Eagles Press Conference: Matt Patricia | January 2, 2024

okay all right well um you know we'll just we'll dive right into it I mean obviously um you know uh not good enough here of a performance uh this past weekend um you know that falls on me um you know I got to do a better job of getting our guys uh you know in positions to uh to help us win um that's first and foremost and and um you know I do want to give Coach Ganon credit um they did a great job of uh game planning I think you know the offensive staff uh Arizona really had some some great uh schemes and ideas and got us into some different sets and looks uh adjustments um both in coverage and front uh and and really uh did an outstanding a job of uh taking advantage of those situations so um you know those are things that I got to focus on and make sure that we get fixed and and corrected which we will um you know our guys um you know they play really hard uh they're out in the field competing and um you know it's up to it's up to us as coaches to to get them in a situation where they can go out and and perform um you know the level that we need them to to help us win so um you know like I said obviously the Run game is going to be the first and foremost place where we got to start I think um you know they did a good job of of using a lot of runs that have caused issues um you know for us that you know we're going back and making sure that we have those tightened up and fixed uh from that standpoint you know run fits are a big part of defense and and really you know someplace you want to start from a defensive philosophy standpoint to make sure that you can stop the run I think it's critical at this time of the year and um you know no different than the other side the ball is trying to run the ball we've got to be able to stop it on defense and that's got to be our Focus from that end uh to get that um you know handled and they they did a good job there's some good good scheme stuff in there that they hit us with that um you know would be good for us it was good for us to see now and and that we can go forward and and uh make sure that we have it have it tightened up uh as we move forward here so um you know that's something that uh we'll work on this week and get ready as we push forward for the Giants that we know they'll be looking at that film also and trying to use some of those runs which they you know they had actually some some of those in the game that we played against them uh we just handled them a little bit um in some different looks so we'll look at that also and kind of how we played some of those uh in that game the first time we had them but um you know not not good enough that's that's on me um we got to do a better job there especially with the run so if the Run fit are still an issue in week uh 17 um is that not being coached right or is it Personnel related yeah I mean no it's going to start with me you know from that standpoint making sure that we're you know um having everybody understanding of how we want to get it fit and and um taken care of when we see those different looks sometimes it's a little bit of a different um window addressing to it uh and the Run may look a little bit different than it actually is still maybe the basic run that we've played before and that's some of the stuff that you want to try to um you know eye control and make sure that we're looking at the right Keys uh from that and that's that's you know from a coaching standpoint we really want to make sure that our eyes are in the right place and I got to uh make sure that we're all on the same page right if I could follow up too you're saying it's only you obviously you've only been the defensive coordinator for like the last three games so um how hard have you tried to change that now in these last three weeks as far as the Run fits themselves or you know um no you know we're just we're obviously working um to improve the defense um as we go through the season and and different problems present themselves at different times of the year that is definitely true you know some of the runs that we saw early in the year um you know are different that we see later in the year sometimes uh that moves or something may happen through the course of a of a season or a game or a particular week that um you know new ideas come up that uh a team that we haven't you know maybe seen uh twice like we're seeing the Giants twice you know and that comes up that's a little bit of a different look so um that is all on me you know I'm um I got to make sure that we're good in the Run game uh every single week based on um the different runs that we're getting that week and what we've seen on tape from them um you know like I said give Coach Ganon credit he's got good knowledge of the defense and the things that um you know that are hard or difficult for us and we got to we got to tighten those back up along lines of that question along the lines of that question y have you found it difficult to to put an imprint on this defense given that the framework of it was already uh well established before you took over yeah um I mean I think I said before I think you know this is this is you know it's it's our defense it's something that we've you know been working on that's um the players and the coaches it's been a collaborative effort I would say from the start on all that and um you know it's not uncommon during the season for things to shift or change from what you're seeing from opponents um it's interesting sometimes you see them in like blocks you might see like a similar offense like four weeks in a row or three weeks in a row and then go to an offense that's maybe a little bit different than what you've seen and now here's some new different ideas or thoughts that come at you defensively from a different way or um something different from a scheme standpoint that you have to adjust to and and get fixed so um from that aspect of it I think it's always you know um B that collaborative group effort with all of it and certainly the run is the biggest Focus this week that you know we've got to get uh fixed and handled sure about the Run fits made that consistent regardless of what you guys feel did because it seemed like that would make it difficult to adjust in the middle of the game what made it consistent across the board last week this for for what they were doing um yeah they had some really good um different kind of run run plays that we see right there's um Zone runs which are usually you know base man blocks or uh combination blocks that usually move in a particular direction then scheme or Gap runs or divide the defense type of plays plays where they can really try to um you know just put a hard Edge divide into it and then you're pulling backside Defenders into the front side to try to fit as they're bringing extra people over to the side of the play um and those are you know those are always the hardest those scheme run fits and and kind of how you're handling the different pullers and things like that um which we saw they did a really good job and they did them both closed and open um which was something they did and then they they built the formation so that you know may look like a closed formation so you're thinking maybe this type of run and then they built it a certain way gave it a window dressing and then it became an open side run with still the scheme divide the defense type of uh fit into it um and that's where you know as a coach um you know my my job is I got to make sure that we're seeing you know we're seeing the play correctly in the eyes and everything is in the right direction first and foremost so that's that's why I've really I've got to do a better job of that to allow those guys to play fast and fit those aggressively like we want them too hey Matt the last three games one common theme has been the second half I think 17 points in Seattle 22 against the Giants 29 Sunday um what are you seeing differently what's happening that's that's causing like the leakage in the second half where it wasn't a problem in the first half yeah um you know what that's a it's a great question as far as um you know I think that the guys have done a really good job we've come out and played aggressive in the first half and I think um you know for me you know when those things happen I always kind of just you know I've got to put it back on myself to make sure that we're getting the right calls in or we're getting the right plays out there for them um sometimes they make adjustments and then we got to make our adjustments too in those situations and um and then situationally you know in the second half of of the football game um there's so much more that comes in from a situational standpoint the clock the time the down and distance and those are things I got to keep just doing a good job of making sure that I stay in front of uh to allow the guys go out there and handle those when they come up um and it and it comes fast in the second half you know and and and I've got to do a better job with that certainly if I could just follow up do you sense that guys are wearing down guys have played a lot of snaps this here do you sense there's any of that late in games yeah um I don't really sense that at all our guys work really hard um play very aggressive they play Fast um they work hard during the course of the week to get their bodies right and be ready for game day I don't ever feel that on the field I don't ever see that I I think that um you know I give our our players a lot of credit and a lot of just um you know I I admire the way that they come in every single day and they work and they study and they you know got to they got to delete all the information from the week before start over rebuild go put the effort into practice understand you know we're seeing a different offense we're seeing a different scheme we're put in new install or whatever it may be for that week game planwise um you know and every day is pretty regimented whether it's the early down day to third down to Red area and then just process all that at a high rate and then go out and play it on the field it's it's you know for me as a coach I just look at our players and Marvel at how much they can handle it's really um you know fascinating to me sometimes you sit in a film room and you're like quicking through plays and you know as a coach you watch the tape all day long and you're you know maybe I've I've played that meeting in my mind about five times before I got in there and then you sit in there for the first time with one of our players and they're just rattling off the information that you just gave to them 30 seconds ago you know I understand it's the NFL I understand these are you know the greatest athletes and the best football players in the world but at some point I also sit there and I'm like it's pretty cool like how they can do all that you know it's it's pretty impressive to watch these guys when they perform at that Elite level um like all of us we don't always perform at our best all the time but um you know it's that part of the process and what these guys do to prepare and get ready and how they play on the game um I always admire that a lot I really do do you look at I'm sorry do you look at at like uh this is kind of like a two-e project you know getting ready for the playoffs do you need to see like progress against the Giants and everything how do how do you