How Nick Sirianni Picking Matt Patricia’s Brain Before Facing Bill Belichick

Longtime New England Patriots assistant Matt Patricia will be on the opposite headset when the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Gillette Stadium for their season opener Sunday afternoon. And while a star player or coach competing against their former team is nothing new in the National Football League, as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick expressed this week, it's worth wondering how much of an impact Patricia will have given his institutional knowledge.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni confirmed he has been picking Patricia's brain on Belichick's philopsophoites and New England's scheme. Patricia was hired as Philadelphia's senior defensive assistant this offseason. But it doesn't sound like Sirianni's research of the Hall of Fame-bound Belichick started solely with Week 1 in mind.

"You try to turn over every stone that you possibly can looking for answers and different things," Sirianni told reporters Tuesday, per the team. "Like I said, anybody that's been around coach Belichick, I'm just always asking questions whether it's scheme, or whether it's coaching philosophies. I've just always been fascinated by him and his coaching tree.

"So, of course you're going to look for every advantage you can get, and that's what were doing this week."

Sirianni also cited the role current New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, another former Patriots assistant, has had on his career. Daboll helped Sirianni learn more about Belichick, too. The third-year Eagles coach, who reached the Super Bowl in his second season at the helm, said he is "fascinated" by Belichick's consistency.

"So, what you ask questions about are the daily operations, the process, all those different things," Sirianni said. "Every time you watch his defense play, you see the fundamentals on display, you see the situational football intelligence on display. And I guess a lot of those things have inspired me to say 'Hey, what's important to winning football games?' Well, football IQ and fundamentals.

"But it's just the daily process of questions, 'Hey, what would Bill do in this situation right here?' Those are constant conversations and I feel like I just have a good tap into him from guys he's been around for a long time, and I'm honored I'm able to do that."

Belichick and company will have the difficult task of limiting the star-studded Philadelphia offense. With institutional knowledge on the opposing sideline, it might be even more difficult.

The Eagles are a 4-point road favorite entering the Week 1 clash against the Patriots.