Nick Sirianni Has Accomplished His Biggest Preseason Goal
Nick Sirianni is just beginning his duties for the 2023 NFL Season, but he has already accomplished one of his goals. Now, this is not a goal that he has spoken explicitly in a press conference, or posted on a bulletin board, or maybe even has written down somewhere in his daily planner (NFL coaches probably have daily planners, right?). Of course, the ultimate goal is not until February, and the Eagles will not feel accomplished until they hoist the Lombardi, but there are many other steps on the mountain, as Sirianni would say, before the peak is summitted. So what is it that the Eagles’ head coach has already accomplished here in late August? Well, it’s something that he has done an outstanding job of in all 3 seasons now since taking over with the Eagles.
Last night, the birds squared off against the Colts in their final preseason game. They still have some time before the regular season, but the in-game action is done. And Nick Sirianni has once again delivered a healthy team through the preseason. That is not to say that there have not been injuries; that would be an unrealistic expectation for a month’s worth of football activity. Shaun Bradley is heading for season ending surgery, and he was an important special teams player for the Eagles last season. Zech McPhearson, who was a potential corner depth piece in past years, tore his Achilles and was waived. There were some other injuries to some players that probably had little chance to make the roster anyway. The starters, though? They made it through largely unscathed, and that is a huge win for a head coach as he gets his team ready for week 1.
Nick Sirianni may not have expressly said it, but we can tell by his preseason strategy that health is of utmost importance to him at this time of year. When he first took over as head coach of the Eagles, he drew criticism from some with his lax training camp approach and lack of playing time for starters in the preseason. Last year, though, the Eagles delivered all 22 starters healthy to the Super Bowl. That’s a major rarity, and their health since Sirianni took over is more than a coincidence. This year, with the goal once again being winning it all, this is a nice step towards that ultimate result.
Now, is it fair to have concerns about week 1 considering the Eagles tight games the last 2 seasons in their opening games? I think that’s more than fair, and the performance on the field is still the most important thing. But, with some teams already banged up at key spots heading into the regular season, the Eagles and Nick Sirianni have already accomplished their biggest preseason goal. Hopefully, it isn’t the only goal that the birds end up reaching when this football season is said and done.
Eagles Pre-Season Power Rankings Round Up
PFF (2)
“Jalen Carter will join the defensive line, shoring up their defense with another piece of one of the best defenses in college football history. Philadelphia also filled a hole at safety with Sydney Brown, who earned an 89.4 coverage grade in 2022.”
Pff ranked the Eagles as the 2nd best team in the league. Obviously just the Chiefs ahead of them, which is fair enough seeing as they are the Champs.
The defense lost a lot of pieces last year. But they also gained some. Is it fair to question if all the new faces could fill the holes left behind by names like CJ Gardner Johnson, TJ Edwards, and Javon Hargrave? Sure. But the pieces they brought in are very promising. See PFF’s full power rankings here.
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
ESPN (2)
“Special teams was the weakest of Philadelphia’s three units last season. There were a number of notable miscues, none bigger than an errant punt during Super Bowl LVII against the Chiefs that led to a pivotal 65-yard Kadarius Toney return in the fourth quarter.”
ESPN also put the Eagles at 2, with only the Chiefs above them.
The way ESPN did their pre-season power rankings, is they gave a person on the hot seat for each team going into the season. For the Eagles, Tim McManus picked Michael Clay. Which is very fair. If there is any area of weakness on this team, it is Special Teams. Not just punter either, but punt and kick coverage. A team that already struggled in that area is now down two of their special team’s aces. There is a lot of pressure on Michael Clay to make it better this year.
Check out the full ESPN power rankings here.
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Bleacher Report (3)
“The Eagles boast arguably the NFL’s most balanced and talented roster. If they can stay relatively healthy for the second straight season, they should be viewed as the favorites in the NFC.”
And here we have the one site that put the Eagles lower than 2. On Bleacher Report, the Eagles were ranked 3, below not only the Chiefs but also the Bengals. One of the main reasons for that was their concern over a Super Bowl hangover, and also that they are not likely to have the same injury luck this season. Both are fair points. But they still praised how ‘balanced’ and “talented’ the Eagles roster is.
Check out the full Bleacher Report Power rankings here.
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
