for 16 minutes and on the last play we have the rush by more row and Jalen and sweaty to flush Bryce Young out-of-the-pocket and Slay driving past break up that Slay has a knack for making in big-time moments because Slay had another pass break up where he was in the hip of the receiver on another down do you think. They were three for five on fourth down and Slay had two big plays on those categories. I can't say enough about Slay of how good he played coming off that week where he wasn't in and so it was good to have him back because he's such a good player and he's such a good leader and such a good captain.
Q. The decision had been different had Jake made earlier kicks?
NICK SIRIANNI: Everything is a little bit different. Again, you know, I have to be in the moment for the one that's going on at that particular case, or in that particular time, and you know, all the factors come into play.
Q. On the RPOs when Jalen is pressured and he knows that there's an eligible man downfield, last week against Baltimore we saw him throw it away, you take the penalty, this week he took the sack. What's the coaching point on that?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, I'll keep all our coaching points in house there. I don't think -- I always want to answer your question -- but our job is to go through and make sure that we coached it the right way and that we are coaching it the right way and that we it the right way moving forward, and whatever the answer is to your question, which I'm not going to get into, I'm sorry. But we just have the communication of everything that happens on the field of, hey, here is what we need to do in this area as coaches and here is what we need to do as players, and all in the attempts of getting better.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports