Sirianni’s Message and Smith’s Spinning

PHILADELPHIA — No one will remember the preseason Week 3 on Sept. 6, let alone February 2025, when Super Bowl LIX kicks off in New Orleans.

For many Eagles fans, the goal was to get out of their heads as quickly as possible after the 26-3 loss to the replacement Minnesota Vikings.

For the Eagles players, Nick Sirianni wasn’t so quick to denigrate an overall mediocre effort. The head coach took more time before heading into his postgame press conference, no doubt reflecting on impending roster moves with general manager Howie Roseman, but also taking the time to deliver a few messages to players who may not have to answer to him again by 4 p.m. ET Tuesday.

First, there was the heavy hand of responsibility, the coach’s mantra this summer.

“I felt like we didn’t play to our standards here,” Sirianni told the Eagles on SI. “So that’s a good example of that if you’re not playing with good fundamentals.

“We missed a couple of tackles. We lost the ball. We didn’t take the ball. We had a catch that resulted in a penalty. We had a couple of penalties. We had a couple of drops in critical areas that could have led to points and all those things led to points.”

Between the Vikings and Eagles, a total of 84 players were out, 42 on each side, so you can see this was the final stretch for each roster. For Philadelphia, only second-year edge rusher Nolan Smith and rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean were potential contributors in the mix.

“It doesn’t matter” is not part of Sirianni’s vocabulary, however.

“That’s what we hope doesn’t happen,” Sirianni said of the aforementioned mistakes, “but that’s what happened today. So that’s a good example, you can have all the talent in the world, all the best players in the world. But if you don’t play with good fundamentals, no matter how good you are, it’s going to impact whether you win or lose in football.”

After the kick in the butt, Sirianni also gave a pat on the back to those who will not continue with the Eagles.

“This is the last time these 91 guys will be together,” the coach said. “We’re going to have to make some tough decisions. But it was a good camp. It was a camp where the guys worked hard.”

“We got better. And it took all 91 guys getting better. Not just the 53 that are going to be on this team. It took all of us being together. But this is the last time those 91 guys are going to be together on the Philadelphia Eagles.”

SAQUON’S ADVICE

In recent years, the NFC East has been a tale of haves and have-nots, with the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys usually in contention and the New York Giants and Washington Commanders serving as kindling for that fire.

The Eagles made a splash by signing free agent Saquon Barkley this spring after six seasons with the Giants where he was the centerpiece of that offense.

Earlier this week, Roseman acquired receiver Jahan Dotson, the 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft, and a 2025 fifth-round pick from Washington for a third-round pick and two seventh-round selections next April.

Dotson has been a disappointment for the Commanders with the assumption he would take on a larger role and, like Barkley, go from headliner to complementary piece of Philadelphia’s talented offense.

Both players attended Penn State and even though Dotson misses Barkley by a year in Happy Valley, the two have gotten to know each other and communicated within an hour of the trade being completed.

The bulk of Barkley’s talk focuses on the culture change Dotson is about to usher in.

“I talked to him right after, literally an hour after I got traded,” Dotson said. “He told me to keep my head up and come out here and work. “That’s all we’re trying to do here is win games.”

“We have a great team here. Great coaching, great locker room. So come, focus and work, and we’re going to win games.”

SMITH KEEPS TURNING

Nolan Smith was on and off the field Saturday night.

The Eagles want their second-year edge rusher to take a big step forward this season and become an important part of the team’s pass-rush rotation.

Considering there was an injury context related to Cooper DeJean’s playing time Saturday, Smith was the only rotation player expected to face the Vikings’ backups.

Smith, a generally upbeat person, was able to work in the Eagles’ locker room after the game.

“You know, I’m still the same person I am and I love playing basketball,” Smith said. “You don’t have to beg me to play or ask me to play. So that’s what I wanted to do for practice, like if you all wanted to be reporters, you had to come into the locker room whenever you were ready.

“So why shouldn’t it be the same when it comes to playing ball?”

Smith suggested the playing time was a coordination between him and the coaching staff, including edge rush coach Jeremiah Washburn, before backtracking when asked to clarify.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Smith said when asked if he had asked to play more. “But man, when it comes time for the No. 3 to rotate players (on the field), I’ll have no doubt about my nature. I’ll be ready to rotate players.”

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