Nick Sirianni takes responsibility for the Gardner Minshew pick six

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters on Monday and was able to go into a little more detail about some of the offensive issues against the Saints, particularly the pick 6 later in the game. Sirianni also talked about where C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Jalen Hurts are in terms of their recovery, and said he was grateful that Josh Sweat’s injury wasn’t more serious.

Here’s what the head coach had to say:

On Gardner Minshew and the pick 6

“I think we didn’t play well enough as an offense in total, right? That’s never on just one guy. We didn’t coach well enough. We didn’t put the guys in good enough positions to make plays. When you score 10 points, there’s a lot of blame to go around and it starts with me. We didn’t put the guys in good enough spots to help them make plays and we have to do a better job of that.”

Sirianni went on to say that Minshew played a fantastic game against the Cowboys, but admitted that the QB would probably want a lot of plays back against the Saints. The head coach emphasized that the coaches have to help put him in a better spot to make plays. He went a step further and took responsibility for the pick 6, as well.

“We came back to a play that we had run earlier in the game, and they recognized it, and they made a play off of it. We gave them a recognizable formation and they made a play off of it. We put them in a tough spot right there.

I think that’s obviously a major turning point in what people envision Gardner’s game being. They’ll put a lot of that on that play.

But I’m accepting responsibility for that. That’s on me. We put him in a tough spot right there.”

A.J. Brown took to social media on Monday to defend his play and effort on that interception, and Sirianni was emphatic that he’ll never question their players effort. Brown, and everyone else, goes hard for each other every day, so he wouldn’t question anyone’s effort.

“We were in a three-by-one formation. We shifted the guy up to the line of scrimmage, on to the right side, putting us in a four-by-one. That’s a very recognizable formation. A good corner made a play, with a smart safety on the other side, with 32 and 23 over there. They recognized it. Dennis Allen is a good coach. He recognized it. They had made an adjustment. They made a play.”

Injury updates

Sirianni talked about how it was hard for C.J. Gardner-Johnson to come back from his injury because at the beginning all he could do was rest. There wasn’t any kind of rehab he could do for a kidney laceration, they just had to wait for his body to heal. The head coach said, however, CJGJ has been able to ramp things up the past couple weeks, so they’re just waiting for the go ahead.

As for Jalen Hurts, the QB has been doing everything he can to rehab.

“Obviously, everything is taken into play as far as when he’s ready to come back. We’re going to want him, first and foremost, we are always going to want him to be healthy enough to not put himself at danger. That’s first and foremost. But then also so he can perform at a high level, as well.

When you’re talking about throwing the football with an injured shoulder, it’s a little different than some other injuries I guess to say. He has to be able to throw the ball down the field. He has to be able to throw it accurately. He has to be able to throw it with velocity so he can be effective as a quarterback.”

The head coach didn’t give a direct answer as for whether they expect Hurts’ shoulder to be back at full strength once they let him get back on the field, but reiterated that he’ll be healthy enough that they aren’t putting him at risk and is able to throw.

Sirianni said that he hadn’t talked to Hurts since they left the stadium on Sunday, but knows that the QB was disappointed, just as they all were.

On Josh Sweat’s neck injury

“We’ll take Josh one day at a time. I’m just really thankful that it wasn’t more serious there. I know everybody in that stadium was holding their breath because any time that stretcher comes out, that’s tough to deal with.

Josh was saying, ‘Hey, just let me get up, I can get up,’ this and that. The doctors obviously in that scenario have to make sure they go through all the right channels.

I felt a little bit more at ease because of what Josh was saying out there. [Fletcher Cox] and him were having conversations. He kind of had his head down, Fletch was, ‘Josh, you okay? Sweaty, you okay?’ They were talking back and forth which really put me in a calmer state of just the conversation.

I share that because of how good of a leader Fletch is, and the relationship that they have together. It was really cool to see while Josh was laying in a situation where obviously no player wants to be in. You could just see that he was there for him.”

Sirianni was asked about what the team will do if Sweat ends up missing some time. He noted that Robert Quinn is definitely getting better, but saying for certain that he would play or not isn’t fair to anybody. The head coach noted that he loves the depth they have at DE, but they’ll obviously miss Sweat because he’s such a high-quality player and person.

“I feel great about the depth, wishing Josh a speedy recovery. But our defensive line has done a phenomenal, phenomenal job.”

Other notables

• Sirianni admitted that he doesn’t really think too much about momentum and having it heading into the postseason, noting that his goal is always to improve each day and each game. He just wants to go out each day and perform, and that’s been his messaging to the team, as well. Try to go 1-0 each day so you can go 1-0 that week.
• The head coach said he couldn’t anticipate what the Giants might do on Sunday with regard to playing or sitting their starters, and they are just focusing on the things they can control. The things he can control are what is getting his mental energy this week, to make sure he’s putting the team in the best position to win and win the division.