Opening Remarks: "The guys who won't play this week are (DE) Victor (Abiamiri), (G/C) Nick Cole, (CB) David Pender, (G) Todd Herremans, and (C) Jamaal Jackson. (CB) Asante (Samuel) is questionable, we'll just see how he feels here in the next little bit. Rotation is (QB) Kevin (Kolb) will take the first half, (QB) Michael (Vick) will take the third quarter, and (QB) Mike Kafka will take the fourth quarter. And that's really how the ones, twos and threes will play, according to that rotation. I'd like to just, first of all, thank the people of Lehigh. They've been phenomenal. The crew up here that takes care of us is second to none. They take care of you guys, too. It's just a good bunch, that take a lot of pride in what they're doing. We're always very grateful for how they treat us. They spoil us up here, and we appreciate that."
On how players handled the physicality of this training camp: "I think that built a foundation. In particular, a young group, and I think they need to be introduced to what the National Football League is all about. It's faster, there's more pressure put on you mentally and physically than what you had at the college level, and there's no better place to figure all that out than right here. I'd rather have them figure it out here then when they get in the games they're not worried about their conditioning or the plays that they've already studied, that they can go in and play football. It works into our favor when (GM) Howie (Roseman) and I have to sit down and have to make an evaluation on the players. We have a good base from practice and from the games. We can make smart decisions here."
On how the Eagles 13-man draft class did during training camp: "I told the team. I've been impressed with the energy and the work level and the effort that's been put in. How they've handled themselves up here. And then the young guys have been very impressive, the draft picks, and how they've picked things up. Now, I give credit to the coaches and I give credit to the players that have been here that open up themselves to the young guys, even though it's competition there, they're not afraid to help them out. It's a smart group that picked things up quickly."
On whether he asked more of the rookies this training camp because of their importance to the team: "I think overall we did. We had fairly large installs and we had a demanding camp physically, so all in all, it was very demanding on the young guys, yeah."
On whether he has seen this group of players hit a wall yet: "They kind of battled through things. It's that energy, right there. They're an energetic bunch and somehow, somewhere, somebody gets them going, and they've pushed through this thing. Like I said, I've tried to challenge them the best I can from a physical and mental standpoint here and they've stepped up to that challenge."
On whether being at Lehigh for longer than normal was a good thing: "Yeah, we were here about 200 plays longer than we were last year. Now you take into consideration, we had good weather, we only had one day where we had to go inside, so we were able to get a little bit more accomplished that way. That's a good thing with a young team, and I'm glad we came back after the last game for the last three, four days here to get this work in."
On whether RB Mike Bell will play Friday: "He practiced today and then we'll see how he and (CB) Asante (Samuel) kind of do as we go here."
On whether he considers training camp a success: "I think the success is measured at the end of the season. So, I've been happy with the way the guys have performed here and how they've done. But, the games are what you're measured on and this is preparation for those games. I think the guys have handled themselves well through this period right here. But, I think if you're going to measure success, we'll do that later."
On whether DE Victor Abiamiri is progressing with his injury:"Well, you see him out here working his tail off. So, he is making progress. It's a fairly significant injury, so we have to give him time to let the thing heal and strengthen and that's what we're doing now."
On whether C Jamaal Jackson is progressing with his injury: "Jamaal's making progress. We're just going to take it (slow). He's not going to play next week, and then we'll just see how he goes here. But, we're taking it nice and slow with him. (Head Athletic Trainer) Rick (Burkholder) has the swelling out of there and Jamaal has been very diligent with rehab after practice. His knee feels good right now, so that's the way we want to keep it."
On whether he knows more about the team now than he did in late July: "Well, you think that they are going to push through what you give them, but you're really not sure. I think to a man, they did that. I think they're aggressive. I think they like to be around each other. I think there is great energy here and it's been a consistent energy day in and day out. So, those are things that I wasn't sure. I've seen steady improvement as we've gone on, day-by-day the guys have gotten better. If they make a mistake, normally they correct it, and come back and do the right thing. So, that's a plus."
On whether he has been impressed with undrafted rookie T Austin Howard: "Austin has done a nice job. Some of our undrafted guys have done a nice job for us, Austin being one of them. I'm not going to go through the list, but I've been happy with the college free agents that have come in here and how they've approached this thing."
On why he thinks Howard didn't get drafted: "I think he was banged up a little bit last year and he didn't perform the way he wanted to perform. I think that probably hurt him in the draft. He's healthy now, and I think as a group the rookies rallied around each other and pushed themselves through this tough camp. A lot of times you'll see the rookies get about half way through and they're starting to miss practice. These guys, they pushed through, and Austin, I think is one of the leaders of that group."
On Kolb's first training camp as the starter and what he has accomplished: "I think he showed that he's very capable of doing this thing. It's way more stress than he's ever had on his arm or asked to do from a throwing standpoint. I thought he did a very good job with that. His command and the intangible part of it he maintained what we thought he would do and what he did last year."
On why he likes to have a physical training camp: "I think the game is about blocking and tackling, so we practiced those things. It's about that simple. I think it's just one of the major parts of the game."
On why he thinks the rookie class handled camp so well: "I think there are a couple things. First of all, the absolute number of draft picks and then the college free agents that are here, we've got an abundance of youth. But ahead of them, those are also young guys that haven't been around the team very much. There's a certain energy, youthful energy that's been projected there. You can feel it every day and that's encouraging."
On cursing during practice: "I respect the heck out of Tony Dungy and I respect (New York Jets head coach) Rex Ryan, too. Everybody does it a little different and that's how it works. That's not necessarily our style. He does it his way. That's how it rolls."
On whether his coaches are allowed to curse: "(Jokingly) Only at you guys."
On areas of progress: "I think, to a player, and to the coaches that have spoken to you, offensively we can do a better job in the red zone. Defensively we're always looking for turnovers. And then special teams, the return units we have to do a better job there; all for the first game. Really, in general, through the preseason, you want to see the mistakes be limited, in particular, the closer you get to the season."
