Go Birds! Daily, Oct. 5th: Nick Sirianni explains key 4th down decision

0:00The Go Birds Podcast is sponsored by Ashley, America's number one furniture and mattress store. Go Birds! What's going on everybody and good morning. Today is Monday, October 5th and this is your daily Go Birds morning update giving you all the Eagles news you need to know as well as what to keep an eye out for today. And first, thank you for listening to this pod. I know that when the Eagles win it is not exciting to listen about the game that they just lost. I know you probably woke up this morning not wanting to think about how the Eagles went from being up 20 to 10 at half time having one of the best half times or first half they've had all season. Really, one of the best first half they've had in a while in totality, right? You think about the Giants game last year at home, the Vikings game on the road. The first half they had on Sunday against a desperate Rams team. The way they, when they dominated them, but they were on pace of score 40 points.

1:02They only gave up 10 like I just think the way they played in that first half was outstanding. And then for it to go from that to what we're about to talk about now is obviously very disappointing. And I can tell from the downloads and the numbers and every beat writer and content person will tell you this when they lose people don't listen. People check out. So if you're listening props to you, thank you to you. Let's get through this together. Let's get about our Monday and in a few days we'll get to move on from from that game. But there is a lot to talk about from that game, a 24 to 20 loss. The Eagles drop to two and two. And it's a game that you know, you know, the whole like glass half full glass half empty. You can really see what you want from this. You can look at this and go and this is not how I'm viewing it, but you can look at and go, you know, how did they blow that disgusting loss, coaching cost them. The offense is terrible. All those things. And I think there is some truth to that or you could look at it. How I'm looking at it for this specific game, which is I can't believe they almost won

2:04that game. Like I cannot believe a game without Devante, Seiko and Goddard, Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, Zach Bond, Quinion, Grinard that they almost won. And the Rams had mostly all their guys. I know they didn't have Aaron Donald and Miles Garrett and that's certainly part of it, right? They had all their offensive guys and the defense still held the 24 points in 10 points. I think it was heading into the fourth quarter or roughly around that. So depends how you want to look at it. If you're listening, if you're listening on a Monday morning, maybe you're viewing it, glass half full might be the better way to live life. But we will be honest in this pod about what happened on Sunday. So let's get right into it. So first up, the schedule for today, Nick Sireani will speak to the media at 3 p.m. I'm sure he's pumped to do that and talk about this game and a weird week for the Eagles because they head to London next week. The Eagles will fly to London and play the Jaguars next Sunday. So in some ways, it's a bit of a condensed week. On the other ways, it's not another way is it's not really because the Eagles are leaving Friday night to go to London.

3:05So they'll have a normal work week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, fly to London, get in there Saturday. I'd imagine to walk through play Sunday and they fly home after the game. I mean, they'll be home in time to like watch Sunday night football, maybe on Sunday night. So the way this game is being received, they're probably excited to get out of the country and not have to hear about that performance. So Nick Sireani today at 3 p.m. he will have watched the game again, be interesting to see what he has to say. So the injuries of which there are many. Let's get into that. So Devonte Smith was out of that game with the hamstring injury. We'll see if he plays this upcoming Sunday in London. You wonder if this loss makes someone a push Devonte a little like you don't want to go to 2 and 3. That's that's a bad place to be. And it would be the first time they are under 500 this late in the season since 2021. I mean, you know, 2022, they were 10 to no, 2023. They were 8 and 1, 2024. They were, they got to 3 and 2, right? They won that 2 and 2 game. So and they didn't lose basically again.

4:06So they might want to play Devonte, but flying to London too. I mean, I can't imagine that helps the hamstring. So Devonte, we will see what he's able to do this week. Sequon also leaves with the hamstring injury watching it live. Obviously, guys all saw it at the game. I didn't see Sequon in the locker room afterwards, which is never a good sign. It feels like he could tell immediately. Like he's running out of bounds. At first, it almost looked like someone swiped at his foot and like, I thought maybe the back of his shoe got knocked off or something like that. The way he was hopping and he tried to hop off the field. He couldn't do it. The doctors come over and he doesn't play the rest of the game. And that's extremely worrisome, especially when you consider tank bigsby also hurt late in the game. So good chance going into London, the Eagles, because tank's been on the injury report for a while. Good chance going into London, the Eagles are going with Will Shipley, Jaden Blue and Damon Pierce. And they're going to, if they use those two promotion spots, then like Zacharyts is getting signed or something like that. Like they, they can only promote so many people, but the running back injury

