Frank: Nick Sirianni Made One Big Change To Turn Eagles Around

Martin, how are you? Well, I'm doing pretty good. How about you guys? Excellent.

Thank you for taking the time to join us. What's the atmosphere like right now down in New Orleans? Are we feeling like it's more red or are we seeing more green? It's pretty close actually. There are a lot of Eagles fans here, but I also see a bunch of Chiefs fans. I mean, you know, both teams always travel pretty well.

It's the second time in three years. I think there's a lot of excitement among both teams fans because, you know, it's kind of, yes, they're playing each other. It's like the same matchup as far as teams, but it's also different because this Eagles team is a lot different from the one two years ago that, you know, almost beat the Chiefs who lost 38 to 35. So it's kind of interesting and there is a lot more excitement about for this game than you would think.

Being that it's a rematch from two years ago. And the folks out, I know it, Bourbon Street, Canal Street, Chappa Tula, the people there are behaving in a civil fashion, right? Everybody's behaving themselves? As far as I know so far, I mean, it's, you know, tonight and tomorrow night is when the craziness will pick up in earnest. So we'll find out.

You are right. It is Friday today. Tomorrow is Saturday. And depending on what happens on Sunday night, there's going to be, well, both fan bases will probably be out in full swing. Martin Frank is here with us from the Delaware News Journal. It's been relatively quiet. We haven't gotten any, you know, news clips from anybody involved really as relates to the Eagles or the Chiefs. But I did see that the Eagles have been dealing with a little bit of a cold. Jalen Carter, it appears that he at some point, maybe now, is still on the kind of, you know, the list of, hey, I might be hurt or what's the what's the deal? Is he hurt? Is there sickness going on?

What's up? Actually, he was sick earlier in the week. But the last two days, he has been a full participant in practice.

So I would imagine he'd be good to go. He wasn't listed with any kind of injury. So it's more of an illness. It's kind of been going around the team a little bit. I know a couple leading up to the NFC Championship game, Jalen Hurts was a little bit under the weather. You know, we've seen some guys in the locker room last week, you know, wearing masks and everything like that. So, you know, it's kind of cold and flu season.

I think there's been something going around. But, you know, this week, I think Jalen Carter was pretty much the only one who was listed with an illness. But he should be fine, judging from the fact that he was a full participant in practice these last two days. So I think, I mean, they're going to need him because he plays pretty much the entire game of defensive tackle. And, you know, if they're going to get any pressure up the middle on Patrick Mahomes, I mean, he's the guy that the Eagles are relying on to do it.

So he'll need to be at full strength and we'll see if he is. Martin, can you talk about the contributions? You know, Jalen is young up front. We got two rookies playing defensive back. These guys were eligible in both Quinon and Cooper for defensive rookie of the year.

How did they just turn things around like night and day in a matter of a season? Is it just those three guys or what else are they working with? Yeah, I mean, those three guys are a big part of it. You also look at Zach Bond at linebacker. Here's the guy the Eagles signed as a low-cost free agent who spent, you know, the past four years with the Saints, mostly as a defensive end and special teams guy. And, you know, Vic Fangio, the Eagles defensive corner, kind of looks at him and says, you know, I think I can make you an inside linebacker. And, you know, he was an all-pro. He had 150 tackles during the regular season. So he's been a big part of it. You know, Jalen Carter, he was the first-round pick in 2023.

You know, so he's playing pretty much up to his capabilities. And then you look at Quinon Mitchell and Cooper DeGene, those guys, the Eagles picked them in the first and second round respectively this past spring. So, you know, they needed an infusion of like new blood on my defense, especially after the way last year ended. And those four guys have been pretty key for the turnaround that you've seen this year. Well, Martin, you talk about how things ended last year.

We know things ended bad. It seemed that every single game for the Philadelphia Eagles was a close one that they were barely winning until the bottom topped out. People were looking at Nick Sirianni going, man, if you screwed up next year, you might not be back. Have you noticed a change in the past year in coach Nick Sirianni, or is he still the funny quote machine that he was in day one?

Do people take him seriously, the fan base? Well, it's kind of funny because people thought he'd get fired after the bye week. You know, week four, they were two and two. They just kept blown out by Tampa Bay. They had a week off and then they came back week six and barely beat the Browns who were awful at that point.

They were like one and five. And fans were chanting like, fire Nick. I mean, and it was loud and he went kind of after them after the game, taunting him in the stands and stuff like that, especially this one group that was giving him a lot of fluff, a lot of stuff. So, you know, there were questions about Sirianni's job, like even early in the season, which seems hard to believe considering that they've gone 15 and one since. So, no, he hasn't really changed his personality a lot. But what he did do after last season was he kind of changed his role. Like, you know, the previous three years, like it was his offense that the Eagles were running. You know, they had offense coordinators, obviously, but, you know, after last season, they fired Brian Johnson, the offensive coordinator, and they brought in Kellen Moore, which is a totally different approach from the way Sirianni's offense ran the past three years. And to his credit, Nick kind of became like a CEO coach and let Kellen Moore run the offense.