kind of approach these next two weeks with that yeah um you know I mean first and foremost for me is always it's going to be the Giants you know we have to obviously go out and and uh everybody wants to play well everyone wants to go win um I think that's what's most important for us but um certainly we have to fix the things that um came up last week and and those are our focuses I think before you look down the road um past that you know I just think our Focus has got to be us and then our preparation getting ready to go play well this weekend you know it's the Giants this is um this is old school fun I mean I know I'm new to the division but I'm a huge football fan uh and if if you love football you talk NFC East football um you know Giants Eagles like all this stuff like that's that's exciting to me that's fun you know let's go out there and and and play the game and and hopefully go play well so I enjoy all that part of it so I just focused on the week from that standpoint Yan reic uh about a quarter of ky's he was in coverage I guess what's the rationale behind his usage of almost pass yeah um you know I think um again game planwise I think they did a good job in some of those and I I'll come back to that and kind of got us in some sit situations um you know I'm always conscious of making sure that I get our guys that can rush to rush as much as we can and sometimes the game dictates or the Personnel packages dictate a little bit differently in those situations sometimes the hash can dictate a little bit on that too to you know where the ball is lined up um I think that's where I can do a better job of understanding that maybe um we got caught in a string of plays and sometimes it happens like if you're playing really long series you know sometimes it's easier to correct that stuff if it's a quicker series you come to the sideline you're looking at it you're like okay hey we need to do more of this you get caught in a long series sometimes that becomes a little bit more difficult so I got to do a better job in that situation of saying okay hey I got stuck in this or we got stuck in this let me change it let me get you know certainly a guy like Hassan in the mix where I think he can help help us um other parts of the game where that may have occurred honestly um he's probably dropping into position to help his teammates you know he's really really good at it in the situations where um they got us in some spread and some empty and and kind of put us in some space game which was good on their part certainly from a scheme standpoint um and uh you know created some extra space there for the coverages and for the Quick Pass game which is you know they were getting the ball out fast um so he was he was doing a great job of being you know like he always is is a great teammate of helping his teammates out in that space and not you know having them having to cover more when the ball was coming out as fast as it did so certainly better job by me I think in those longer drives of recogn recognizing that in the drive itself um as opposed to you know when we get to the sideline we look at it and it's like okay hey we got to let change this let's do this let's call this let's move it here in that situation um we had a lot of too many uh long drives in the game and you know that's that's where I can I can change up how much how much uncertainty is there about person right now specifically linebacker you serer of been there you got Zach still waiting to come back and how how much you know what you're going to have when you get to wherever you are in the playoffs in terms of who's going to be where slay you got slay coming back and that going to yeah um I'll probably focus on just this week you know for right now and just you know as we go through the week we're always uh having great conversations I think Nick and Howe do an amazing job of managing the roster and and making sure that we have everything that we have and that team has everything that it has to give us a chance to go win each week um you know I've been in those situations certainly you know from from that chair and it's not easy when you look at the totality of the team and what you think helps you week in week out that's why I think you know in our position as coaches on and just on our side of the ball uh It's always important for us to make sure that the players have flexibility in what they can do and not only does that I think does it put stress on the opponent you know try to figure out what's in the game and how we're using those guys but um probably the biggest adjustment I had to pro football when you know 20 years ago when I came into it is that the game day roster is only what it is it's only so large and um you know you have to have guys that can cover other responsibilities and that game day roster is going to change week in week out based on what you need and based on injuries and things like that so um you know we always try to maximize everybody's ability and what they can do and the roles that they can play and um we just take it week by week and and so just focus that on this week and see where we're at and as we go forward um you know we'll see where the rest of everybody else's as they come back uh um as we get ready to go forward there was a third and two complet there was a third and two that was completed in front of Eli rcks where they were playing outside corners are playing well beyond the sticks how do you want them to defend that yeah was that early in the game yeah right um I think notot the specifics of the coverage for that one just just in general um but you know some of those where we're kind of off on those and and we're playing maybe certain patterns that we've