DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR RYAN NIELSEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2024
(On the Eagles’ quarterback sneak play)“They do a great job of—I mean the conversion rate
is at an all-time high, right. I mean, so they’ve been stopped, and you’ve just got to—it’s a
strain play and you’ve just got to out-strain them. I mean, that’s really what it comes down
to. You’ve got to play lower than them, you’ve got to push harder than them and they
execute it at a high-level. We’re going to have to do a really good job of just executing and
pushing. And then the other thing, let’s not get into that situation. That’s a lot easier said
than done, but let’s keep them out of the third and fourth-and-ones.”
(On covering Eagles WR A.J. Brown and WR DeVonta Smith) “They’ve got some really good
talent, really good talent. He’s playing at a high-level since he’s been back. Physical
receiver, really physical, catch point, strong hands. He’s really good on press coverage and
getting off the line and he has great speed. So, it’s going to be a good challenge. We’ve just
got to play our game. We’ve got to get in and make it a physical game for him. We’ve got to
play some coverage over the top, so he doesn’t just catch fade balls and things like that
people are doing. But two really good receivers. And then the speed that DeVonta has, he
can take the top off any coverage. So just executing, we’re going to have to play some shell
to it. Definitely have to stay over the top of those guys and then mix it up. Just keep mixing
up the coverages on him just so he doesn’t get a single-high read and goes out to the X or Z
every play.”
(On how getting S Andrew Wingard back will change their safety rotation) “A little bit, but
we’ve got the guys that have—he’s been out for a long time and so he’s working his way
back. We’d like to have him out there and get a certain number of snaps and see how that
goes. But he’s pushing. He’s pushing really hard. Yesterday he had a good day, today will be
another good test. By the end of week, we’ll have an idea of how much exactly as he goes
through the process of the week.”
(On the impact of getting S Tashaun Gipson Sr. back) “It’s great to have him back. We’re
excited, really excited. But he hasn’t practiced yet. So, it all goes into it. We’ll get him out
there, get him moving around. Obviously, we’ve got to knock the rust off, those type of
things. Then get him in the rotation and get him some plays and sees where he’s at and
then take it from there. Where the pieces fall, we just don’t know. It’s so early and he hasn’t
even practiced. So, we’ll go through the week and then figure it out from there.”
(On what he’s seen from CB Jarrian Jones as he settles into the nickel role) “Yeah,
confidence. Really, he’s confident. Every game, he even said it after the game is he’s feeling
more comfortable out there. He’s playing more snaps, the different coverages and the
things that that position has to do. Just how he’s moving around and playing physical, and
the play he made in the red zone was a big-time play. Really, really good. Just continue to
see him grow with that position. He could still go outside if we need him, but he’s kind of
settling into that nickel position and he’s doing a good job right now at it.”
(On what happened during the last big pass vs. Green Bay) “Yeah, sure, I’ve got to change
up the coverage. It’s on me, I’ve got to change up the coverage. So, play different coverage
in that situation.”
(On getting DE Arik Armstead more involved and having him play inside more) “Yeah, we
discussed inside, outside, kind of with the guy. When we signed him, it was more of an
outside vision and move him inside on third down just depth chart-wise and things and kind
of where he wanted to play and things like that. A lot of the situational stuff, putting him
inside, that’s where he’s playing in two-minute, things like that. But he definitely can go
inside. It’s just when do we want to start working him in there and you may see him coming
up here, moving inside on nickel situations, things like that. But he’s got to continue to play
the left end position and that takes a little time of playing from inside and outside and
we’ve got to get him a few more snaps out there and get him—he’s comfortable at it, just
more snaps at it.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2024
(On how RB Travis Etienne Jr. and RB Tank Bigsby complement each other) “Yes, certainly. I
mean, I think anytime anybody has two backs that produce, it’s always kind of—you use the
‘thunder and lightning’ phrase, and that’s kind of what it feels like. They have different
styles. They have enough blend of being able to do everything to where I think we can avoid
some tendencies with that. Then honestly, D’Ernest [RB D’Ernest Johnson] is a great blend,
being kind of that third guy that supplements to where, like we went through a couple of
game stretch without T.J. [RB Travis Etienne Jr.] in there, D’Ernest is able to fulfill that role of
kind of being the pass catcher, doing a little slash, everything. Then the same thing, if we
were ever to miss Tank, we feel like D’Ernest and T.J. have a 1-2 combination that could do a
lot of things. We’re very excited about that backfield. Anytime you have good players, it’s a
good thing to have to deal with.”
