PHILADELPHIA − It was evident that something wasn’t sitting right with Jason Kelce.
The Eagles center had heard all the heightened expectations for this Eagles’ season, with some pundits suggesting they could go to the Super Bowl.
All of this seemed to clash with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni describing his comfort level heading into his second season, or quarterback Jalen Hurts’ comfort level about being in the same system with the same offense for the second straight year. That was something he hadn’t experienced since playing in high school for his father.
The word “comfort” gnawed at Kelce.
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He was a rookie in 2011 when the Eagles went on a free agent spending spree that became infamously known as “The Dream Team.” It was a disaster. The Eagles had to win their last four games that season just to finish 8-8.
So the expletives started flying when Kelce was asked about Sirianni’s comfort level in his second season, following a campaign in which the Eagles made the playoffs, then added star wide receiver A.J. Brown and revamped the defense. The Eagles added free agents in pass rusher Haason Reddick, linebacker Kyzir White and cornerback James Bradberry before trading for safety Chauncey Garnder-Johnson just last week.
Yes, the Eagles are better. But Kelce didn’t want to hear it. After all, Kelce will play Sunday when the Eagles open the season against the Detroit Lions one month after having elbow surgery, thus stretching his consecutive games started streak to 123. It’s the longest active streak for a center since 2014.
“To be honest, I don’t like comfort,” Kelce said. “I think comfort is a (expletive) terrible place to be if you’re in this league. I know everybody expects us to be Super Bowl champions in Philadelphia right now, and I think that can definitely happen. But it’s not going to happen being comfortable, I can guarantee you that.
“So I hope (Sirianni) is not comfortable. I hope he’s very uncomfortable.”
We all know Kelce’s bona fides as a true Philadelphian. This was evident during his famous speech during the Super Bowl parade in February 2018, when he dressed up in a Mummer’s costume and spent his entire impassioned speech going over how everyone was overlooked and counted out.
But what about Sirianni? He was a first-time NFL head coach last season after spending his previous stops in Indianapolis and with the Chargers in both Los Angeles and San Diego. Both are far from the cauldron Eagles fans create.
Well, we didn’t have to wait long. After overcoming a 2-5 start to make the playoffs last season, Sirianni showed that he’s not ready to rest on those laurels.
That was evident during the first preseason game on Aug. 12, when Sirianni screamed across the field at Jets coach Robert Saleh after one of Saleh’s players was flagged for a late hit on Hurts as Hurts was running out of bounds.
Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett also showed that a few weeks ago when he was asked about Sirianni during their time together in Indianapolis. Sirianni was the offensive coordinator and Brissett was thrust into the starting quarterback job when Andrew Luck suddenly retired two weeks before the start of the 2019 season.
“I remember one time he was trying to fight fans (when) they were booing us,” Brissett said.
How often did this happen? Brissett was then asked.
“Every game,” he responded, although he quickly said he was exaggerating.
But we saw that, too, after a loss to the Chargers last November, when a fan, making fun of Sirianni’s flower-pot analogy a few weeks before, threw flowers onto the field as Sirianni walked into the tunnel.
Sirianni stopped, came back out and started looking for the fan before he was whisked back into the tunnel.
This is the fighting spirit that Eagles fans are known for. It’s why there’s a statue of a fictional boxer next to the steps of the Art Museum.
But let’s go back to Sirianni and the flower pot, which seems the polar opposite of Rocky Balboa (more on him in a bit).
As the Eagles get ready to open their 2022 season in Detroit against the Lions on Sunday, Sirianni was asked about the last time the Eagles played the Lions, last Oct. 31.
At the time, the Eagles were reeling. They had just been humiliated by the Las Vegas Raiders, losing 33-22 and falling to 2-5. Sirianni was in his first season as an NFL head coach and Jonathan Gannon was in his first season as a defensive coordinator.
Both seemed overmatched.
Yet Sirianni showed his players a picture of a flower sprouting roots underneath the ground to indicate that the team was improving even though the results might not be showing.
Sure enough, the Eagles started their 7-3 playoff run with a 44-6 win in Detroit. Earlier this week, Sirianni was asked how that game turned around the Eagles’ season, and perhaps his coaching career.
“We talked about growth under the soil and fertilizing − I’m teasing,” Sirianni said.
More seriously, Sirianni said: ”The culture is how you go about your business every day, and that’s part of the ‘dawg mentality’ thing, too. You go about your business every day forgetting what happened in the past or forgetting what somebody says about you.
“They say we stink; cool, we’re going to work the way we need to work. They say we’re really good; cool, we’re going to work the way we’re going to work. They say we’re average; cool, we’re going to work the way we’re supposed to work.”
That trickles down to Hurts, the quarterback who has faced more questions about his future as the Eagles’ quarterback than pass rushers trying to sack him.
Sure, the Eagles publicly committed to Hurts as their quarterback after he completed just 61.3% of his passes last season. But Hurts knows that’s not good enough, not with Brown added to a receiving corps that includes DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert.
So Hurts worked diligently during the offseason with coaches in California and teammates in Texas, Florida and near Philadelphia. He knew the improvement wasn’t going to happen just by adding Brown.
“I think you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Hurts said. “(The expectations are) just a lot of rat poison, in short. It’s all external factors that we don’t want to (worry about) or be involved with.
“So it all comes back to pushing ourselves every day in practice, doing the little things that we need to do, to maximize the days and win the days. To get better, you have to push yourself. That brings uncomfort.”
This is what Kelce wants to see from his teammates and his head coach. And here, Kelce was getting worked up again, with more expletives flying, almost serving as a warning of what could go wrong, like with the so-called “Dream Team” in 2011.
“I think when expectations are high, you tend to let little things go,” he said. “When the expectation is low, it’s like, we gotta fix everything right (expletive) now. Otherwise, we’re getting fired. Otherwise, people are going to be out on the streets.
“I think we got enough older guys around this building … to understand that expectations are just that – they’re (expletive) nothing. And the moment you’re comfortable in this league, somebody is coming for you.
“We gotta (be like) Mr. T in Rocky III. He’s going to be hunting us every single week. And we haven’t won (expletive) nothing yet, so we’re not even the champion. So we better work our asses off.”
No doubt, Kelce, pities the fool who doesn’t embody that spirit.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
