The Eagles had one last practice before Monday night’s game, and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters before taking the field. He gave some insight into A.J. Brown showing up on the injury report, and talked about the depth they have at that position and why he feels bad for the WR3 in this offense.
Here’s what the head coach had to say:
On A.J. Brown and WR depth
Sirianni said that the WR’s hamstring got a little tight in practice on Friday, so they’ll see how things go. They took some precautions with him on Friday, and expect they’ll do the same on Saturday. [UPDATE: Brown was not seen on the practice field during the limited media-attended portion.]
In the event Brown can’t play on Monday night, Sirianni said that Jahan Dotson would be ready to step up into a bigger role if asked. The head coach explained that Dotson has been working his butt off since getting to Philly, and while they still have to see how things go over the next couple days, he’s confident that all of the guys — including Johnny Wilson and Britain Covey — will be ready if called upon.
Sirianni said that he’s always been confident in their third receiver over the years, and acknowledged that it’s a tough role because the offensive passing game runs through A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert. It’s something he’s said a hundred times over the years, and regardless of who that third receiver is, the pass game runs through Brown, Smith, and Goedert.
“That guy gets unfairly judged because he doesn’t have the opportunities that other people get. I feel really good about Jahan [Dotson]. I mean, first-round pick, obviously we traded for him and feel really good about him. He’s a smooth route runner, everything like that. I just think sometimes that position is unfairly judged at times just because they don’t get the opportunities these other guys are gonna get.”
But, he acknowledged that if Dotson is asked to step into a bigger role, Sirianni is confident the WR can do a nice job.
Other notables
- The head coach said that he has a ton of respect for Nick Foles and his career, and while Sirianni never coached the QB, Frank Reich always spoke very highly of him.
“And, obviously, he did the biggest thing in this city by winning the Super Bowl. So, yeah, a lot of respect, great career, was fun to watch his career.”
- Given Tua Tagovailoa’s injury on Thursday night, Sirianni was asked if they talked to Jalen Hurts about protecting himself. The head coach said that’s always their priority, but the QB has a good feel on how best to do that.
- He echoed his sentiments from earlier in the week about not being able to sustain wins if they keep losing the turnover battle, and said they stress ball security in practice as much as they can, and now it’s about going and executing it. They show the film and talk about plays that met and didn’t meet their standard, they have ball security drills in practice at full speed to try to replicate it as best they can.
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