Injury Report: "The guys that will not practice today will be (DE) Victor Abiamiri, (WR) Kevin Curtis, and (LB) Chris Gocong. Chris has a quad contusion and a hamstring strain. He is making progress. (DE) Chris Clemons, he is going to be out there but I don't know how much we're going to get out of him. He has an AC sprain so we'll see. He went through the walkthrough and all of that. We'll see how he does this afternoon."
Opening Remarks: "I look forward to the challenge of playing the Dallas Cowboys. We understand what kind of football team they are. They are a very good football team. They are playing very good football right now. They're on a three game win streak and playing at a very high level. Our guys are going to prepare for a heck of a football team coming here Sunday night. I know the crowd is going to be out of their minds. They'll be the twelfth man involved here and we look forward to that. On our end, we have to make sure as coaches and players that we prepare ourselves for a knockdown, drag out fight.
On RB Brian Westbrook's status: "Brian will practice today."
On whether Westbrook will fully participate in practice: "He'll practice."
On whether Westbrook has had any headaches since he exercised Saturday: "He feels good."
On whether Westbrook still needs to be cleared to play: "No, he's good to go."
On whether Westbrook needs to undergo any more tests: "No, he's done unless there is a setback here, but right now he's fine."
On how the rotation between RB LeSean McCoy and Westbrook will work: "We were rotating them before. We'll continue to rotate guys in and we'll just see how that works throughout the week here."
On his comment that McCoy's success has been partially the result of Westbrook advising McCoy: "I mentioned both Brian and (RBs coach) Ted Williams. Both of them have done a phenomenal job with him. Veteran players want to keep their jobs, especially when they get a little older, and some of them can be very sensitive about that. Brian has enough confidence in himself and knows that LeSean is willing to work and willing to listen and be coachable so Brian shares with him some of his experiences and helps him out. That, from a coaching standpoint, that's invaluable."
On what Westbrook was doing well at prior to his concussion: "Even the carries that he had at Washington, I thought you were seeing the speed, the burst, the timing, his vision looked like it was sharp. His blocking, when asked to do, was good."
On whether he has seen much change in Cowboys QB Tony Romo these last three games: "Honestly I thought he was having a heck of a year even when people were down on him a bit, I thought he was playing well. He had a couple of interceptions, but that happens to all quarterbacks. I think his body of work throughout this season has been very, very good."
On the importance of QB Donovan McNabb and Westbrook's leadership: "It is important. I think it's important that veteran players do take control and that you bring the right guys in where they feel comfortable doing that. There are some guys that don't like leadership, so you try to keep as many of those guys out of the locker room as you can and we're fortunate to have a good group that responds to the leaders on our team."
On whether the leadership allows the coaches to focus on the X's and O's and not worry about being in the locker room policing the players: "We always try to get in the locker room and talk to the players. We have a good group of guys where we don't feel like we have to police the guys that way. They take care of their business. Is it one less headache? Yeah, it's one less headache. It's something that you don't have to worry as much about."
On whether he is concerned that Westbrook's injuries will affect his skill set: "I thought he was as good as I've seen him that Washington week. That was a freak thing, that concussion. The two shortest guys on the field ran into each other. He normally avoids knees; he usually hits people in the shin and not their knee."
On Westbrook's knee and ankle: "I think he feels good, like he's ready to role."
On whether he thinks Westbrook is injury prone:"I don't worry about that. He'll be fine."
On whether G Max Jean-Gilles is practicing: "He'll practice and then we'll just see how he does out there."
On how Jean-Gilles factors into the guard rotation if he can play: "We'll just see how he does. Right now, I'm not factoring him. I'll just let him get back in the swing and see how the shoulder feels."
On the importance of Cowboys RB Marion Barber: "I think he brings toughness and great slash running ability. He'll run you over. When he sees daylight he's running for it 100 miles per hour. He's a tough guy and I think he brings a toughness to that offense."
On what sticks out about McNabb's leadership this year: "The way I clarified that was the (T Jon) Runyans, and the (T) Tras (Thomas) and (RB Correll) Buckhalters, guys who have been around him, (S Brian) Dawkins, guys that have been here a long time aren't here. He is that senior guy that Tra had been before and Dawkins had been before, now he is it and he has a bunch of young guys around him, more than he has before, at this stage in his career. He even had to step it up a notch from what he did before, he always did a good job, but he just took it up another notch."
On whether he looks at this as a game where they can separate from the rest of the division: "I don't look at that. I look at it like we have the Cowboys coming here. I don't get caught up in all of that stuff. I get caught up in this being a good football team coming here and we have to make sure we practice the right way and we prepare the right way when we're not on the practice field. We're spending enough time as coaches and players getting ourselves ready for a good football team. That's where my energy goes. You take care of the process here and everything else takes itself, records and standings and all of that."
On where Cowboys LB DeMarcus Ware lines up and why he causes problems for offensive lines: "He flops sides. They're playing (a 3-4) personnel defense and they move him around. He's big, fast, and quick, he has a great feel for the game, he has great leverage. He is one of the top if not the top pass rushers in the National Football League right now and he has a desire and a love to play the game."
On whether it is harder to deal with an LB like Ware in a 3-4 defense rather than a 4-3: "What it does is it gives them flexibility. If they want to drop him they can drop him. If they want to rush him they can rush him. He has a little bit more flexibility there without his hand on the ground. As far as locating him no, you just find number 94 and make sure you have a hat on him."
On whether G Nick Cole with start at right guard: "Yeah, that's what it looks like today."
On whether he has asked Eagles special assistant to the defense and former Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart questions about the Cowboys: "We talked. All the coaches from the offensive side have talked to him about the scheme and he had been with (Cowboys head coach) Wade (Phillips) a long time. Wade has changed a couple of things up so we'll see. We'd be foolish not to utilize him. I know the defensive coaches have talked to him about the personnel on the offensive side."
On Cowboys WR Miles Austin's growth the past few weeks: "You've seen the progression throughout the last couple of years here. He is a talented guy. He has speed and then he has run ability after the catch. You have to stay close to him or he's going to get right past you after he makes the grab. You want to make sure that you use the proper angles and so on. He has gotten better every week that he's played starting from last year. He is a talented, talented guy."
On the progress of Curtis' knee: "He probably won't be back for another week or so."
On what is special about the Eagles' rivalry with the Cowboys:"I always tell the story of when I first got here, my first year whenever we played then, I think it was fairly early in the year, and I went up to the McDonald's over here on Broad street and grabbed some breakfast. There was this little old lady, she had to be 80 years old, and she came up to me and she said, 'Hey, make sure you kick theā¦' and she threw a few out there. This looked like everybody's grandma. I just went 'Whoa, this mean a lot.' That's the way it's been. I think the fans here are passionate about playing and welcoming in the Dallas Cowboys and I know the players feel that way and the coaches feel that way and I know it's the same way on their side. It's a nice rivalry to have."
