Shane Steichen talks Eagles’ resilience against the Jaguars

Oct 5, 2022 - 8:20 AM

Eagles’ offensive coordinator Shane Steichen spoke to reporters on Tuesday and recapped the Jaguars game and explained why he was so impressed with Miles Sanders’ and the rest of the offense’s ball security. He also talked about Jack Driscoll stepping in for Jordan Mailata, and why they have so much trust in Jalen Hurts.

Here’s what the OC had to say:

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On coming from behind against the Jaguars

“Really pleased with the way our guys fought. To get down in the hole 14-0, it just shows the resilience. I think when you hit adversity, you find out a lot about your team, and our character showed up. Our resilience showed up.

And then that fourth series, Dallas [Goedert] got it going with the screen, and then we went down and scored and got the ball rolling for us.

Really good overall performance by everybody in that weather, in that type of environment. Really pleased with the way the guys fought.”

Steichen later explained why Goedert is so productive in the screen game, citing his strength and power, as well as his great vision as a runner. The TE knows when Jason Kelce and other linemen get out there, he sees the blocks well to hit the gaps, and he’s so strong after the catch and is hard to tackle.

The OC also talked about Miles Sanders and said he had a heck of a game against the Jaguars, averaging five yards a carry. Steichen noted that the RB isn’t doing anything differently than last year, but he’s been very pleased with the way Sanders has been protecting the ball.

“The ball security in that game was at a premium. I know we had the one interception, but besides that did not have any fumbles in that situation, in that game with that weather. That’s a testament to the guys understanding how ball security is that important. We talk about it more than anyplace I’ve ever talked about it here. It is all day, every day. It’s all about the ball.

He did a heck of a job holding on to that thing, and so did everybody else.”

On Jack Driscoll

Steichen credited Driscoll with coming in for Jordan Mailata and playing well. He mentioned that they have a lot of confidence in their backups and Driscoll has put in the work and Coach Stoutland has done a great job getting him (and others) ready to go — especially for someone like Driscoll who prepares at multiple positions.

“I think you’ve got to be prepared, first and foremost, and then also you’ve got to be an intelligent football player because there’s a lot of moving parts when you play all positions. You’ve got to know the different schemes that are going into it, where you’re at, where the double teams are happening, where the singles are happening, and he prepares his butt off.”

He later mentioned that Driscoll took some reps at left tackle during training camp, and that Stoutland was preparing him to play all positions. Steichen credits Driscoll’s intelligence and understanding of the offensive scheme for doing a nice job in multiple roles.

On Jalen Hurts

Head coach Nick Sirianni spoke on Monday about how his trust in Hurts is what gives him confidence to go for it on fourth down, and Steichen echoed those sentiments.

“There’s so much trust there with Jalen right now. He’s playing really, really, really good football right now, and when you’re playing that good football, you have a lot of trust in your players. We have good players surrounded around him, the offensive line, the receivers, and he’s seeing it well. When you’re seeing it well like he’s seeing it well, there’s a lot of trust there, and we’re going to go out and make plays.”

Steichen acknowledged that there’s a happy medium when it comes to trusting Hurts taking on a big hit like he did going into the endzone on fourth down on Sunday. He knows on fourth down, Hurts isn’t going to back down, but the QB also knows he needs to be smart when he’s not in that kind of situation. The OC’s reaction was excited for the touchdown, and then when he saw Hurts pop back up, everything was good.

He also talked about the interception early in the game, but said it didn’t affect how they approached the rest of the game.

“Plays like that are going to happen throughout the game. They’re going to happen throughout the season. You’ve got to overcome those things and bounce back and respond, and our guys did. There was no sense of panic on that sideline. I mean, it was unbelievable. It goes back to the preparation part of everything. We talk about the guys were so calm on the sideline, coaches. It was like, hey, here we go, we’re fine, let’s go, let’s go make a play.”

Other notables

• Steichen emphasized that he’s not focused on reports that he’s one of the top head coaching candidates after the season and said that all he’s thinking about is the Cardinals and trying to go 5-0.
• It was brought up that Kenny Gainwell has scored a lot of touchdowns for someone who doesn’t have a lot of carries. Steichen said that the RB has a really good feel for making the most of the red zone opportunities, coupled with a good offensive line. He noted that Gainwell has good vision and power, and he’s really strong when he gets the ball in his hands.