Nick Sirianni says Eagles spent the weekend ‘finding solutions,’ but play-calling duties won’t change
The coach indicated that offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo will continue to call plays. Sirianni acknowledged that the team's struggles on first and second downs are part of the problem.
Nick Sirianni is sticking with his go-to motto to talk publicly about what’s plaguing his football team.
The mini-bye week came at a perfect time for the Eagles after they dropped their second consecutive game Thursday night at MetLife Stadium in North Jersey, where they were embarrassed by a one-win Giants team that bullied them up and down the field for large stretches.
The running game is stuck. The passing game is inconsistent. The offense is without an identity.
“We’re not here to assign blame,” Sirianni said. “We’re here to find solutions.”
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Sirianni used a version of those words on several occasions during his Monday press conference, and they’re consistent with what he’s been saying during an up-and-down start to the Eagles’ season. He used them when asked about his confidence in first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
“Not in this sport is it ever on one person, and we’re not in the business of assigning blame,” Sirianni said. “We’re in the business of finding solutions.”
Asked directly if this past weekend’s solutions-finding mission included a change in the offensive play calling, Sirianni answered with one word: “No.”
Sirianni expressed confidence in Patullo and the rest of the offensive coaching staff to get things back on track.
The Eagles have a lot of problems that need solutions, though. They have the worst second-half offense by scores per drive and have just seven second-half points over their last two games. Their offensive line has not been fully healthy and has not performed up to its usual level. Both the running and passing games have been impacted by that reality, but the Eagles are also getting a little bit predictable, as longtime right tackle Lane Johnson noted after the game Thursday night.
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Sirianni would not divulge what this past weekend’s self-scout revealed. “We have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things we want to put into action,” he said. Sirianni said Patullo talked to the offense Monday about putting some of those thoughts into action. The head coach did note that an issue causing the offense to stall too frequently is its inefficiency on first and second downs. The Eagles are near the bottom of the league in third-down conversion rate.
“Why is that?” Sirianni said. “Well, third-and-7-plus, 8-plus, they’re going to be harder to convert than third-and-shorters. A lot of that is the efficiency. We looked at that in the run game and the passing game.”
The tape, Sirianni said, showed “a little bit of everything” on it, not just one facet or play caller as the sole issue.
“It’s always about finding solutions,” Sirianni said. “We feel like we did some of that. Now we’ve got to go put it to work.”