Eagles notebook: Dealing with heat in Tampa, Hurts getting out of character

Eagles notebook: Dealing with heat in Tampa, Hurts getting out of character originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It's going to be hot in Tampa on Sunday. Really hot.

The Eagles know that because they were in Tampa to play the Buccaneers in Week 4 last year too and the heat had a definite impact on that game.

So this year, the Eagles are trying something new. They're flying to Tampa on Friday instead of Saturday.

Everything we do is to try (and make sure that) our process is right to give ourselves the best chance to win," head coach Nick Sirianni said. If your process is off, then you don't have as much of a chance. That was part of our process when we studied some things in the offseason with the heat and everything like that. Get out there a day earlier to acclimate, one less day off the plane before you play a game. So, those are a couple things to name a few."

The forecasted temperature on Sunday in Tampa is 91 degrees with a real-feel temp of 99. So anything the Eagles can do to help is warranted.

Several players said this week that they will spend some extra time in the sauna, getting in the steam and in the hot tub. Cam Jurgens explained it's not about acclimating to the heat but more about getting used to sweating and sweating more efficiently as your body works to cool you.

Jordan Davis stressed the importance of hydrating and eating right all week. And he said all those long drives in training camp will help this week as they have to deal with the heat in Tampa.

As far as heading down early, not everyone is a believer that it will help. DC Vic Fangio was asked if the early flight will help and he said, I don't know."

It is too late to do anything right now for it as far as prepping for it," Fangio said. You don't practice in heat one day and say you're acclimated or take a pill and say you're acclimated. The key will be, I mean, it's a mindset, No. 1. No. 2, we need to not let them have 8, 10, 12 play drives on us."

The Eagles lost to the Bucs 33-16 in Week 4 last year before rattling off 10 straight wins coming back from the bye. There's no question that the heat hurt them a year ago.

Just gotta go out there and play," Jalen Hurts said. Gotta go out there and play. I don't want to make it more than what it is."

Getting out of character

During the Eagles' 33-26 win over the Rams on Sunday, the FOX broadcast caught a few glimpses of the Eagles sideline and an animated Jalen Hurts. That was notable because Hurts is usually stone-faced on the sideline as he gets ready for the next offensive series.

After the game, Hurts talked about getting out of character" in reference to those sideline interactions.

On Wednesday, I followed up with Hurts about that comment and about how he knows when the situation dictates something different from him.

It takes discernment," he said. I think it takes discernment, for one. I think secondly, I've come up here every preseason and told you guys that every year is going to demand a different version of myself. I'm mindful of all of those different things.

It's just a matter of feeling that and hopefully with the preparation and the thought that you put in before you walk into a situation, you like to think you're thinking right. You can experience things and you can learn from them. That was a moment, that was a moment for all of us, not just myself where we're trying to get things going and there's an eagerness for that."

Hurts is a fascinating guy.

Credit to Kevin Patullo

After an awful first half offensively against the Rams, the Eagles' passing game did a 180 in the second half to pull off a come-from-behind win.

Why did things turn around in the second half?

We had to," Hurts said on Wednesday.

Fair enough. The Eagles were down 19 points early in the third quarter and they needed to throw the ball to get back into the game. While Hurts has gotten a ton of credit for the turnaround, he was sure to give credit to offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

We put ourselves in a position and we approached the game in a different way and you have games like that," Hurts said. I think as a unit, we found a way to get it going. And I give a lot of credit to KP (Kevin Patullo) in that. Give a lot of credit to KP in that. Being able to adjust and see and get us in the direction that we need to be."

It seemed notable that Hurts gave that credit to Patullo, who has been on the receiving end of a ton of criticism from the fanbase after the Eagles' 3-0 start because the offense hasn't been firing on all cylinders. Perhaps this was a rabbit-eared Hurts wanting to make a statement of support for the first-year OC.

Dealing with dirty kicks

Both Tank Bigbsy and John Metchie had no luck fielding the knuckleball kickoffs from Rams kicker Joshua Karty in Week 3.

The bad news is that other teams are going to see that on tape.

The good news is that Karty's ability to hit those kicks isn't easily duplicated.

Yesterday, Braden (Mann) and Jake (Elliott), all of us, we were just watching film and we had a zoomed in look at what he was doing and it's one of those things like how do you replicate that?" special teams coordinator Michael Clay said. Because just like anything else in the NFL, until you prove you could stop it, you're going to see it again. From a coaching standpoint, you always look after the fact is 20/20, how do I keep getting these guys better in terms of dealing with those type of knuckle balls? It is just one of those things where you think you could prepare for as much as they possibly can.

Then when it comes into real life, you're still in awe of it. That ball moved four times before it hit the ground. But for us after, okay, the ball hits the ground, let's get north and south, let's put the pressure on them. Can we run forward? Can we break a tackle and get some positive yards instead of running east and west? Just some growth from there."

Clay emphasized the importance of his returners getting square in front of the bouncing football just like a shortstop in baseball. He stopped short of saying he'll have his guys watch infielders.

But Clay was a big fan of manager and former MLB player Ron Washington, who he called a heck of a fielding coach. Clay might have to be a bit of a fielding coach going forward.

At least if it does take a big hop, it hits your shoulders and it's going to fall straight down," Clay said. I can now pick it up instead of when it's to the side. If it does take a skid right there now we're really in a danger zone. So just trying to keep them as square as possible and keep their feet hot where they're able to field the bouncing ball."

No more penalties

Even after the Eagles' miraculous win over the Rams on Sunday, it was on Nick Sirianni's mind. The Eagles have to be more disciplined.

Through three weeks, they have already been flagged for taunting twice and have one ejection under their belt. You might think the taunting emphasis from the NFL is silly, but it's real. And the Eagles have to do a better job of avoiding those penalties.

Sirianni said despite the new emphasis, he does have a good understanding of what will be called and what won't be called.

Anytime that you have a referee crew, you kind of know the penalties that they call, and you emphasize that every day," he said. You guys know we have a team meeting, and one of the first things we talk about is that crew's emphasis, just teaching them the rules within that, whether it's roughing the passer or pass interference or illegal shift, whatever it may be. So, this week we went and we will continue to do this until we fix the problem. We did the taunts. I'm not saying that this crew has a high taunt penalty rate, but we are lacking in that area right now. That's one of the ways we're working to fix it is just to understand that they're calling it tighter.

The NFL can do whatever they want to do there. It's our job to play by the rules of how they're calling it. Year-in, year-out there's emphasis that the NFL puts on a certain rule. They go through their studies just like we go through our studies. Hey, we've got to get better at this, or we've got to officiate this better.' I love that. I love that they go through that process, and this is no different. It's just a different type of penalty that we're seeing and it's getting called more. So, it's our job to play within those rules, keep our composure and play within the rules of the game."

All they do is win

The Eagles (3-0) and the Buccaneers (3-0) are two of just six remaining undefeated teams in the NFL this season. So there will be a maximum of five entering Week 5.

Dating back to last season, the Eagles have won nine games. This is the second-longest winning streak in franchise history, trailing their 10-game winning streak during last season. The loss separating these two streaks was in Washington when Jalen Hurts got injured and the Eagles lost 36-33 on a Jayden Daniels touchdown pass with six seconds left.

The last loss before that? Week 4 in Tampa. The exact same game on the schedule this weekend.