EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Nick Sirianni took the podium and proclaimed that his football team was not a bunch of quitters. Even after losing five of their last six games, the Philadelphia Eagles have publicly shown little indication that they have given up on trying to salvage a season that was on the brink of extinction.
The atmosphere in the locker room is a completely different story. Much like MetLife Stadium was for the franchise that played there during a losing season, the Eagles’ Week 18 quarters were mausoleum-like. It’s been this way for several weeks now – even after the lone win against the New York Giants in Week 16 – a locker room of coaches and players searching for answers, trying to understand how things got to this point .
The message was the same from Sirianni. But while just six weeks ago he seemed like he could motivate his team through anything, his comments now do little more than turn eyes.
“I know this group is made up of fighters, I know this group is going to get back up,” Sirianni said after the Eagles’ embarrassing loss to the Giants. “I know we’ve all had things in our lives that we’ve all had to deal with, and we know how to get back up.
“The same message I talked to the guys about last year before the NFC championship game, not only are we strong physically, but we’re strong mentally and think about everything you’ve been through in your life and why you.” I’m in this seat right now, that’s the same message I would say right now. “
Sirianni admitted to using the same message to rally the troops, but these are not the Eagles of 2022. This Eagles team was top five in offense and in points and yards per game and top five in defense in yards allowed per game (top eight in points allowed per game). Jalen Hurts was playing at an MVP level. Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon were the coordinators.
This year’s Eagles team finished seventh in points per game and eighth in yards per game, which isn’t as high as last year. The defense finished 30th in points allowed per game and 26th in yards allowed per game, a significant drop from last year’s heights. Hurts turns the ball over at least once per game. Brian Johnson and Sean Desai (now Matt Patricia) are the coordinators and callers.
Sirianni’s message won’t resonate with a team that probably knew it wasn’t as good as its 10-1 start indicated. This Eagles team also isn’t as bad as the team that finished 1-5 in their last six games, but it was made worse when the team panicked and essentially sent their defensive play-caller back 14 games into his first season on the job. .
But the Eagles will still fight. The message is the same.
“That’s the reason all these guys are in this locker room because they know how to fight,” Sirianni said. “The coaches know how to fight. The players know how to fight. The staff knows how to fight.
“So we’ll just get up and fight again.”
Does the consistent (outdated?) message resonate? At the end of Sirianni’s fiery speech, he had a “we’ll see what happens next week” line that could reveal doubts about whether his players are actually listening to him.
“As long as we have life, we have opportunities,” Brandon Graham said while sitting at his locker after the loss. “I know we can get back to where we were, and it’s going to start this week… You’re going to see. I know this team. Everyone is going to create their own narrative on the outside, but I don’t see anything happening. ‘other than people just working every week.
“I have a feeling you know, we’ll see next week.”
We’ll see how the Eagles finish. They are 0-0, as they say, heading into the playoffs. The loss of five of six is in the rearview mirror, but the same problems persist. The same message won’t be delivered, but the Eagles can change the narrative.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt in the locker room,” Dallas Goedert said. “There may be doubts outside the building, but these guys are not in the building. I think we have a lot of confidence in the locker room and the confidence outside is not going to waver at the moment. ‘interior.
“I think everyone’s been waiting for the playoffs. I think everyone’s going to be ready to go and we’re going to show the world what we’re made of.”
We will see.