seen on tape and and things that they do um sometimes you play zone coverage when you think going to run man beaters you play man when you think they're going to be in zone and you can tighten up and and a lot of that you try to go off of um you know whether it's analytics or statistics or what you're seeing on tape and kind of how they you know have tried to handle those areas of the field certainly third and shorter is always a little bit more more difficult in those you know you play zone and there's going to be some space they can have you know quicker throws balls coming out faster you play man there's a lot more Bunch condensed picks rubs um you know things like that that happen so uh when you're in the zones and you're in some of those different coverages you just have to really try to match as quick as you can and as tight as you can a lot of times that falls on some of the underneath coverage um I think certainly for the standpoint of those plays those that particular play you know I I can probably put us in a better call you know and help us in that situation and whether we're going to be in zone or man um allow us to be a little bit more heavy on some of those quicker throws uh if that's going to happen in that situation you know and try to help us out a little bit better um when that comes up we'll do a couple more pleas about reic and coverage whether it was reic gr or Smith and coverage they completed every pass in those situations why don't you think those situations were working and is that causing you to rethink how those uh how those players being used in yeah um you know going through every single one of those passes I mean obviously if they catch them all it's not it's not great so that's you know that's got to be on me from that standpoint you know um they're completing the ball depends on the situation of you know was it a short pass a quick completion a tackle um did we keep him in a longer situation down and distance-wise um you know those are guys that certainly you know with with Hassan and with uh BG I mean we want them rushing as much as we can you know and getting after the quarterback and um you know sometimes the ball comes out really fast in those situations too and and it kind of negates it in general um you know hard for us in the game I think maybe if you look at the game itself um when you're when you're trying to stop the run and and they have a balanced offense from that aspect of it um you're caught in between you know and and caught in between as a play caller of trying to help the guys as much as you can and help the plays that we're seeing as much as you can in those situations and whether it's you know man or zone or fronts or packages or four down five down different looks you know you're trying to give the offense something that causes them issues uh to slow them down a little bit and and certainly in the game that's something I wasn't able to do you know and that's where I've got to just do better I've got to slow them down a little bit so you know as we are trying to um dictate the game on defense as much as we can um you know we got to get in front of a little bit better than what I did uh in the past game a few times theast few weeks um Miss tackles have been described as uncharacteristic but it's it's it's becoming fairly frequent relatively speaking how do you fix it at this point the season when you have a walk through on Wednesdays and and and you're not having the the the same Cadence that might have during training yeah um you know I think it's really good point I think with all fundamentals you know and kind of where where you're at in football you know and I think that's the you know when you watch the season you watch the NFL I think that's probably a great thing to look at through the course of the league is um you know you look at fundamentals you look at all sides all three phases and and teams that are still working on the fundamentals you can definitely tell you know you can see whether it's blocking tackling catching running all that stuff and then um teams that you know aren't able to do that I think you know our thing with the tackling this weekend wasn't up to you know what what we want it to be and and you know I've got to make make sure that we reemphasize and and do a good job for you know me when I schedule and the individual periods and practice and making sure that we're focusing on the fundamentals of tackling because you can still focus on it without um necessarily having to have the physical side of it you know because we are trying to take care of their bodies we're late in the year um two weeks ago against the Giants we tackled extremely well you know in that game um and that's something that I I've got to make sure we keep the focus on each week you know of going and making sure our approach angles are good and that our um hips and ankles and knees are bent in the right direction we're you know leveraging the ball properly and we're not getting um you know out of alignment from that standpoint and our pad level is in the right place and our eyes are in the right place when you tackle and we're wrapping appropriately and driving through and those are certainly things that you can walk through and and I think with the change and this probably goes back to you know we kind of changed practice in the CBA and all the rest of it you know I think some of the stuff that's out there product wise that we have um that we use you know the tackling Donuts things like like that where it's not always body onbody contact but we're still working those fundamentals and you can do them in walk through Paces um those really help and I I've got to make sure that we do that every week y than sir