Cool and calm Hurts guides Sirianni, Birds to stunning debut
From Nick Sirianni, sporting the youthful backpack look entering Mercedes-Benz Stadium, to the stoicism of Jalen Hurts, unrattled by six no-talent penalties committed by the offensive line, one negating a touchdown, the Eagles made a statement Sunday.
The self-described nerdy new head coach and his starting quarterback will not let their team beat itself. That was clear after the Falcons marched all the way down the field to take the early lead, only to give up after the visitors gained control in what would be a 32-6 Eagles victory.
Sirianni pulled out all the stops, going so far as to reveal how hurt he was to be ridiculed for his crazy, off the wall opening news conference and how much he needed his guys to help him get over it.
“You want to fight for him,” Brandon Graham said. “He joked the other day about the first time with the media and how everybody ripped him, and how mad he was. At the same time, he was like, ‘you have to shake it off and come back and do it again.’ It’s that next play, dog mentality. There is no fakeness. The energy is real. The sky is the limit. All we’ve got to do is just stay together.”
Sirianni’s play calls were anything but revolutionary. Everybody runs screens, crossing patterns, and read options. Quarterback scrambles? Been there, done that, too, except for
old guys like Matt Ryan.
But that is the strength of an Eagles offense with young skills players and a veteran offensive line anchored by center Jason Kelce, who angrily elbowed and forearmed his way through the second level of Falcons defenders the way a man desperate for a drink barrels his way through wall-to-wall people at a Jersey Shore bar.
Hurts had an answer for everything. In his first extended action under Sirianni, he completed 27 of 35 attempts for 264 yards, three touchdowns and a 126.4 passer rating. He also had seven rushes for 62 yards, mostly scrambling. He was essentially unflappable. Even the incompletions were close calls.
“Taking what the defense gave him, methodically going down the field, making big throws when he needed to make big throws,” Sirianni said. “Checking it down when he needed to check it down. Making a run when he needed to run. Just good quarterback play.
“Jalen was in complete control the whole game.”
Granted, it was only one game against a Falcons team with more holes than the league’s vaccination policy. But it was clear that the connection the coach and quarterback share is for real.
Hurts threw two touchdown passes in the first half to lead the Eagles to a 15-6 advantage. He warmed up going up top to rookie DeVonta Smith, who effortlessly made the first of his team-high six receptions for 71 yards and a TD. Sirianni credited tight end Zach Ertz for
setting the legal pick that freed the wide receiver. The Falcons got called for two illegal picks.
The two-minute drill near the end of the first half with the Eagles clinging to a 7-6 lead made a believer out of Sirianni. Hurts had a scoring pass wiped out by a penalty on Lane Johnson, who was too far downfield. On the next play, Hurts connected with Dallas Goedert for a nine-yard score with two ticks left. So, what if a camera view on FOX indicated Goedert didn’t get both hands under the ball? The Falcons burned themselves by lining up illegally on the PAT. Sirianni took the flag and called a successful two-point run from the 1-yard line for Miles Sanders. That made it 15-6 with the Eagles set to receive the kickoff in the second half.
The Birds would find themselves ahead 22-6
with 10:40 left in the third quarter when rookie Kenneth Gainwell scored on a read-option draw. It was 29-6 with 11 minutes left in the game after Jalen Reagor turned a bubble screen into a 23-yard score.
You knew it was over when Ryan, who came up empty on two trips inside the Eagles’ 10 in the first half, came out throwing to his fullback. That beat having throws dropped by backs and top receiver Calvin Ridley. Ryan couldn’t wait for so-called rookie phenom Kyle Pitts to get open.
The Eagles bounced Ryan, the veteran from Exton by way of Penn Charter, around like a rag doll throughout the fourth quarter. Javon Hargrave had two sacks, Hassan Ridgeway one to counter two holding penalties he committed.
Sirianni’s game plan became
more conservative as the game progressed, the decision made to run Miles Sanders in three tight end sets early and often to keep the clock running. Sanders had 15 rushes for 74 yards, including a 23-yard jaunt.
While Hurts helped win a lot of games at Alabama and Oklahoma, this victory was different. And not because there was something to prove.
“I’m happy to end the week with a win,” Hurts said. “Just wanted to win the football game for my team.”
The nifty handshake Sirianni shared with Hurts on the sideline after the Eagles had the game on ice said it all about their relationship. It was the same shake the coach gives his son.
“We did it last night before the meetings and then we got to do it in the game, again,” Sirianni
said. “When you’re in there celebrating with somebody, those emotions mean even more when you’re close to that person. That was special. My son does it. He doesn’t mind that we share that handshake. So, it’s my son’s, myself and Jalen’s handshake now.”
So, here’s the Sirianni formula: Dink-and-dunk to the running backs and tight ends, set picks for the wide receivers, throw bubble screens to all of them, don’t turn the ball over and commit, what’s that, 14 penalties?
“We still had a little bit too many pre-snap penalties that we’ve got to clean up,” Sirianni said. “But that was just Game 1. We’ve got a lot more left. A lot more.”