In Roob’s 10 Observations, Sirianni’s Most Underrated Skill originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
An underrated strength from Nick Sirianni, a record from Brian Dawkins that is about to be surpassed by more than one person and the best opening day performances by the Eagles in history.
We’ve finally reached Week 1, so this is the first of at least 18 seasonal edits (and possibly several more) of Roob’s 10 Random Eagle Sights.
1. Who knows what kind of adversity the Eagles will face this year. It could be injuries to key players. Perhaps a painful loss at home. It could even be a horrible decision that costs them a win or losing streak during that killer Chiefs-Bills-49ers-Cowboys-Seahawks streak. But it will happen, and that’s when Nick Sirianni is at his best. I truly believe that facing adversity is one of Sirianni’s greatest strengths. When things go wrong, every player on the roster turns to the coach for guidance, optimism and leadership, and Sirianni is so naturally positive and progressive and consistent in his message that he effortlessly gives his players a sense of confidence and faith when they have doubts or uncertainty appears. We’ve seen it several times in Sirianni’s two years here, but never more dramatic than when that 2021 team was 2-5, had won just one of its last six games and only four NFL teams had a worse record. . in Week 8. People made fun of him for his “roots grow underground” speech, but the Eagles are 21-5 in meaningful games since then and 19-3 with Jalen hurts at the quarterback. Outsiders may not take Nick’s approach seriously, but the 53 guys in the locker room do. There will be challenges for this team over the next four months, but I don’t think there is a head coach better equipped to guide his team through whatever adversity arises. And of all the things a head coach does, I’m not sure there is anything more important.
2. The Eagles are 2-0 on opening day under Sirianni, were 4-1 in first games under Doug Pederson, 2-1 under Chip Kelly and 7-7 under Andy Reid. Rich Kotite was 3-1 on Opening Day, making the only head coach since Buddy Ryan with a losing record on Opening Day is Ray Rhodes, who was 1-3 from 1995-98.
3. Jalen Hurts already has the 9th– the most rushing touchdowns in Eagles history with 26, and could catch Donovan McNabb (28), Timmy Brown (29), Ricky Watters (31) and Randall Cunningham (32) in the bye week. That would leave him behind only Steve Van Buren (69), Wilbert Montgomery (45), LeSean McCoy (44) and Brian Westbrook (37) on the Eagles’ all-time rushing TD list midway through his third year as headline. At a career-high 0.76 rushing touchdowns per start, Hurts will catch up to everyone but Van Buren by Week 8 next year (if he stays healthy). If he continues scoring at his current rate, he will catch up to Van Buren in Week 6 of the 2026 season. He will turn 28.
4. Since 1984, when the Eagles won on Opening Day, they have made the postseason 15 of 21 times. When they lost on opening day, they made the postseason six of 18 times.
5. This will be fun to follow for the next few months: Brian Dawkins played a franchise-record 183 games in an Eagles uniform from 1996 to 2008. But in a couple of months, he could rank fourth in all-time games for the Eagles. played list. Brandon Graham He has played in 178 games, Jason Kelce 176 and Fletcher Cox at 173. If everyone stays healthy, BG will pass Dawk on October 15 against the Jets, Kelce two weeks later in Washington and Fletch on November 26 at the Linc against the Bills. And this is crazy, but there are only two other active position players in the entire NFL who have played 175 or more games, all for the same team and their current team: The veteran edge rusher. Cameron Jordan He has played in 192 games for the Saints and steelers Defensive tackle Cameron Hayward has played in 183. The active non-position players who can claim 175 games for the same team are the Panthers’ long snapper. JJ Jansen (226), Patriots special teamer Matthew Slater (223), Texans long snapper jon weeks (210) and Ravens kicker Jason Tucker (178).
6. This is just the third time in franchise history that the Eagles have had two starting cornerbacks over 30 years old. In 2003, Bobby Taylor was 30 years old and Troy Vincent was 33, and in 2011, Nnamdi Asomugha and Asante Samuel were 30 years old. But Vincent and Taylor only started five games together in 2003, so in terms of one-year starters, Slay and Bradberry… Assuming they start all year, they’ll become the longest-tenured CB tandem in Eagles history . Corners can lose it quickly. The difference between a Pro Bowler and a passive is just one step. Slay didn’t have a great second half last year, but Bradberry and Slay had very good training camps. The level of concern is low, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind.
