Nick Sirianni wasn’t kidding when he said everything would be a competition shortly after being hired as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Early on during their OTAs, the Eagles have been competing almost all the time on and off the field. The best part about it is everyone is in on the action, the players love it, and Nick Sirianni is beginning to build an exciting culture for Philadelphia.

When Nick Sirianni was first hired, he was battling draft prospects in rock-paper-scissors to see how big their competitive drive is. That drew some concerned looks from fans, but it seems he has won over the locker room quickly with these games. Yesterday he arrived late to a press conference after losing to Greg Ward Jr. in a three-point shootout and was not happy in the slightest. 

Alongside basketball, they have had ping-pong games before meetings where Dallas Goedert supposedly dominated new linebacker, Eric Wilson. Even though he was terrible on the field last season, kicker Jake Elliott is said to win at everything.

These competitions aren’t just off-field things, though. DeVonta Smith and Travis Fulgham battled it out in front of the whole team in what is called “the green ball machine,” where the receivers throw and catch their passes. On the other side of the football, the defensive backs were having races and backpedaling drill competitions amongst one another.

Nick Sirianni has a method to his madness, though. He isn’t just some competition maniac. When he was asked about the reasoning, he said this.

“When you practicing competing, you’re gonna get better and better and better at it.”

Having these games to keep the energy alive and break the ice with your new roster is a perfect way to get things going in 2021. For so many years, the Eagles locker room has been divided over one issue or another, and we rarely saw them partaking in events as a team. Also, getting energy and morale up through things like these also often leads to better practices. The events are working for Philadelphia, which has had near full attendance at all of their voluntary OTAs this offseason.

Mandatory Credit: The Athletic