Gardner Minshew will start at quarterback for the Eagles in Saturday’s huge NFC East game contest against the Dallas Cowboys, Head Coach Nick Sirianni said on Thursday at the NovaCare Complex.
Philadelphia’s head coach stated that Jalen Hurts, the starter all season has made progress rehabbing his right shoulder sprain, but that he isn’t ready to play this week.
With the team slated to leave for Dallas on Friday afternoon, here are the pregame quotes from the Eagles.
Nick Sirianni
The Eagles’ head coach was asked about Jalen Hurts potentially returning for the Week 17 home matchup against the Saints.
You know I’m not going to go there yet. We’ll take it one day at a time, one game at a time obviously.
Again, like I said, he’s worked his butt off to try to get himself back. We’ll see day by day of where he is.
Nick Sirianni
The Eagles’ head coach was asked about Minshew making the start on a short week.
Yeah, with Zoom and the way you can video things, I mean, installs were videotaped. Zoom was available to him when he was available. Obviously, we can FaceTime him and talk through with clips and everything.
So there a was ton of communication back and forth while still giving [QB] Gardner [Minshew] time to be able to do what he needed to do to honor his coach that obviously he was very close with. We wanted to respect that obviously as well and he needed to be there.
And so, yeah, there was a lot of communication that went back and forth. We felt like we didn’t miss a beat. It was a walk-through. Obviously, he missed the walk-through plays, but he’s so on it right now and we feel really good at where he is mentally. That’s just never an issue with Gardner. He has to always go through that process of he might not get a lot of reps but be ready to go, because that’s his job as the backup quarterback.
Jonathan Gannon
The Eagles’ defensive coordinator was asked about Avonte Maddox playing some safety against the Bears and going forward.
No, I mean, we always have pairs and spares, if this happens, what if this. We have a bunch of different plans to go about, and the head coach [Nick Sirianni] does a really good job. He forces us to talk through those things and be ahead of those things, which is what you want to do.
I thought it was a good job by [Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs coach Dennard Wilson] D-Will and [Assistant Defensive Backs coach] D.K. [McDonald] to get them caught up. The nickel position, you guys hear me talk about, that’s a thinking position in the defense, as is safety, and those skillsets really in our system kind of match up. They’re very like positions for us.
That’s how we decided to play, and [CB] Avonte [Maddox] did a really good job with that, because any time you’re playing safety and base, there are a lot of mental stuff going on. Then when he’s got to slide inside and sub, there’s a lot of mental stuff going on.
He’s obviously a very smart player for us, he handled it well and he played extremely well for us. I liked where he was at.
Jonathan Gannon
The Eagles’ defensive coordinator was asked about rookie Reed Blankenship returning to the lineup.
Good. He’s going to get out there today and go. He’s not limited I don’t think, so we’ll get him back into the mix and get him going.
Jonathan Gannon
They stay on schedule. They can create explosive plays. They stay ahead of the sticks is what I mean by stay ahead of the schedule. Which to me then, that’s what we talked about to our guys is they’re playing on their terms for most of the game. You don’t want to let them play on their terms.
They have a really good O-line, two good backs, quarterback plays at a high level, they have skill guys everywhere. They do a good job on third down to keep the chains moving, and they score points in the red zone, so this is a big-time offense and a big-time challenge for us.
Jonathan Gannon
Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator talked about CeeDee Lamb and the problems he can present.
Yeah, he’s a good player. It’s one of those receivers I always talk about they can beat you multiple ways. The more and more you watch of him, obviously he’s a very good route runner, he has elite ball skills, he can beat you over the top, he can beat you underneath, but what really impresses me about him the more you watch is, he’s very strong at the catch point and he’s actually pretty hard to tackle.
He creates a lot of yards after catch, yards after contact, because guys don’t wrap him up and bring him down. So that’s part of his skillset, and our guys are prepped for that and we have to do a good job on him.
Nick Sirianni
"Gardner's ready to go." – Coach Sirianni#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/SlY1lCkx6h
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 22, 2022
Gardner Minshew
Teammates have noticed how locked in Minshew is this season. One anecdote? He wears shoulder pads to throw during every practice — even non-padded sessions. Here's Minshew explaining why: pic.twitter.com/g9a4iv2uvU
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) December 22, 2022
Jeff Stoutland
The entire Eagles’ offensive line either made the Pro Bowl or was named an alternate.
Fortunate to coach such GREAT players.
Always keep your eyes on the prize… https://t.co/HJw6ydupOF
— Jeff Stoutland (@CoachStoutland) December 22, 2022
Gardner Minshew
We'll see what we can do 🫡@GardnerMinshew5 | @jordan_mailata | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/LrX6iabS3a
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 22, 2022
Javon Hargrave
#Eagles Javon Hargrave expressed disappointment with not being named to the Pro Bowl.
“What else do I have to do?” Hargrave said of his career-high 10 sacks that leads all NFC defensive tackles in addition to being No. 1 in fan votes. pic.twitter.com/wHaZIqN0uH
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) December 22, 2022
Miles Sanders
Eagles RB Miles Sanders said he called former Penn State teammate and current Giants RB Saquon Barkley last night after they found out they both made the Pro Bowl. Sanders also previously trained with Tony Pollard, so he expressed excitement about the 3 NFC RB selections. pic.twitter.com/lg5TPgnJAT
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) December 22, 2022
Darius Slay
Just linked with Eagles cornerback and team captain Darius Slay, who was named to his fifth Pro Bowl in 10 season.
Slay said: “I’m thankful for the opportunity to be a Pro Bowler, but shit, I’m trying to watch that game on TV. I’m trying to play football in February, gang!”
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) December 22, 2022
Miles Sanders
First-time Pro Bowler Miles Sanders: It's a dream come true. I’m really grateful. Getting my respect is all I really wanted. I don’t know if I got it yet, but I’ve been doing a lot of things to help that case."
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) December 22, 2022