(On the growth he’s seen from Bigsby in the last year) “Yeah, and kind of the same thing we
talked about, just letting Tank be able to grow and step into the roles we expect for him,
producing the way he’s been able to produce this season. It’s been the expectation from
the jump.”
(On Bigsby in pass-protection situations) “I think it’s like any young back. I think it’s always
very different than coming out of college. College, they’re not put in a lot of those
scenarios. Third down for us is very different than third down in college, honestly. I mean,
you still see teams in no huddle, they don’t face as many third downs, I believe, in college
football, and then there’s more play actions. It’s just pure drop back, exotic pressure looks,
things like that. But in terms of identification, things like that, Tank does a very good job. It’s
very important to him. He spends a lot of time on it. Right now, honestly, if you just have to
rank the backfield, the other two guys are probably better at this point. That does not mean
we don’t believe Tank is good at that role right there. I think he continues to grow, but we
want to continue to put the best people in the best position to what they do really well right
now.”
(On where he’s seen the most growth from WR Parker Washington in the last year) “Well, I
think it’s always hard just being a backup. These guys all come out of college being ‘the guy,’
and now you’re the backup, whether you’re the fourth, fifth, you’re the backup at all spots.
So Christian [WR Christian Kirk] goes down, you go in the slot. If last year somebody else
went down, he went outside. There’s kind of that flexibility where maybe that’s a little
tougher just mentally having to prepare for that, and then it slows you down a little bit in the
way you play. Where now I think Parker knows the ins and outs of the past game and the
offense as a whole. So, it’s not a big deal for him to just be thrown in the game and move
around the formation, move around letter wise, whatever he’s playing and be able to play at
a high level. Now you just start to see these guys as they settle in with their confidence,
their skill set flashes more and more. You see that with like we’re talking about Tank,
Brenton [TE Brenton Strange], all these younger players, now you’re really seeing just the
skill set that we saw originally when they were in their fourth, fifth year of college in one
system, you’re starting to see that come out a little bit more.”
(On the new opportunity for OL Walker Little to start on the offensive line) “Yeah, excited for
Walker. He’s a guy that’s continued to do everything we’ve asked of him, be selfless, put the
team first. So, excited for that. We’ll definitely miss Cam [OL Cam Robinson]. Cam’s a guy
that’s kind of been a staple here for us since we got here three years ago, whatever that may
be. When you think of the Jaguars, honestly Cam’s one of the guys you think of. So, it’s
tough to see somebody that gave so much for us while we were here in this regime, of
himself to the team… So that’s always tough. You don’t want to lose anybody. We become a
tight-knit group in the unit room that we’re in, but excited for Walker’s opportunity. We know
Walker will step into it and do a good job.”
(On what it means to Little knowing he is moving into a full-time role) “Yeah, I think that
probably helps in some way, shape, or form. Again, you’d have to get his mindset on that,
but I could see where that would make sense.”
(On what he learned from missing WR Christian Kirk last year) “I think it’s always a game-to-
game basis. So, you’re always going into every game, and you start the week with who’s
available to us? How do we utilize our best players? So, if Christian’s not available,
everybody kind of moves up the pecking order in that sense. Who’s healthy? Who’s ready to
go? That’s always the starting point. So, we don’t even look at it as Christian’s out for the
season. We look at it as Christian is not playing this week. In the next week, we’ll deal with
who’s playing, who’s available to us as that goes. So, I think this is just kind of how you deal
with the week. It’s not something that we’re not looking ahead to five weeks from now or
anything like that. But I think you do have the confidence in Parker, you have the confidence
in Brenton to step in if the 12 personnel becomes a little bit more prominent moving
forward in the pass game like it did last week. Obviously, Brian [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] has
proven his worth in this system. Gabe [WR Gabe Davis] continues to grow. [WR] Tim Jones
has always been a reliable, steady force for us when he gets his chance to contribute. So, I
think you just have confidence that these guys just continue to grow in the system.”