5:07situation going in the next week, not a good one. Dallas Goddard. So Goddard has missed the last two games, obviously didn't play on Sunday. Noteworthy, they did not put him on IR, which means they think this is not a four-week injury. So maybe he does play in London. And we never talk about how Goddard such a loss for this team, but Goddard, I mean, not having Goddard really hurts them, really, really hurts them. And you can see that in the way the offenses performed the past two weeks. I don't think it's a coincidence. The offense has had its worst two offensive games with Goddard on the sideline. So we'll see if he's able to practice this week. Getting him back would be huge, especially if they don't have Devante in sake one, but we'll see what happens with Goddard. Johnathan Grenard leaves the game with an ankle injury, didn't return. We will see if he's able to practice this week. Just a really disappointing start to Eagles career for Johnathan Grenard. You feel bad for a guy that's dealing with injuries, but the Eagles are now month into the season with getting essentially nothing from their most expensive offseason acquisition. I know they paid Jalen Carter more, but in terms of adding players, Grenard, their most expensive ass offseason acquisition, and they've got nothing

6:10from them through four games. And it might be five and it could very well get to six, depending on what's up with this ankle injury. Quinion Mitchell leaves the game with a knee injury. He was on the sideline for the majority of the game, which is always very encouraging. He wasn't, you know, they felt he could get out of the way if he needed to. Like he was standing right on the sideline. So normally they won't let a guy stay on the sideline. If they don't think they can protect themselves, they felt Quinion could do that. So I saw him in the locker room, looked like he felt fine. If he talked, I didn't see it. I was, you know, obviously talking to other people and Nick and Jalen and all that. But we'll see what's happening with Quinion. And then of course, Marcus Epps, no one talks about it, but is a starting safety. We'll see what happens with him this week. It got hurt during practice last week, which is not good. In Zach Bond, hopefully he's able to get out of the concussion protocol this week. And he is able to play because I'll rewatch a tape. I didn't think like Trotter did miss a big tackle there. Late you wonder if Zach Bond makes that tackle. But they miss Bond. Like in a game where they needed one guy to make a play on those final two drives.

7:14Like one guy and no one could do it. Zach Bond makes a lot of plays for this team. So they definitely really missed him. So after the game, by the time I got to the locker room, obviously doing the post game pod, it was pretty empty. Like it was deserted, not a lot of people in there. So we'll talk about what Nick Sireani had to say about some of the big decisions in the game. So one thing it seems like people are pretty mad about Nick with is the fourth down decision. And there's two of them. There's a one where he went for it on fourth and one from their own 38. And there's the one where he went for it on fourth and two or fourth and goal from the two yard line. So here's what Nick had to say about the goal line decision to go for it on fourth and two. And that situation right there, um, met try to make it a three score game. It was a two score game. Um, you know, it was a two score game up 10. Um, or pardon me. Yeah. And you know, we would have went up 13, right? Um, but I wanted to make it a three score game right there. Fourth and two from the two, you know, you leave them in a true backed up scenario.

8:15Um, hey, I'm very well aware of how the fourth down decisions go. And you as the head coach, you go for it and you get it. Great. You go for it and you don't get it. That's on the head coach and we didn't get it. So that's on me. Um, you know, and so again, a lot of a lot. Of things that we got to look at and see, um, what went down on that particular play, um, you know, obviously same deal. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't good enough as coaches and wasn't good enough, uh, playing there. So I gave the coaching staff an A, which people were very upset about. Um, you know, I think the fact that almost one this game was impressive. I think the fact there was so short handed and took the Rams all the way to the rope is impressive. Like if you think the Rams are a great team, uh, and I don't know if they are a great team, but like I bet you everyone would say McVease, a great coach, Stafford's great quarterback, Pukas, a great receiver, Adams is a great receiver. They have a great running game. They took them to the rope. Like they took them all the way to the end and had multiple chances to win that game. One stop on either of the, the touchdown drives, three yards on fourth and two.

9:17Um, and I thought the fourth and two decision was the right one. If they kick the field goal there, you're up 23 to 10. Uh, you lose the game anyway in theory. If you never score another point, I guess at the end of the game, you're going for a field goal instead of a touchdown, but with how that final drive went, maybe you call it differently if the situation is differently, but how that final drive went, you weren't scoring a point anyway. So I thought the fourth and two call was the right one. And the fourth down call on the 38 yard line, fourth and one. I was okay with it because I believe in being ultra aggressive when it comes down to, to four down decisions. It's how I've seen the Eagles be at their best. Um, you know, I don't think you should be result oriented in a way with four down decisions because you can make the right call and it might not work. It is a results business and I understand that. But, uh, the Rams in score after they went for the fourth and one from their own 38 anyway. So it didn't end up really hurting them. What hurt them was missing that fourth and two and Jalen will tell you and we'll play with Jalen had to say about it, but like, team didn't execute.

