Injury Report: "(S) Nate Allen is out with a neck sprain, and (CB) Ellis Hobbs is out with a hip flexor strain. Nate did not practice. Ellis we gradually brought back in. We didn't take any steps back, which is a good thing, but yet he's still not 100 percent right now. (G) Max (Jean-Gilles) practiced today. He was cleared and did practice. He cleared both from the local doctor and also he cleared the test part of it too. So he practiced and we'll just see how things go. We backed off (C/G) Nick (Cole) a little bit today just to make sure we took care of his knee. But both of them got reps and we'll see what happens on game day there. I feel comfortable with both of them though."
Opening Remarks: "We look forward to the challenge of playing the Washington Redskins, in particular down there. It's a great stadium, a great atmosphere for a football game. On top of that it's Monday Night Football and should just be a heck of a battle between two good NFC East opponents."
On whether he backed off of Cole because the team was practicing on turf:"Yeah, because we were on turf. Both Nick and (T) Jason (Peters) we backed off just a bit; Jason coming off the surgery."
On whether Jean-Gilles will start barring no setbacks: "Well, we'll see. We'll just see how things go. Obviously, Nick's gotten the most reps this week. We're comfortable (with both guys). We know both guys are starting caliber guards. So we'll just see how they feel. We have to see how Max does here after this practice. So this was kind of the next step."
On whether he was surprised how quickly Jean-Gilles recovered from a concussion: "He felt pretty good, a little bit of a headache the day after, and then it cleared up and he really had been feeling good. And it was just a matter of making sure the doctors were okay with it. His symptoms went away quickly, so that's a good thing. All these things are different so you just have to take them as they come."
On whether CB Dimitri Patterson and S Kurt Coleman will start: "Right, yeah."
On whether he feels like he now has a better understanding of how to approach concussions: "Well, I think so. And the trainers also talk around the league and we've talked with the league office and so on. So there's such open communication on that subject right now and I think there's so much learning going on. But the communication part is tremendous right now. So you think you're learning every day and something new comes out."
On whether it is easier or harder to prepare for a team they just played a month ago: "That's part of the deal when you play a NFC East team. Sometimes you're close date wise, the games. So listen, you mix and match there and change some things up, keep some things the same. But I think you come down to doing what you feel you can do best and go out and play the game."
On whether QB Michael Vick has worked hard on taking care of the ball: "Well, you know what he's done well with it, but right when you say that then turnovers start happening. But he's doing a good job with the football in his hands and making smart decisions. Like I said, that's a week-to-week thing. So you have to really stay focused on it. And at the same time you want to be aggressive and be smart with it."
On whether Vick changed anything specific since training camp to improve ball security: "I think it was just a matter of, I mentioned this before, it was just the sustained number of reps he was getting. And I thought that was important, that was kind of the next step from when he came in here last year; give him an opportunity to get in the game and kind of work through the whole management of the game and throw and throw and throw. And he did that. He kind of worked through that phase and came out doing alright with it."
On whether the offense won't reach its peak until one quarterback is in the lineup for a long stretch: "You know, I haven't felt that way. You'd think that would be the case. That's kind of what's unique about this here. That next guy comes in and it's not like we back up, we just keep going. Give him what we need to give him and they roll."
On the allure of Monday Night Football: "Yeah, listen, I think everybody will tell you that it's exciting. We've had some wild ones. That one against the Atlanta Falcons, you know, when (former Eagles and Falcons LB) Ike Reese kind of got everybody mad at us. They're all different. Listen, they're all different. Ike is sitting back there for those people watching. Listen, there's some excitement to it, there sure is. You're the only show that day and the players feel that and the coaches feel it, however, you have to go through the process to get there. Then, you want to exhaust that. I think the guys have done a good job with that this week and then come out and play. You can't let the hype control the game. You have to play the game and play it with great emotion and so on. Don't let it get to the point where it's overboard and disrupts what you're trying to get done there."
On whether he changes the schedule and his approach with the team leading up to the game on Monday: "Well, listen, that's a good question. We've got a little bit of a routine we do and I'm not saying that it's absolutely perfect, but it's what we do. We get them up and moving around and not sleeping all day. They have meetings throughout the day, but enough time to themselves where they can relax and do what they need to do. I try to get the guys up and going so that they're not asleep all day and they come out (sluggish) for the game."
On whether he has to compensate in certain areas due to all the rookies that are playing: "I know defensively – and we probably have a few more rookies playing on defense than on the offensive side – but what (defensive coordinator) Sean (McDermott) did was he went right back to the basics and that's how he started. He didn't start where we left off last year, he went back and made sure that we could rush four defensive linemen, play Cover 2, play Cover 3; just the basic fundamentals of all those coverages. Then he gradually built on that. That wasn't necessarily the case on the offensive side. We didn't have quite as many new faces there. So (offensive coordinator) Marty (Mornhinweg) was able to just keep – make sure we knew what we knew from that time and then build on that."
On whether this defense is special because of how they've been able to digest things so quickly: "Yeah, I know one of the things (general manager) Howie (Roseman) really focused on was bringing in guys that not only were good football players, but were smart kids. In particular, knowing that they might have an opportunity to get in there quickly and I think that's helped. I think, collectively, the personnel; I would give credit to that group. The scouts were going out and doing what they did. Howie kind of set the parameters for them. (Director of Player Personnel) Ryan Grigson and his crew went out and found that type of guy."
On the excitement of having a bulk of the divisional games at the back end of the regular season schedule: "Yeah, you know, I don't think it's bad. I'll tell you when we get to the end of it. They're getting done what the league wants to get done and that's making sure that everything stays exciting to the end. So, that's happened."
