Commanders
- ESPN and Pro Football Focus listed Commanders RT Samuel Cosmi as one of their top second-year breakout candidates heading into the 2022 season.
- Cosmi was viewed as a bit of a project but he started nine games at right tackle and allowed only 16 pressures per PFF.
- Former Commanders S Deshazor Everett has pled guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving after a December 2021 car accident that claimed the life of his girlfriend, Olivia Peters. (TMZ Sports)
Eagles
The biggest decision Eagles HC Nick Sirianni made in his first year on the job in 2021 was how he changed the offense. He began the season calling the plays, and to start the season the Eagles were one of the pass-heaviest offenses in football. They were also 2-5. Eventually, Sirianni surrendered play-calling duties to OC Shane Steichen and Philadelphia transformed into one of the NFL’s most efficient rushing offenses, finishing the season 7-3 and locking up a wildcard berth.
“I just didn’t feel like I was doing a good enough job communicating. It wasn’t any particular aha moment or anything like that,” Sirianni said via the Athletic’s Zach Berman. “I trusted Shane. All the work’s done Monday through Saturday to get ready for it, and they knew how I wanted to run plays…”
“I felt like I needed to make a change in the sense of how to free me up to be a better head coach, and I had a good assistant to call the plays, and so that’s what I went with,” Sirianni added.
Steichen will remain the team’s primary play-caller in 2022, allowing Sirianni to focus more on the big picture. There’s a certain level of ego-swallowing on Sirianni’s part to continue the arrangement, as offensive play-callers are often the most praised or vilified members of the coaching staff. But he’ll continue to have a huge hand in how the offense is constructed during the week.
“I’ll be calling the plays, but it is a complete group effort,” Steichen said. “On game day, (Sirianni is) the head coach, and if he wants something called, he’ll tell me and I’ll get it called. … We have a system. We have an opener. We go through the third downs. We go through everything we do, week in and week out, so we’re prepared for the game. So once the game starts, we’re kind of on the same page. Then, in between series, just like every team probably does around the league, you talk through the next series of plays.”
Giants
Giants GM Joe Schoen called himself a “nervous wreck” and hopes that his roster is able to come together without any major injuries ahead of the season.
“As roster attrition sets in, that’s stressful, because there are 90 guys on 32 rosters, there’s only so many players out there at each position that can still function in a camp,” Schoen told Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “It’s always very stressful for me. You’re watching the football, but you also want to make sure you have enough bodies that you can practice, and you want enough competition where guys have to put their best foot forward. It’s a delicate balance between guys getting enough work in and being ready to play and contact and also keeping everybody healthy. We’ve got a really good sports science department, medical department, they’ve been working closely with (Brian) Daboll on the practice schedules. I think we got a good plan in place.”
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