10:18And I didn't like the play call because they had ran the ball all the way down the field. Um, but also, you know, like they don't have sake on it. They don't have got it. So I liked the decision to go for it because you get one play to try to ice the game away. You score there. You win. And the rest of the plays are almost meaningless. So I think if you would have gone into the game and said, here's a situation. You're up 20 to 10. It's the fourth quarter. It's fourth and two from the goal. You get one shot to win the game here. Would you take it? I think you would take it and they didn't execute it. Jason is an avid hiker who loves the outdoors during what should have been a peaceful hike. That calm was suddenly broken. A mountain lion appeared on the trail just yards away. Fortunately, Jason had packed his Bernaless lethal launcher armed with kinetic rounds. Jason fired a warning shot, deterring the mountain lion and giving his family time to get to safety. Bernaless lethal launchers fire powerful kinetic and chemical irritant rounds designed to stop threats. Visit Berna.com. That's B-Y-R-N-A. Berna.com. Purchasing shipping restrictions vary by state and municipality. Go to Berna.com to check availability at your location. Hey football fans.

11:22It's Von Miller Dallas Cowboys Lombacker and host of the free range podcast. Come hang out with me and my guy TJ Banks as we give you the best analysis insights and guest interviews from around the league each and every week. New episodes drop each and every Wednesday. Be sure to follow or subscribe to free range wherever you get your podcasts. And that's obviously on everybody. But I thought it was the right decision. Now a major problem in this game was quite obviously the third down. So the Eagles don't get a single third down the entire game, which I don't think I've probably ever covered a game where they didn't get a single third down over 12 on third down. You go back to the Chicago game and it's been really bad. I think they were like three of 12 or whatever last week. Like you look at it overall. They are not converting on third downs at any type of acceptable level. So Nick was asked essentially like what he thinks is going on and here's what Nick had to say. Everybody contributed to that. Everybody.

12:23Right. So there's execution errors. There's coaching errors. Everybody contributes to it. It's an ultimate team game. And you know, you can't sustain drives and do the things that you want to keep up with some of our problems offensively. It has been we've been behind. But that's not meant that it wasn't as quite the same case today where we were in second long and all those different things. It was more we couldn't convert on third down for multiple different reasons. So again, there's there's always a lot of contributors to that. I need to go watch the tape before I react to anything. But I know when you're when you're over whatever we were today, right? Everybody has a hand in that. And our job is to figure out what happened and get better from it. Not assign blame. That's what we'll be doing. So I think you view this in two ways. On Sunday, I view it as first of all, you can't go over 12 no matter what. Like no matter who is out there going over 12, quite literally couldn't be worse.

13:25But to convert like 6% of your third downs over two straight games is a massive problem. And last week you did have Devante. You did have Sequan. You know, you did have Lane, right? And so I think what makes the loss to the Rams hurt even more for people is the loss to Chicago. Had you beaten Chicago, like you really should have, right? Like that was the worst performance against Chicago than it was against the Rams. But back to back adds to the loss to the Rams. So going into the game, they ironically had 8th best third down offense in the NFL. So I know it sounds crazy to say, but like they had a good third down offense. They just missed all their players and they didn't execute. And that falls on Nick that falls on Jalen that falls I will say Sean Manion. But to be honest, like it looks the same as it did last year. So I think like Patulo Brian Johnson, Kellen Moore, Sean Manion, like it is what it is. It's a Nick and Jalen team, right? And I think, you know, Jeffrey's going to have to decide if he wants to continue with this. But that's a discussion for another pod. But the third down is absolutely unacceptable. And Nick and Jalen have to find a way to be better.

14:27And I'll say Nick first. I'll rewatch the game later today. See on third downs if there were options to make plays. But Nick's next job is the head coach is to make sure his football team, his professional football team does not go over 12 on third down. So yeah, completely unacceptable from the Eagles. And it's obviously a big part of why they lost this game. So Nick Sierrani was asked an interesting question about, you know, he was asked straight up. Like do you feel like you're improving? And here's what Nick had to say when asked that question. You know, there are things obviously that I definitely have seen us improve. But then there's still little mistakes that we're making coaching plain that we got to continue to clean up. You know, I don't think improvements act always looks exactly how we wanted to look. It implements not, hey, it's like this. You know, sometimes it's it's going to feel like you're here. You're here. You're all over the place. And I know that all we got to do is continue to put the right work in. We know how we know our formula of how we need to do that within the week.

