NFC Notes: Shaquille Leonard, Dak Prescott, Joe Schoen, Nick Sirianni, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has been mentioned as a potential MVP candidate and was asked by reporters what it means to him to have his name mentioned in the conversation.

“No, I mean, it means I’m playing well. Simple as that. Not really,” Prescott said, via Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press. “I’m about one goal, and it’s a big team goal, and I know if my name’s in there that means we’re playing well. So, that’s great. But at the end of the day, we’re just trying to build. I mean being eight years into this thing, it’s about building and building and making sure we’re getting better and better each and every week and getting hot right when we need to be.”

“It gives credit to everything around this team, the organization, the coaches, people just handling their business, being prepared,” Prescott continued. “Our process has been amazing throughout this season, just when the game plan comes in, how early it gets in, and the process we go through after that to be ready to call a game. The play caller’s purpose is clear and precise on everything. Just really, the challenge is just staying true to that process, not getting ahead, not getting overwhelmed, understanding that what I say to myself is I haven’t done shit, you know what I mean. Regular-season numbers are great, but getting wins, that’s what’s most important. At the end of the day, we’re trying to stack and keep growing this team to get better each and every week.”

• Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he will have lunch with LB Shaquille Leonard: “He’s been (an) outstanding (player). We want to check his health. That’s what he’s doing right now. … This isn’t a hard scouting job. … We have a pretty attractive situation for any player.” (Jon Machota)

Eagles

Eagles HC Nick Sirianni gave credit to the defense for helping the team bounce back from their slow starts, something he isn’t concerned about as the team hasn’t had issues starting slow in most of their games this season.

“I’m not hitting a panic button by any means,” Sirianni said, via Pro Football Talk. “I think we’ve been pretty good on our first drive, pretty good starting in general, obviously the last two games, but I get it, you’re judged off the last two games, not the whole body of work sometimes. So, we’ll make sure we’re working hard as coaches to put the guys in positions to succeed. So not just scripting. I think a lot of times what happens, is because you asked scripting, so that’s going to mean play calls and all that stuff. It’s the design of plays, too, right? And so, when a play doesn’t work, we put it on ourselves as coaches. It’s not just about the play call, it’s about the design of the play and the detail of which we go about teaching it and instructing it. So, any time I take something like, ‘Hey, that’s us as coaches’, I’m not speaking of play calls. Sometimes it’s the play call, but sometimes it’s the design of the play that goes into that. So, we look at all that and we’ll be better.”

• Eagles RT Lane Johnson said he will be ready to play on Sunday against the 49ers and is feeling good after he popped some scar tissue in his groin from last year’s injury which caused him to miss the game against the Bills. (Olivia Reiner)
• Eagles OC Brian Johnson said their team is showing strong composure in high-pressure situations like in Week 12’s win over the Bills: “I know watching the game, even talking to my mom after the game, ‘you’re going to give me a heart attack after these wild crazy finishes.’ But when you see the guys on the sideline, there’s no panic, there’s no stress, there’s only action,” via Zach Berman. 
• According to Aaron Wilson, the Eagles worked out TE Griffin Hebert, LB Terrell Lewis, and G Jason Poe. 

Giants

Giants GM Joe Schoen told reporters that he still believes both the team and HC Brian Daboll are on the right path despite possessing a losing record and starting undrafted QB Tommy DeVito following the loss of QB Daniel Jones, with ownership keeping a watchful eye on his vision of success.

“Yeah, absolutely. They’re on board with it,” Schoen said, via Ralph Vacchiano. “As much as it hurts to go through this, there are a lot of young players that are getting valuable experience. Another offseason, another draft, we will continue to build it. The communication is very helpful. The fact that John Mara is here on a daily basis, we can explain the ‘why’ — why we’re doing things, how we’re going to do them. They’re in the loop and they’re on board.”

“It takes time, takes a couple of offseasons, it takes a few drafts to build it the right way,” Schoen added. “Trust me, it hurts when you lose and you’re 4-8. It’s not fun. But you don’t want to lose sight of the big picture and the proper way to build a roster. We knew this wasn’t going to happen overnight. We are starting an undrafted free agent (at quarterback) the last two games and we’ve won two games. It’s not easy to keep everybody together (or) to go up in front of that team when things aren’t going well or there’s injuries, or you trade a veteran player who is a leader in the locker room. That’s not easy. It’s not easy to do.”