You know, Nick would obviously, you know, interject some things here and there. But, yeah, it became Kellen Moore's offense. And, you know, it's worked out well, especially after the bye week. So, you know, give Nick a lot of credit for that because you kind of saw what was wrong and he went about and fixed it.

How about that? A coach in the NFC East allowed to make some changes and decisions. Doesn't sound too familiar for some other teams, the Dallas Cowboys.

Martin Frank is here with us from the Delaware News Journal. Speaking of the NFC East, we talk about how the Eagles just kind of retooled on the defense like Saquon Barkley is. He was in the MVP conversation. He was a finalist for MVP. What have you noticed about say we can look at what he does physically throughout the course of one year?

What have you noticed about how he fits in and how he carries himself? Yeah, I mean, it's been actually pretty remarkable because the last two years they've had a thousand-yard running backs. In 2022, it was Miles Sanders. Last year, it was DeAndre Swift. And like it's night and day between those guys and Saquon Barkley.

It's not just the yards. I mean, he can do pretty much anything. He's a good blocker and pass protection. He can go out and catch a pass. You know, so he never really has to come off the field.

I mean, obviously he does or else he'd be running to the ground. But, you know, like when they had Miles Sanders, there were certain things he couldn't do. So he had to come out of the game. And the same thing with DeAndre Swift. And it's just like totally different with Barkley. And, you know, teams have to account for him, which makes Jalen Hurts a lot more dangerous as a runner. Not that he does it a ton, but every now and then just to kind of keep the defense from focusing on him. And what it also does, I mean, you haven't seen it that often because they haven't had to do it, is it opens up the passing game.

You know, A.J. Brown and Devante Smith get one-on-one matchups. And, you know, if they're focusing too much on Barkley, you know, Jalen Hurts will just throw it deep to those guys or Dallas Goddard even. So, I mean, it's opened up pretty much everything with the Eagles offense. And you saw that, especially in the NFC Championship game.

I mean, they put up 55 points against the commanders. So, you know, the offense was working like in full sync in that game. Well, let me ask you this, Martin. You talk about Saquon Barkley. We know he I don't want to say he sucks up a lot of the air in the offense, but we've seen A.J.

Brown reading a book. You know, Devante is not somebody who makes much noise about anything at all. But are things and have they been even I mean, we've even had I don't want to call it infighting. We got Brandon Graham saying guys don't get along like they used to. Is that just like people have to find something to complain about? Because the Eagles were good all year long.

There was nothing to kvetch about. Yeah, you can pass more, but they were winning. Yeah, I think a lot of it shows just how much A.J. and Devante especially were able to, you know, were willing to sacrifice their games because, you know, they've gotten much fewer targets than they have in the past.

I mean, that's, you know, pretty clear. I mean, A.J. went over a thousand yards for the third straight year, but he also missed three games. So, you know, those guys just have fewer opportunities and they've had to take advantage of it. You see, like, you know, there have been games recently, especially where A.J. 's bragging about blocking downfield on Saquon Barkley runs and stuff. So I think they've all kind of bought into going back to your previous question about Saquon, just like how great the guy is and how much they need him. You know, that guys like A.J. and Devante are just as willing to block down the field as they are, you know, to catch the ball and score touchdowns. And they haven't complained about their lack of touches. And it's funny because I asked A.J. Brown about this once recently, and he said, yeah, it's been working and if it doesn't, if it hadn't, we'd be having a conversation. So, you know, they sacrificed to make this all work.

So I think that's a credit to them. So, Martin, did you get the book? Did you buy the book? I did not. Okay. But, you know, I see a lot of other guys on the team with it.

So I think other guys have been kind of reading up on it, not necessarily on the sidelines, but in the locker room. I'm sure. Well, Martin, let's get to the finality. Let's get to the finale, I should say, on Sunday.

What do you expect to see? Who's winning? I think the Eagles are winning, and I'm not just saying that because I cover them, but they're a much better team than they were two years ago when they faced the Chiefs. I mean, you know, Saquon Barkley makes a huge amount of difference. You know, we talked earlier about guys like Jalen Carter, you know, replacing Fletcher Cox, which has been, you know, pretty remarkable. Same thing on the offensive line with Cam Jergens replacing Jason Kelce.

I mean, there hasn't been any drop-off there. You know, so I think overall, offense and defense, the Eagles are the better team. I mean, obviously, there's Mahomes factor, and he finds a way to pull games out of the hat, which could always happen. But I think overall, if the Eagles are the better team, they should win. I predict 29 to 21. Okay.

You said 29 to 21. Did I hear that? Yep. Yep. Okay. All right. Well, we're going to see. Nothing better than actually finally getting to the game.

We're only two days away. Martin, thank you so much for the time. Where can people follow you and all of your work with the Delaware News Journal?

Yeah, our website is delawareonline.com, and you can follow me on X or Twitter at mfranknfl. Hey, enjoy yourself. Have fun down on Bourbon Street. Not too much, okay, though? Yeah, absolutely. All right. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.