From The Reporter/MediaNews Group: https://tinyurl.com/48u9m3mc
PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni’s press conference at NovaCare Complex was short and sweet. The Eagles head coach is ready to roll in tonight’s season opener at Lincoln Financial Field, where the team will officially raise its Super Bowl LIX championship banner in front of the Dallas Cowboys.
“I think we’ve had a good training camp. I think we had good OTAs. I think our habits are going in the right direction,” Sirianni said Tuesday. “You focus on those things at every practice that we go through. We’re thinking about, how did we tackle? How did we take care of the football? How did we take it away? How did we catch it? How did we block?
“You’re just looking for those (qualities) to constantly be on the rise. I think when you practice with the intensity our team practices with, you get that good-on-good work we’ve gotten for so long — our good offensive line going against our good defensive line. You have no choice but to get better.
“Now we’ve got to go do it.”
The Cowboys, under first-time head coach Brian Schottenheimer, arrive having just traded away their best player, edge rusher Micah Parsons, in his prime at 26, to the Green Bay Packers after a contentious contract dispute. But quarterback Dak Prescott is healthy after missing much of last season with a torn hamstring tendon. And Dallas added wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason to pair with CeeDee Lamb.
The Cowboys’ offensive line remains a question mark, as does the running back position with Javonte Williams and former Eagle Miles Sanders. The defense, which seemed like it was just a couple players away when Parsons was there, now appears in limbo despite receiving an established defensive tackle in Kenny Clark, soon to be 30, in the Parsons deal.
“When something like that happens, you kind of pivot a little bit, but they got a really good player in Kenny, and from there we just kind of keep with the game plan and looking at what they’re doing and going from there,” Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo said. “I think when stuff like that happens, you’re going in with a plan specifically for people at times, but (mostly) just your overall philosophy of going against their defense.”
Never mind that Parsons was literally the one defensive player the Eagles had to specially account for. Even if the Cowboys hadn’t traded him, his likelihood of playing significant snaps in the opener was in doubt.
The Eagles obliterated Dallas in their two meetings last year, 34-6 and 41-7.
Dickerson’s status: Left guard Landon Dickerson (back), who signed an $84 million extension in March, was a full participant at Tuesday’s practice. So were S Andrew Mukuba (hamstring) and OLB Josh Uche (groin). Sirianni refused to detail the circumstances of Dickerson’s back injury; Dickerson had participated in drills on Sunday and previous days after missing two weeks following knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. … QB Tanner McKee (thumb) remained out. ... For Dallas, CB Trevon Diggs (knee) and OT Tyler Dutton (knee) were full participants for the second straight day. TE Brevyn Spann-Ford (ankle) also fully participated. DT Perrion Winfrey (back) did not practice.
Kicking game: Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, who used to be money from 50-plus yards, struggled from that distance during a slightly up-and-down campaign a year ago. The team then let longtime long snapper Rick Lovato walk and brought in Charley Hughlett. Elliott has looked good from various distances leading up to the start of the season.
“Jake’s had a phenomenal offseason and training camp,” special teams coordinator Michael Clay said. “It’s always nice in that last preseason game, he kind of got pushed back a little, and the 51- and 53-yarder against the Jets, he hit them with some confidence and there was some extra on it.
“I think Jake’s doing a really good job. One, gelling with a new operation with Charley coming in, and just the confidence of him going out there and not proving to us — I know who he is — I think proving more to himself that he’s still the great kicker that he is.”
Tush push advertising: The Eagles’ tush push play has a sponsor.
Dude Wipes, a flushable wet wipe bathroom brand, will be “presenting” the iconic play throughout the season. The partnership will include an “ongoing series of collaborative social content,” product giveaways at team-hosted events, and postgame radio spots highlighting the team’s successful tush pushes, the Eagles announced in a press release Tuesday.
“Dude Wipes has built one of the most successful and marketable brands in the industry by combining innovation, creativity and humor,” said Brian Napoli, the Eagles’ senior VP of corporate partnerships.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dude Wipes as a partner of the Philadelphia Eagles and look forward to having fun with their brand, both on and off the field, this season.”
The Packers and commissioner Roger Goodell led an effort ban the tush push in the offseason, but couldn’t summon enough votes from team owners. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and former center Jason Kelce delivered impassioned speeches in defense of the play at May’s ownership meetings, arguing that to outlaw it would be to single out the Eagles.
The team’s powerful offensive line and Jalen Hurts’ massive leg strength make the tush push perfectly catered to its personnel. No data links the play to injuries, but its future remains in jeopardy because the Birds have developed it into a weapon few opponents have figured out how to emulate or stop.
NOTES: In light of SEPTA cuts, the Eagles issued a travel and tailgate advisory for tonight’s opener, urging fans to leave home extra early, limit the space they take up while tailgating, and not to tailgate by the stadium if they don’t have tickets for the game. … The “America’s Game” episode about the 2024-25 Eagles was set to premiere Wednesday on NFL Network at 8 p.m. ET. It will be replayed multiple times today, this weekend and during the season. … Sirianni said Eagles players and coaches, who have emphasized turning the page from last season, won’t be on the sideline during the banner ceremony, which would be highly unusual. ... LB Jihaad Campbell and S Andrew Mukuba were named to the CBS Sports All-Rookie Team. … Joe Montana, appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show,” was asked which quarterbacks (other than the 49ers’ Brock Purdy) he’d select to start a franchise. He mentioned Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. … Fourth-year safety Reed Blankenship has signed with the Athletes First agency. David Mulughetta of AF negotiated the latest deals for Parsons and injured Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Blankenship is entering the final year of his contract. ... Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. (NBC 10 TV, 94.1-WIP FM, Tico Sports and Westwood One).
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.