Injury Report: "(DE) Victor (Abiamiri) and (WR) Kevin (Curtis) will not play in this game. They are out. (G) Shawn Andrews is doubtful. He's out with back spasms and not recovering it as fast as we would hope. We'll just see how he is here in the next couple of days. (C) Jamaal Jackson did not practice today. He was out for personal reasons. He will play in the game. We have been in touch with him and so on, and (offensive line coach) Juan (Castillo) spent some time with him via phone here and so on. He will be available for the game."
Opening Remarks: "Again, we look forward to this opportunity to playing the Steelers on Sunday. We completely understand the quality of their football team, and again, they possess a very potent offense that can both throw the football and run the football. Their defense is fast and quick, and they have one of the best defensive coordinators in the National Football League, Dick LeBeau, who has being doing it for years and really has a nice feel for it. And special teams, likewise. So we do welcome them in here. As I mentioned before, I know it will be a great atmosphere for a football game. I know our fans are going to be primed and ready to go, and this football team will be, too."
On G Max Jean-Gilles' rotation since preseason: "We rotate Max in there with the starters every week, so he gets plenty of reps in there in case something we're to come up with either guard. We feel very comfortable that he will step in and do a good job for us."
On WR Reggie Brown's return: "I think it's a positive. Reggie looks like he's feeling pretty good. We'll give him some reps in there. We'll just see how he does. He made it through practice fine the last few days, so we'll give him an opportunity to play."
On whether Brown will start: "We're doing everything off of personnel groups right now, so I can't tell you that. There's a chance that he does. There's a chance he doesn't, depending on what we have done."
On whether WR DeSean Jackson has been learning all three wide out positions: "DeSean has moved all over. Reggie has moved all over. The one nice thing about this crew is that we have a bunch of smart guys that know all the different positions. (WR) Greg Lewis has always been the guy that can do that the best of everybody, and he's still very good at that. He's been a good example to the other guys, not to just learn their spot but to learn the spots around them. If you look at our film, you see guys playing all over the place with this crew, and I think that's a positive."
On whether he will try and work S Quintin Demps in some more at safety this week: "He worked in a little bit more this week. (Defensive coordinator) Jim (Johnson) is just gradually bringing him along. He's a willing kid, and he's learning. Every week that he's been here he's gotten a few more reps, and we'll just keep that up."
On what he thinks enables Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger to be so efficient in their offense: "I think it starts up front with the lack of pressure that they've allowed. Then two, Ben's a big strong guy, and he's also very mobile, you don't perceive him as being as mobile as what he is, but he moves around very well and throws off the run very well, so when there is pressure he is able to shake it off and still get the ball off accurately. Their whole wide receiver crew is very solid and strong, so he's utilized them very well. Then, the last thing would be that they can run the football, so they are able to keep people off balance."
* On whether he would expect the Steelers to have the same run/pass ratio that they showed in the first two games:*
"I don't know that. I would say this though, you better be ready and you better be solid against both of them when you play the Steelers because they can use either one and use them very well."
On how big of a game this is for the Eagles: "You're going to ask me the same thing next week and the week after. They're all big, and this one is the biggest game this week and that's how we're handling it. We've spent a lot of time getting ready for the Steelers which is much needed because they are a good football team. The guys are focused in. They've had a good week of practice, and right now, this is the team and the game that we are concentrating on."
On what he thinks the veteran players that were here last year took away from the ups and downs of last season: "If you're going to be a good football team in the National Football League, you have to be consistent. That's the name of the game over the 16-game season. That starts with preparation and how you approach each week and how tough you are mentally and so on, so that's a challenge for you. There is no easy opponent in this league, and you have to be one tough son-of-a-gun to prepare yourself every week to get it right, so that's what this group is doing."
On whether he expects TE L.J. Smith to be more involved this week: "We dialed up a few L.J. plays (last week). I thought we had a nice package for him in there. It happened that the majority of those plays when we dialed them up, they had the right coverage called for it. There was no lack of effort by L.J. or anything else. We just had to go to the second read there, so that's how these things work. He's still going to get a number of calls for him, and we'll just see how the numbers work out."
On whether he is concerned about the offensive line with G Shawn Andrews out of practice all week and C Jamaal Jackson out of practice the past couple of days: "I'm not worried about Jamaal being there even though he missed a few reps here. It's a similar enough defense that he won't be completely lost. He and (offensive line coach) Juan (Castillo) have spent some time together like I said via the phone. Shawn is a little bit more of a concern because of the physical nature of it. We just don't know whether he's going to be able to go or not go, and right now, he's hurting so we just have to get that answered and then we'll go from there. Again, I think that at both of those positions we have legitimate backup players that can play and that we have a lot of confidence in. Right now, the one I'm more concerned about not playing would be Shawn just to the injury part."
