Injury Report: "(LB) Stewart Bradley made it through the game. He really is no worse there. (T) Jon Runyan, his knee is a little bit sore with the knee sprain. (DE) Victor Abiamiri with the foot sprain, the Lisfranc. He'll struggle to be back this week as will (G) Shawn Andrews. Really, everybody else made it through fine, and really, Jon and Stewart made it through the game fine."
Opening Remarks:"I was proud of the team and the way they bounced back from last week's game in Washington. That's not an easy thing to do, especially if you allow your mind to go different places with all the different games going on. They took care of business and had themselves ready to play a strong Dallas Cowboys football team. I've said this before, sometimes things snowball on you in the National Football League and that's what happened with Dallas. They're not as bad as what that score shows, obviously. It was an electric day at Lincoln Financial Field. I just thought the energy level was up at maybe the second-highest volume that I have seen since I've been here. It was an exciting, exciting atmosphere. I thought the fans were awesome. I thought the situation with the other teams having to win or lose, whatever side you are looking at, to play out to give us an opportunity to play that game for the playoffs, I just thought added to the flavor of it all.
"I thought the coaches put together a great plan, in particular the coordinators, (offensive coordinator) Marty (Mornhinweg), (defensive coordinator) Jim (Johnson) and (special teams coordinator) Rory (Segrest) calling the game. There was great communication amongst coaches during the game and I thought that showed. Then the players with the level that they played at, I thought they played very aggressive football there. I think the obvious was that our defense was very tough yesterday and it really starts up front there. (DE) Chris Clemons had a career day. I thought he was all over the field making plays. I thought the turnovers were huge, five takeaways was crucial.
"I could go through and point out different guys, but overall I thought it was just a great defensive performance of playing as a complete defense. Then, offensively I thought we were efficient. Again, the offensive line, I think, has done a nice job most of the year of protecting (QB) Donovan (McNabb) and getting the run game going and playing physical football and it looked like they did that yesterday. Then, I thought Donovan managed the game very well, made some nice throws when given the opportunity. Then, (RB Correll) Buck(halter) had a nice day, over 100 yards of total offense. Then, to go through a game without the penalties and I guess we had one sack (allowed) there, but the penalties and the limited sacks against a good football team in an emotional game, I think is something to be said for the players there.
"Special teams, I thought the coverage units were solid. Then, (K) David continued to kick the ball well. He had the one miss down at the other end, but he drove the ball into the end zone, made them drive long fields, and had the field goals. All in all, I thought all three phases played well. I think it's important now, we had the players in today, so I think it's important that we put this aside. There are plenty of things that we can learn from it, and if we do that and move on, we're going to play a pretty good Minnesota Vikings team in Minneapolis on Sunday and it's important that we prepare ourselves right. We'll start Wednesday with that. The players will have tomorrow off and then come back here Wednesday ready to go for a normal week."
On why this team can look so bad and so good at times even a week apart: "Those things happen in this league. I thought last week, I thought our defense picked it up and our offense struggled a little bit. I thought we did a better job all the way around offensively. We missed some opportunities; we dropped the football, which we hadn't done much of the week before. Normally we don't do that."
On whether he would like to take this opportunity to say "nah-nah nuh-nah-nah": "Not at all. Listen, that's not how I operate. You know what, I know it's crazy but we're all in this thing together trying to make a living at doing what we are doing and I know it's not an easy job day in and day out. We're blessed to be here in Philadelphia with a great fan base that is knowledgeable about the game. I mentioned to somebody that in a lot of cities it's game to game. In Philadelphia it's play to play and you have to love that. You have to love that part of it as a coach and a player and from your standpoint. From play to play, and you're criticized for the bad and praised for the good. It's a great atmosphere for football."
On both Vikings head coach Brad Childress and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh making the playoffs and what that says about the system that he has here:"I'm proud of those two and the job that they have done. They have taken the system and the general philosophy of the system and incorporated it into their new places. The system has been tested over time not only here but other places. Everybody puts their own little wrinkle to it, but they've done a nice job of managing things it looks like, and both of them having very good ball clubs."
On how his relationship with Childress has evolved over the years since he left the Eagles and whether he feels that he and Childress are at the same level now: "We've always been that way. You go back and look at when we started off coaching together, he was a coordinator and I was a line coach, so I don't ever look at the hierarchy of things. I don't put people in those categories, so that part has never changed. He's a good football coach. He's a good friend. He's done a nice job."
On his weekly phone calls with Childress:"Well, you know what? We talked last night, so there probably won't be a lot of communication this week but that's alright."
On what he and Childress said to each other seven days before they meet in the playoffs: "Nice job. It's kind of one-sided. You congratulate each other and then don't say anything after that."
On how the Eagles have been inconsistent on the road this year and what the key to being successful on the road is:"We obviously have to do better. We've always done well on the road here and this year it has been a little bit up and down. It's important that we focus in during the week and make sure that we eliminate any distractions, which there can be sometimes during playoff time with people wanting to go up to Minnesota and get tickets and all that kind of stuff. You have to just put all of that aside along with the media and so on and just focus in on the game. And the better you do that, the fewer problems you'll have once it comes game time."
On Texans RB Ryan Moats having a touchdown and a forced fumble yesterday against Chicago: "Ryan was one of my favorite guys. He's a great kid and he was even greater yesterday. He did a heck of a job."
