Philadelphia’s first-year offensive coordinator met with the media on Saturday morning.
The Eagles were back to work on Saturday for their third practice of training camp, and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo spoke to reporters before taking the field. He talked about his new role, how much freedom Jalen Hurts has within the offense, and how things might look differently this season compared to last.
“The energy’s been great. On the field, the guys have been tremendous, and in the classroom, everyone’s been really, really good.
Here’s what the OC had to say:
On Jalen Hurts’ development
“I think Jalen [Hurts] has done a really good job of just understanding everything now.
He’s becoming a really complete player in the pass game, he puts a lot of work into it. The quarterback meetings have been tremendous in terms of just understanding what the defense is doing, and what we’re trying to do, and how to attack ‘em. And, he takes a lot of pride in it.
He really over the years has taken a lot of pride in not turning the ball over and completing balls, and understanding how to stay on schedule and keep us moving in the right direction.”
Patullo was later asked his thoughts on Hurts in the run game, and the OC said it’s all situational. There are going to be times the QB wants the ball in his hands and he’ll let the coaches know.
“And, really, it just comes down to, if he needs to make a play and he knows he wants to, he’s gonna do it. So, whether it’s just dropping back, or scrambling and making a play with his legs, or if he feels like now’s the time that I want to start running the ball, we’ll give him the opportunity.”
As for his risk tolerance in terms of turnovers, Patullo said that now, during camp, is the time for Hurts and the guys to take chances and to feel things out. In games, it’s different, but there are times and situations that require taking a risk, and sometimes it doesn’t.
On the look of the offense
“I think we’re still the Eagles offense, I don’t think that’ll change. It starts with the run game up front, and we just build from there. And, obviously, we like to try new things here and there, and we’ll see how that goes throughout training camp and where it leads us too.”
Patullo later talked about asking guys to get in the huddle and to the line a little faster, explaining that when you can push the tempo as an offense, you put the defense in stress. They want to continue to do that and want to operate a little faster overall.
The OC said that when it comes to terminology and installs, they’ve tried to streamline things to keep it as familiar as possible for the guys who have been with the team. But, he notes, that it’s important at the end of every season to evaluate how things worked, and to also clean things up a bit for the new guys coming in.
On his role as OC
He said not much feels different for him in his new role as OC, but he probably is spending a little more time talking to everybody and popping into all the position group meetings. Patullo later noted that, especially during walkthroughs, it’s important for him to walk around and talk to each group, so that’s when he’s the most intentional about where he’s spending his time.
Patullo confirmed that he’ll be calling plays from the sideline this season. He explained that when he’s so used to being on the sideline on game days, that’s where he feels comfortable.
“I have no problem doing it. I like the interaction with the quarterback, and I’ve kinda been in that mode the last four years here, so I’ve pretty much always done that.”
The OC also talked a bit about how fun it is to call plays, and how he looks forward to practice everyday to see what they can do and what’s going to happen. He admitted it can be a challenge, but it’s a fun challenge, similar to painting a big picture for everybody and giving the identity of what you want to do.
Patullo has been part of the game-planning meetings and the situational planning for the last four years, so being involved in those aspects of the OC role is nothing new for him.
Other notables
- Patullo said OG Tyler Steen has done a really good job stepping up and into different roles for the Eagles the past couple years, and you can feel his presence out on the field more now. He’s grown a lot as a person and as a player, and is starting to get more comfortable with what they’re asking him to do.
- The OC talked about RB A.J. Dillon and said he’s a different kind of player, pointing out how big he is and how good he is at running downhill, but also noting he’s done some good things catching the ball out of the backfield. It gives the Eagles another guy they can work in at different spots.
- When asked about Saquon Barkley’s workload, Patullo said that it’s something he and Barkley have spoken about, but it’s really game-dependent. He also said the RB has a really good sense of when he needs to come off the field and when he feels ready to go back in, so it’s a constant discussion.