7. I’m not sure what this means, if anything, but teams that lose a Super Bowl are 10-15 the following year on opening day over the last 25 years and teams that lose a Super Bowl and open the Next season on the road they are 10-15 on opening day the following year. 4-15. Maybe it’s a statistical quirk, but I think it’s a huge challenge to mentally recover from something as crushing as a Super Bowl loss and start over from scratch at 0-0 and go through all the physical and mental work to try to do it. . Another race and knowing how much you have to do to get back to where you were seven months ago. I think this Eagles team is as mentally and physically prepared to do it as any other.
8. Best Opening Day performances in Eagles history? Passing: In his first game under Terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb went 26 of 36 for 330 yards with four touchdown passes (three to TO and one to LJ Smith) and no interceptions in the 2004 opener, a 31-17 win. about the Giants at the Linc. Running: Duce Staley’s 201-yard explosion in the 2000 opener against the Cowboys, the Pickle Juice Game at Texas Stadium, a 41-14 Eagles victory at Texas Stadium. Receiving: Tommy McDonald caught seven passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns from Sonny Jurgensen in the 1963 opener, a 21-21 tie with the Steelers at Franklin Field. Sacks: Reggie White opened the 1991 season with three sacks of Don Majkowski in the Eagles’ 20-3 victory over the Packers in Lambeau, the game in which Bryce Paup ended Randall Cunningham’s season with a low hit to the Randall’s left knee. Interceptions: Six Eagles have had two opening day interceptions, but in 2012 in Cleveland, two Eagles intercepted Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden twice in a 17-16 win: Kurt Coleman and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie . Others with two INTs on opening day are Hal Prescott against Washington in 1947, Joe Sutton against the Browns in 1950, Terry Hoage in Tampa in 1988 and Sheldon Brown in Carolina in 2009. (Interesting note on Duce’s 201-yard game: The only other player with a 200-yard rushing game against the Cowboys in Dallas in the last 50 years is Staley’s former Eagles teammate, Charlie Garner).
9. Based on the way he kicked in the preseason (effortlessly smashing a 56-yarder against the Browns and then 52- and 59-yarders against the Colts), I feel like Jake Elliott He’s going to have a historic season. Elliott already has 11th-Most field goals of 56 yards or longer in NFL history with four, and if anything, his leg seems stronger now. Elliott holds franchise records for 50-yard field goals in a season (five in 2017) and a career (19), but depending on how aggressive Nick Sirianni and Brian Johnson are on fourth down, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Elliott score. seven or eight from 50 yards this year, including some from 55 and up. He’s that good.
10. The Chiefs lost their first game to the Lions on Thursday without a fully pro defensive tackle. chris jones, which is in a contract without a contract. Discontent jonathan taylor is on the Colts’ PUP list after trade talks went nowhere. Panthers linebacker Brian Burns boycotted two practices earlier this week as he tries to rework his contract. It happens every year throughout the NFL. Disgruntled players, who believe that contracts they signed in good faith a year or two earlier are obsolete, create distractions with threats, resistance, questionable injuries and trade demands. Most of them end up returning to their team or signing a new contract, but the damage has already been done. As anyone who watched Terrell Owens single-handedly dismantle the 2005 Eagles knows, one disgruntled player can really derail a season. Which brings us to the Eagles and Howie Roseman. Ask yourself when was the last time an Eagles player asked for more money. Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis threatened to do so in 2015, but ultimately attended mandatory OTAs before being released anyway. Of course, Roseman wasn’t GM in 2015, Chip Kelly was. When was the last ugly contract dispute under Howie? Malcolm Jenkins expressed his desire for a new contract in 2019, but never gave it much thought and certainly never left the team. Same with zach ertz in 2020. But the last time an Eagles player under contract didn’t actually participate in practice was in the summer of 2011, when DeSean Jackson, coming off a 2010 Pro Bowl season, skipped the first 11 days of camp training at Lehigh. That was 12 years ago. And we talk a lot about Roseman’s ability to build championship-caliber rosters year after year, to replace prominent scouts who are leaving for promotions, to exploit the waiver wire and the late rounds of the draft for talent like Jordan Mailata, cane blankenship and Kenny Gainwell and managing the salary cap year after year. But a truly underrated aspect of Roseman’s success as a GM is his ability to keep players and agents happy, rework contracts that deserve to be reworked before they become a problem, and keep key veterans on the roster happy. That doesn’t mean all 53 guys on the roster are excited about his contract. Haason Reddick You have good reason to feel that you are underpaid. But he’s handling it the right way. The word “resist” has become obsolete at the NovaCare Complex, and the absence of the distractions that unhappy stars can cause is a big part of this team’s success.