(On how to replace Thomas Jr.) “Same thing. I mean, what gives us what we’re looking
for? If we’re looking for a speed element down the field on a certain concept, who is
available that can give us that aspect of things? I mean, it’s kind of the same thing of
building a game plan. If he can’t go, you have contingency plans of this is what’s going to
give us what we want on this particular play. If he can go, how do we mix him in? I think the
challenging thing is always when you don’t know, when a guy is truly day-to-day like this,
you’ve got to build a plan without him, but then have your areas to insert him if he makes it
to game day and things like that. So that’s always a little bit more of a challenge. Every
single play we’re looking at, the people we put on the field, what do we expect the defense
to respond with? What does that mean defensively, coverage-wise, front-wise, pressure-
wise? What are we going to get from them if we do this?”
(On how the team can start faster) “Yeah, it’s certainly something we’re looking into,
because the statistics of gaining an early lead at the end of the quarter, end of the half,
things like that are critical. It changes the way you play the entire game if you’re playing with
a lead versus playing from behind. So that’s something we’re looking at. But when we look,
we’ve got to be efficient early on in certain situations. There are some areas of our game
where we’re not as efficient early in a game, and we kind of find our stride later and we’ve
got to figure out what that is. Are we, as coaches, putting our players in the best possible
position early in a game to maximize the look they’re getting, to have confidence in what
they’re doing, getting the ball to our best players early, doing things our quarterback’s
comfortable with? How do we get them set up? Does it go back to Saturday night
walkthrough of understanding what we’re looking at? Does it go back to our pregame
routine Sunday so that the first snap we’re ready to roll? Does it go back to what we
practiced throughout the course of the week? So, all things that we’re continuing to look
into, because we understand the importance of scoring early.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence being able to put together strong drives late in the game) “Trevor’s,
I mean, part of it’s just in those situations, those circumstances, your character gets
revealed. Your football character, but your character. Trevor, I’ve never seen Trevor flinch,
honestly, in all the things that have happened. Him playing hurt, guys getting hurt around
him, guys he relies on all the time, new faces in the huddle. Sometimes he doesn’t know
until he’s in the huddle that somebody’s out. The communication goes through the
headset, so-and-so’s out, and maybe it doesn’t always get to him. He looks around, calls a
play, and there’s somebody staying there he didn’t expect. He never flinches. He just
continues to be an unflappable, steady force for our team, honestly, and the offense and
the huddle. I think part of it, he has a lot of confidence in those guys. He spends a lot of
time off to the side, throwing with those guys, talking with those guys, just spending time
with them to where not only does he have confidence in them, I think they know he has
confidence in them and he believes in them. I think that helps empower players to play
better. So, I can’t say enough good things about the leadership he’s shown. For the three
years I’ve been here, but obviously last week when bolts are flying and things happen,
people go down and you’ve got to respond. This is what’s asked of you as a franchise
quarterback, and I thought he rose to that challenge and put us in a position to win the
game.”
(On if Lawrence’s chemistry with the team inspires their confidence on the field in crucial
moments) “Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think anytime you see those guys, you believe they
can, but until they’re in the position, until they do it, you really don’t know. There were
probably times I was reading on the call sheet, I just kind of ‘Ron Burgundy’ it and read 11
personnel and everybody’s yelling, ‘You don’t have 11,’ and so we only have 12. So, then we
just kind of—I’d really just call a concept at times and say, ‘You guys line up where we need
to line up, get where we need to get to, to be able to run this concept.’ We ran, I think we
had a big third-down conversion to Brenton Strange with Evan [TE Evan Engram] and
Brenton in a position that they were not in as we practiced that, but obviously we didn’t
have anybody else. They had to go, they know exactly what to do, they understand the
concepts. Going back to our work in April of we do a lot of this stuff where we just call
concepts, no formations, and you guys figure it out. Then that work kind of comes in, but
again, being in a second year, I think obviously helps Brenton standing next to Evan, them
talking through the concept, Trevor communicating in the huddle. There’s a lot of those
things that we had confidence in, but obviously to see it show up and come to fruition in the
critical moments is a big deal for all of us.”
