Spadaro: Changing the tide, with wounds to take into ..

 

The Eagles have a lengthy injury list, and head coach Nick Sirianni is hesitant to confirm any player’s availability before Sunday night’s Football Night in America match at Lincoln Financial Field. This is the first of the team’s two games this season where the Kelly Green helmets and jerseys will be worn.

During his Monday afternoon virtual press conference, Sirianni was questioned several times regarding the condition of the injured players. Each time, he refused to give any kind of timeline for their recovery.

“We’re really early,” Sirianni responded when asked about right tackle Lane Johnson, who left Sunday’s 20-14 loss to the New York Jets due to an ankle injury after just seven offensive snaps. “I spoke with Lane today when I saw him, and he stated that his status is “to be announced.” We’ll observe the outcome. I’m sure Lane will want to play as much as he can, and we’ll want to try everything to encourage him to play as well. Being on the field will be crucial because he is among the NFL’s best players.”

While Sirianni acknowledged that Johnson’s absence from the field “will affect things” for the offense,

Sirianni was questioned regarding the absence of defensive tackle  (ankle) and cornerback Darius Slay (knee), as well as safety Reed Blankenship (rib injury) and cornerback Bradley Roby (shoulder). Sirianni stated he was “hopeful” that safety Sydney Brown, who has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury, would be able to

make a comeback, but he did not provide any specific injury information on any of those players.

Sirianni remarked, “We’ll see on all those guys.” “In terms of possible time outs, they fall into a few different groups. There are just too many possible outcomes over the next few days, so I don’t want to set deadlines for anything. I will always carry that close to my chest.”

Sirianni acknowledged that injuries are a common occurrence in the NFL and said, “When it rains, it pours,” referring specifically to the safety group, which has been heavily impacted this season.

After the team’s six-game winning streak during the regular season came to an end this week, Sirianni stated that consistency is the key to success.

“I think that what happens is that you set a standard of what you want a week to look like and we don’t try to make them guess, like this week’s more important,” he stated. Things are going as normal. In order to ensure that we improved from this game, the coaches and I had some difficult talks today. As a team, we also had some difficult conversations, and on Wednesday, we will be fully focused on Miami. We must be prepared for them because they are a formidable football team.”