15:31And we have to trust that even though sometimes growth feels invisible, you know, you got to trust and keep putting the work in. It's a great question. It's a great question. And I think it's a critical, a critical question. Now you hear and there he says, yes, there's areas we think we're improving. But doesn't look like it. Like the problems that they've had last year are still there. The problems that they had against Chicago are kind of still there. The problems that they had against Washington are kind of still there. 20 penalties over the last two games. That's that's unacceptable. Right? Like I say all the time, the Eagles win because they're not sloppy and they don't lose on the margins. They've lost for a lot of reasons the last two games. But on the margins is one of them. Like you are hurting yourself with these penalties. Big plays being called back. And look, Nick can coach them all week and tell them the right thing to do and, and you know, emphasize it. If the result, if they're not doing it, right? Like I'm sure Kevin Long, the Philly's hitting coach, isn't telling them if it's out of the zone swing at it. Right? Like he is telling them the right thing to do. You would hope. I guess what Kevin Long, I don't know. But like he's telling them the thing to do.

16:31They're just not doing it. So when it comes to Nick, I'm sure he's emphasizing it. But if the message isn't getting through, then something has to change. Whether it's the coach or the players. And right now, the results are not good enough. Like I think the way they played on Sunday was an impressive effort. The fact it was a close game was impressive. But the results are the results. And the way that they, the way that they've lost the last two games is poor reflection of Nick in some ways. On Sunday, I thought it was a good reflection of Nick on the way that they tried hard and they were close. But man, on Sunday, at the past two weeks, not good. And the tough thing is, and we'll talk about this throughout the week, like now you're going to Jacksonville. You're going to London. Then you have the Panthers. Then you have the Cowboys. Like this is a tough start to the season. And seasons die quickly. Right? Ask Washington how their season dies quickly every year. Ask the Giants how their season dies quickly every year. The Giants have a better record than the Eagles right now. They lost Jackson Dart. So like, beginning is of season's really matter. Everyone can say the first month doesn't matter. But like, now it's super dust. You can't go to two and three. You can't go to, you know, two and four.

17:32You can't go to three and four. Like you got to start stringing some wins together here. And Sunday was obviously a step back in that happening. So on the other side, Jalen Hertz talked as well. So we'll get into what the quarterback had to say. But first, a word from our sponsors. So Jalen Hertz comes to the podium after that game. A game, you know, where his stats certainly are not good. I think he played a little better in the stats in the Cape. But 93 yards passing two touchdowns. No interception. 78 quarterback rating. 12 of 27. I think he completed two passes in the second half. So you think about last year where they had two games where they had no passes completed in the second half. Now a game with two passes completed in the second half. Doesn't feel much better or really is much better. Outside of just the anomaly of it being zero. But Jalen Hertz steps to the podium after the game and asked him straight up like, what went wrong? What went wrong with this team? And he was very short about it. And he was very clear. Jalen, what do you think happened to the offense in the second half

18:34after this overducted first round? Poor execution. Poor execution. That's... Yeah, poor execution. So I think people hear what they want to hear from that. My takeaway is he doesn't think the players are playing well enough. I don't know what he thinks about the coaching to be honest right now. Like I've not got an updated take from him on that. But execution and it really brings us back to where we were last year. Is it the executioner? Is it the coaches? Is it the executioner? Is it the coaches? Like, how always lean players? I always lean that the players are the ones out there that have to make plays. I almost wanted to hear Jalen say like, hey, there's a reason I make 50 million a year. You know, and Nick doesn't make 50 million a year. Sean Mania doesn't make 50 million a year. Like the players have to play better. And that's why I thought the coaching actually, you know, maybe an A was strong, but the coaching deserved a better grade than the players did. Like, they got them ready to go, right? But like, the players made mistakes. And I think execution is the problem.