On whether the outcome of the Ravens game affected the team:"I think everybody stepped their game up starting with the coaches, players, head coach. Everybody stepped their game up and we've done a little bit better now. We had a little blip in the screen at Washington, which could have been a big blip. But I think they refocused, and I'm saying everybody, everybody refocused and got themselves back on track yesterday."
On how TE L.J. Smith is doing: "L.J. is getting better but he's not there yet. (It's a) shoulder (injury)."
On whether there is a chance that Andrews might play later on in the playoffs if the Eagles keep winning: "You don't know that. You want to make sure. We need a lineman; he's a pretty good one. So, if he gets clearance to play and feels like he can, I want to keep that door open."
On whether Andrews is improving:"He is improving actually. He, in the last couple weeks, has been phenomenal. He has to get clearance from his doctor in Los Angeles."
On whether he would be comfortable putting Andrews in the game after not practicing since September: "We'd have to see obviously what happens with him. See how he does in practice and so on. We'll see."
On whether he and Childress ever discuss how to deal with the criticism from the media and fans: "We don't waste our time with that. No. We really haven't talked about that. To be honest with you I don't read much. If anything, (director of football media services) Derek (Boyko) kind of keeps me abreast with a few things. Listen, you all have your job to do and you're going to do it no matter how you think I feel or Brad feels or anybody else, but I don't get into that."
On Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier: "He's a great football coach but probably an even better person. (He's a) great individual and a great family man. He has a very strong work ethic. When he was here he was very quiet but he wanted to know everything. And the players, and this wasn't just because he was a good corner in the National Football League, but you could see that the players respected him for what he was as a person and coach. He deserves a head coaching shot and if he got one, an owner is going to get a very solid, solid person and good football coach."
On whether Eagles general manager Tom Heckert is being considering for the Detroit Lions general manager position:"I haven't heard anything on that. Tom and I haven't talked about it, but I surely would talk to him first before I talked to anybody if it came up. I haven't really thought about it all."
On how CB Joselio Hanson, DE Chris Clemons, LB Akeem Jordan and DE Darren Howard have evolved into key role players this season: "They have and you can add (SS) Quintin Demps into the mix. He's come on the last few weeks and we have been able to put him in certain packages on the defensive side. That happens during the season, especially with the young players. Now, in Darren's case, he was older and he's a unique character because a lot of guys with his ability and so on would complain about being a role player.
"But that's been the one unique thing about this team, you have guys like that who have been starters that aren't afraid to do their job, have their role set for them, and then do their job to the best of their ability, and Darren is the epitome of that. He came back in phenomenal shape, lost some weight. He can play on the outside, can play on the inside. He's a huge part of our nickel package. Is he playing as much as he wants? I don't know. Probably not because he's a competitive guy. But he never says a word and he rallies people around him.
"It's great to watch. The other guys, Clemons, we were just kind of getting to know Clemons. We found a spot for him in that joker position and he came in there, and again, he's never flinched, he's never said a negative word when he wasn't playing. He just kept trying harder, trying to learn more about the defense and got himself a nice little spot there where Jim has a lot of trust in him, and he's come out very strong. The other guys are young guys and they'll just continue to get better."
On how he tries to choose players with good character and whether this process is a guessing game until the players are actually here in the facility: "It is, yeah. You don't know. You try to build a team a certain way. You are together for so long that you try to make sure that the pieces fit and that you aren't arguing all the time with each other and having fights and all that stuff that goes on. And at the same time that they can play well together on the field."
On what he thinks makes Childress a good coach:"I think his overall knowledge of the game. He's a smart guy, so his overall knowledge of the game. He's studied both sides of the football. He's studied special teams. He's coached special teams. He had a good way with people. He's firm but also understanding. He'll demand from the players. Good leadership qualities."
On how both the Ravens and the Vikings run the ball a lot and whether that is a philosophy that Childress and Harbaugh didn't share with him:"(Jokingly) Or I didn't share with them? You know what, that's what they have chosen to do. That's their little wrinkle to the thing. They have done it more than probably anybody in this system and done it very well. Brad has one of the best, if not the best running back in the National Football League right now, maybe the MVP of the National Football League. He's given him the ball a lot and I understand that. He's a heck of a player. Then, John has a young quarterback that he has given a little bit more to each week, and he has running backs that he feels comfortable giving the ball to and they are productive."
On how important it is to him to have players with character on his team after seeing the implosion on the Dallas sideline last night: "I'm not going to comment on what they went through on their sideline. But obviously, this season there have been chances where guys could have taken a negative approach to things and started getting after each other or after coaches and so on and that hasn't happened. And I think that is directly related to the guys that we do have in the locker room. To answer your question, I think it's very important that you bring in guys that are good people. You're going to have highs and lows during every game and if you go too far into the lows, then you get explosions on the sideline and you just have to work through those and know that in your mind that good things are going to happen if you keep working hard."
On how animated he was on the sideline yesterday and how much fun it was for him:"(Jokingly) My arms are a little sore. It was a great atmosphere for a football game. Everybody was into it. It was nice. Someone told me that there was a 17% chance of us being in the position that we are in today and that's not very good odds. It just all came together and that doesn't happen very often. It was a great experience."
