Eagles notebook: Why Nick Sirianni shows the whole team their celebrations

Every player has their own favorite.

Kenny Gainwell loved when A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley did the Jared McCain TikTok dance. Nakobe Dean is a big fan of the defense’s calm down celebration. Reed Blankenship humbly volunteered his favorite might be when he hit the Quan.

The Eagles have been trying to cultivate a culture of joy.

And one new way Nick Sirianni has been doing that in 2024 is by showing their best celebrations in team meetings on Mondays after wins.

“Just little stuff like that brings joy to the meetings,” Blankenship said.

Earlier this week, there were some questions about the Eagles’ locker room after some drama popped up. But Sirianni said on the radio this week that this team is giving him more 2022 vibes than 2023 vibes. And one of the reasons is the joy he sees from his 11-2 team.

Sirianni on Friday explained that showing celebrations in team meetings stems from studying Steve Kerr’s culture-building tactics in Golden State. While Sirianni has never spoken to Kerr, he read that the NBA coach has photos around the Warriors’ facility of current players celebrating together. So for the last few years, the Eagles have put photos and video boards of big plays and celebrations around the NovaCare Complex.

Showing celebrations in team meetings is just an extension of that.

“We’ve had that with the video boards. You’ve see those throughout the locker room and with pictures,” Sirianni said. “But this year, we started at the beginning of this year, showing some of the celebrations there when we recapped the game. Just a quick highlight video of the guys talking and showing our culture. Our tough, detailed, together culture. So we like to point those things out just like we like to point out things from the game, whether it’s a mistake or good things. We go over that. 

“We thought that it would be good to do that same thing with culture points just the same way you go over game details. Because your culture is just as important as the things that are happening out there. The celebration thing kind of started this year.”

The players seem to like it.

“Oh for sure,” Gainwell said. “The team does that together and you’re having fun. Imagine doing that with your family. It’s just what people do.”

One of the celebrations that Sirianni brings up often is after Gainwell’s first touchdown of the season in Los Angeles against the Rams. Barkley wasn’t on the field but ran to the end zone to celebrate with the Eagles’ RB2. Gainwell recognized that everybody was excited and showed love because they know how hard he works.

During this season, the Eagles aren’t having victory Mondays anymore. Even after wins, they’re getting back in the NovaCare Complex and getting to work. So being able to watch these moments again has brought some levity to their work day.

Veteran tight end C.J. Uzomah has been in the NFL for 10 seasons but this is the first time he can remember that a team has shown celebrations in meetings. He has enjoyed it. But he also gave credit to the defense for coming up with some clever ones.

Dean is just happy that the defense is getting off some celebrations. He looked back at the first two years of his NFL career and realized most of the Eagles’ celebrations have come from the offense. This year, the No. 1 defense in the NFL is getting involved.

And then they get to relive those moments in team meetings.

Blankenship thinks it’s important.

“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s not like we don’t get along but just seeing everyone have fun with it is cool. And then it makes you think, ‘What can we do celebration-wise next week?’”

Get A.J. Brown the ball

Aside from all the drama that followed Sunday’s win over the Panthers, there’s one football thought that remains: Get A.J. Brown the football.

The Eagles’ star receiver didn’t get a single target until inside the 2-minute warning against the Panthers and he finished with just four targets in the game. The Eagles have obviously gone to a run-first offensive attack and Hurts has averaged fewer than 22 passing attempts since the bye week.

But Brown needs the ball. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore agreed with that notion.

“I’m going to focus more on trying to find different ways of increasing the likelihood of the ball going to him,” Moore said. “Ultimately the quarterback has to play based on the reaction of the defense and trust that there's progressions within a play.

“For us we're always going to evaluate how we can get it to him sooner and create those opportunities. It's really about probability. Not every play is going to be able to say 100 percent of the time it's going to one player in particular, but how can we improve our opportunities there?”

In Week 1, Brown had 10 targets and then missed the next three games. Since his return in Week 6, Brown has averaged just 6.2 targets per game. He’s making the most of those. Brown is third in the NFL in yards per route run (3.5) behind just Nico Collins and Puka Nacua, who have each played in just eight games.

A learning experience

Cooper DeJean didn’t have an awful game against the Panthers. But it didn’t live up to the incredibly high standard he has played at during his rookie season.

“Every game is a learning experience,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “Every play you see is a learning experience, and he'll be better for it.”

Against the Panthers, DeJean gave up 6 catches on 7 targets for 61 yards, per PFF. That’s the most yards he has given up in a game all season. 

And veteran Adam Thielen gave him some issues. Thielen caught 4 of the 5 targets with DeJean on him for 49 yards and 3 first downs. (The non-completion was a great interception from C.J. Gardner-Johnson.) Thielen finished the game with 9 for 102.

“Well, [DeJean] gave up the one, the wheel route, which we had to emphasize,” Fangio said. “So that was a good learning experience for him. I thought overall, he did okay. All the balls he caught weren't on Cooper. It’s the NFL, and you need learning experiences. Luckily, he got a few in a W.”

Leading without a C

Saquon Barkley was an unquestioned leader during his time with the New York Giants. In 2023, he was voted a team captain for the fifth-straight season.

This year, he found himself in a new locker room. But he has been a leader for the Eagles too.

“I don’t think nothing changed,” Barkley said on Friday. “The only thing different for me is that in New York, I had a C. Here I don’t. You don’t really need a C to be a captain or to be a leader. Do I always gotta be the vocal, the rah-rah guy, no. That’s not really my style. If I need to be, I can definitely be that. There’s so many other things you can do. It’s how you come to work, it’s how you carry yourself, any energy you bring, brining fun, bringing enjoyment. All that stuff goes a long way. Nothing changed for me.”

The Eagles already had plenty of veterans and captains in the locker room before Barkley’s arrival. And sometimes it’s not easy for new veterans to find their voice among the preexisting voices.

But the best way to earn that voice is to do it with actions first. Barkley feels like he did that. 

“Obviously, I wasn’t just going to come in here guns blazing, saying, ‘Oh, I’m here. I’m a leader of the team,’” Barkley said. “You gotta earn and get the respect of your teammates. I think from the way I worked in OTAs and the way I competed in OTAs and (training) camp and so far in the season, I’ve done that.”

‘Poison, poison, poison!’

Special teams coordinator Michael Clay was watching the Cowboys-Bengals game on Monday night when he a reminder of an important lesson to teach his players.

“That's the roller coaster of special teams,” Clay said.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! 😱

THE COWBOYS BLOCKED THE PUNT BUT CINCY GOT THE BALL BACK AFTER A DALLAS PLAYER TOUCHED THE BALL! #CINvsDAL | ABC, ESPN pic.twitter.com/vaMWLRHxIa

— ESPN (@espn) December 10, 2024

The Cowboys were able to get their hands on a punt in the fourth quarter but the ball still went forward, was touched by a Cowboys player and recovered by the Bengals. First down.

The coaching point: Get out of the way.

“Yeah, in that situation, past the line of scrimmage, ‘Alright, poison, poison, poison!’” Clay said. ‘We're already in plus territory. Get out of their way, and let the defense do what they have to do.”

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