19:35I'm excited to rewatch it later today. But Jalen couldn't have been more clear. Execution was the problem. Now, he was asked another question about like, kind of, you know, if he gets panicked, if he doesn't, the ebbs and flows of the season. And I thought something he said in this was, was pretty interesting. So here's Jalen on kind of ebbs and flows and like the struggles of the offense. I think it's less about being even killed and more about doubling down on the work and, you know, controlling the things that you can. This is a team that is building and finding his way. And it's obviously a work in progress. I have the utmost confidence in this team. I have the utmost confidence in this group. We just have to remain in the door. Be persistent and keep committing to one another. Keep committing to the work of becoming a better group together. So you just got to continue to grow and go on that journey.

20:39The part of the answer I like in that is, it's less about being even killed and more about doubling down on the work. And I, you know, Jalen is maybe the most even-keeled person I've ever met. So Jalen is certainly even-keeled. But I think there was a little bit of a sense of urgency in there of like, you can't be too even-keeled is kind of Jalen's message. Like, they're two and two. And he said earlier a time to season, nobody's gonna wait for us. Like, maybe there does need to be a little bit of panic here. Maybe there does need to be a little bit of like, what are we doing? Because if we don't get it together, the season, it can really slip away quickly. So I thought that even-keeled answer from there was- from him was a very interesting part of me. Tried to eat dinner quickly before I did the pod. But yeah, I thought that even-keeled part of that answer was very interesting. Now, the other thing Jalen was asked about was the development of the offense. Like, are you improving? And here's what he had to say about that. Next up in mentality, with the level of talent that's off the field and injured, does it just seem like it might be too much to overcome?

21:42I never feel that way. I don't think we felt that way when you had the opportunity to make it a 3.3-score game. So I'm not gonna make excuses. I'm not gonna make promises. I'm just gonna double down on the work and lead the best way I can and continue to have the confidence that happened to group to forge and figure it out. So he says in there, you know, we're gonna forge together. The question is, like, who's in this trip? Like, who's on the plane to London? Is Devontown the plane to London? Is Sequon on the plane to London? Is Landon? Lane, I mean, on the plane to London. Is Dallas on the plane to London? Like, who's in this- who is in this moving forward? Like, they need their best players out there to turn this thing around. It's not- it's not gonna happen if it's on tank. If it's on McCoy and his Nellik, he should be expected to contribute. And I actually thought he did some good things on Sunday, but like, it can't be tank McCoy, you know, Johnny Mont, Marquell Bell.

22:43Like, these are not the guys that have to save the season. And look, I know if Devontay, Sequon, Dallas could play, they would play, but man, at a critical point of the season right now, they could be very short-handed. And, you know, I think it's hard. Like, look, I love Shio Kapadia. My guy, I love talking to him. He's been on GoBirds, you know, evenings, right? Puts out the stats. One of the worst offensive performance for the Eagles in 23 years. It was kind of like, last year he would put out some of those stats. This is the worst sense. This is the worst sense. And everybody's like, it's Patulot. It's Patulot. It's Patulot. Well, Patulot's gone. And the results are still like, it's the worst sense. It's the fewest sense. It's like, I would love to know how this offensive performance compares. The last time the Eagles didn't have they're starting running back, tight end, left tackle, right tackle, number one receiver, and they had guard switching from Senator Gryde. I know it's a third game, but still. Like, that's what you can compare it to. Like, I was talking to John Richie afterwards. Love John Richie. Played in the league, nose football. And he goes, you know, the Eagles were 6% on first down

23:44or in third down over the last two weeks. The Rams were 44% today. Well, yeah, the Rams had Pukinakua. They had Devonte Adams. They have better players. Like, it's always about the players. So, when I look at this loss, I think that, you know, like how we wear some of this. Injuries wear a part of it. I just, I don't look at the coaching as the problem in this. And, you know, it's on them to an extent, obviously. But sooner or later, we just did a full year last year of blaming the coaches. Sooner or later, we got to accept the players have to play better or they have to get better players. And that's just a hard truth of this. So, it'll be an interesting week. I was gonna say fun week, but who knows? Hey, if you're going to London, let's hang out. Let's get a pint. Let's talk about the Eagles. Big week, like I said, I'm sure they're excited to get out of the country after this one. So, that'll do it for today's daily go birds. Make sure you check out the post game pod. If you haven't listened to it yet, there'll be the Jalenherz Rewatch report card later today. Win or lose, we keep chugging along.

24:44And thank you for listening. I love you for listening. Like I said, the good, the bad, the ugly, the fun, the super bowl pods, the playoff losses, the regular losses, the ugly losses, the encouraging losses, the good wins. Thank you for taking this journey with me. So, go out, enjoy your Monday. Until next time, he's Elliot. I'm James. Talk to you guys later. Get out faster. And share the night.