“My Decision”: Nick Sirianni Sheds Light on ‘Debatable’ Defensive Changes Following Crushing Loss vs Seahawks

The Philadelphia Eagles have genuine problems with the defense and the close loss to the Seattle Seahawks proved why Matt Patricia took over Sean Desai as far as the Eagles’ defense was concerned. Nick Sirianni came out in the post-game presser and spoke about the 20-17 disappointing loss. This game marked the Eagles’ third straight loss to a good team.

Desai retained the tag of a DC but didn’t call any plays today, and that became the job of Matt Patricia. Maybe the Eagles wanted to change things a bit and give their defensive reins to a 3-time Super Bowl-winning DC. As it turned out, the measures were not as effective as Eagles management thought. Read further to know why this ‘risky coaching change’ came into play.

Nick Sirianni becomes vocal about the Eagles’ sloppy defense

When asked about the changes to the Eagles’ defense, the HC seemed quite confident about his choice and elaborated more about ‘making adjustments to the defense’. This was about the role reversal of Matt Patricia and Sean Desai.

“Yeah, I made the decision. I did what I thought I needed to do that would be in the best interest of the football team. I made some adjustments and felt like we were playing well enough and coaching well enough on defense, so I made an adjustment. It was my decision and that’s what I did.”

Sirianni was asked about Sean Desai’s role in the team after the reshuffle. He said that it’s a collaboration between Matt Patricia and Desai, however, Patricia is responsible for anything that has to do with the defense. Sirianni mentioned that Desai handled himself very professionally despite the adversity he is facing with his job right now.

The HC says that Sean Desai is still a useful asset to the team because of his bright mind. He quoted by saying that Matt Patricia and Sean Desai were communicating with each other throughout the game. Per Sirianni, Desai is doing his best to comply with these changes and working with Patricia despite the role reversal and the constant scrutiny that the team is getting. Now, this late-season defensive change certainly changed the mood of both fans and analysts. A debate is only obvious and the risky coaching change needs to be closely studied as the Eagles navigate the crucial stretch ahead.

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At the same time, this switch-up was long overdue for a plethora of reasons. It’s time we take a look at some interesting stats that may be the reason behind this cascade.

The Eagles’ reasons behind the gamble

In the last 4 games, including this one, the Eagles have given up 129 points to the opposition. This implies that the Eagles had a weak defense and hence called for a major change in the defensive play calling. Earlier, Desai was the one who communicated with the green dot from the sidelines, but as of this game, the Eagles decided to reverse the roles of Patricia and Desai.

An interesting thing about both of these people is that they joined the franchise this year. Desai joined in February, and Patricia, in late April. An interesting thing about Desai is that he spent last year with the Seahawks and still wasn’t able to assist the team with a win.

The last couple of games were a disaster for the Eagles as the Eagles allowed the third-most points in franchise history in a three-game span. Somehow, they have officially clinched a spot in the postseason for a third consecutive year. But again, with the defense still in shambles, can the Eagles clinch tough games ahead of them?

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