**

**

Injury Report: "(WR) Mardy Gilyard has a hamstring (injury). He'll be listed as out today. (DT) Cullen Jenkins hyper-extended his knee; not too serious but he won't practice today. Then, (G) Danny Watkins still has the ankle sprain and he will not practice today. (DT) Mike Patterson, I'll work Michael into the rotation with the players and just see how he feels working with that first and second group in there. And then as far as punt returns go, (WR) Damaris (Johnson) will do the punt returning in New Orleans.

Opening Remarks: "Listen, we look forward to the challenge of playing the Saints. We always know it's a battle when you play them. They're a good football team and their record doesn't stand for how they play the game. I mean, you're talking about the number one offense in passing in the National Football League. They're explosive and we've got to be on our 'A'-game.

"I know a lot's been said in regards to (QB) Michael (Vick). I learned a long time ago from your guys that there's a time and a place when you're upset and I was upset after the game. Not at Michael Vick; I was upset, starting with myself and not getting my team ready to play and then working from there. But I've learned to step back and evaluate, so that was my point to you. My point wasn't that I was going to bench Michael Vick; it was that I needed to step back and evaluate before I came to you with something. So, I mentioned yesterday that Michael, in regards to that, was the quarterback, is the quarterback and will continue to be the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles.

"I can't make it any more clear than that. It's important that I get my job going in the right direction and making sure that we win football games and that I coach to win football games. I'm not doing a good enough job of that and that's shown over the last three weeks here. Then, my players, they understand their responsibility. My coaches understand their responsibility. We're all accountable for it. We're all stand-up men and we understand our responsibilities and we've got to do better. That's what we have to do. But it starts with me."

On what went into his evaluation of the quarterback position: "Honestly, Michael, I thought, played one of his better games. I think when you step back and you look at that, with the exception of the drops that took place, I thought he played a good football game."

On why he believes Vick talked about the indication that there might be a quarterback change: "Well, I think it was probably the way it was presented to him by the media. I've told you this before, but Michael is the most competitive kid I've ever been around and there's nobody that wants to win more than Michael. He was disappointed after the game and he always takes full responsibility, which you hope everybody does that. That's the idea and I think I have a locker room that does that. So, there weren't a lot of happy guys after that game or happy coaches and rightly so, because we stunk the place up and we've got to do better than that."

On whether he believes that his affirmation of Vick helped the quarterback: "No, I don't think (so). He understands. He takes a lot of responsibility on himself and he knows that I'm on board. He knows that and like I said, we've all got to do our jobs better. That's the primary thing."

On several players mentioning that the team played without heart and what you tell a locker room to get them back into that mindset: "I thought we played hard. We made too many mistakes. We had too many penalties, too many dropped balls. As coaches, we need to do better putting our guys in the right position to do things and when you're put in the right position, you take care of business. So, that's really what it was. Like I told you, it's not good enough on my part. It's not good enough on my part and the guys, they were stand-up guys and they feel accountable."

On what Vick has to do better: "I'm telling you, Michael actually did a very good job in this game. He eliminated any turnovers that he had had, whether it was fumbles or interceptions. He gave the receivers an opportunity to catch the football. He just needs to continue to lead this football team. He is the leader of the team and so, he understands that."

On why he felt obligated to release a statement stating Vick was the starting quarterback: "Listen, the things that were being said, and we got caught there a little bit. I didn't have a chance to talk to you on Monday because of the hurricane, so I've learned that it's probably best to, after I have a chance to step back and look at it, to come out and talk. So, this is my first opportunity to talk to you and I thought maybe (I'd get) it out to you so it would stop."

On why it took three days for the statement to be released: "Well, again, we had all the hurricane stuff. I wanted to make sure that I talked to the guys. Some of the guys came in; I met with them that day and I wanted to make sure I talked to them and I was able to do that."

On whether he had thought about making a change at quarterback: "That wasn't my intent. No, not at all."

On whether he feels Vick is not seeing everything when he drops back: "Every game, you don't play a perfect game. You can take any player in this league; nobody plays the perfect game. So, I mean, you can sit here and say, 'Okay, did he miss one?' That's okay. That's alright. You're going to do that in the game. He managed the game well; he got the ball out on time. I thought he did a nice job there."

On whether there will be a weekly assessment of the quarterbacks with the potential of making a change: "No. That's not what it is."

On whether he can say Vick will be the starter of the Eagles for the remainder of the season: "Michael's the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles."

On the reasoning for not giving Vick a full commitment right after the game: "Well, see, this is the difference. Michael and I, we talk every day. So, that's the difference. I know I don't talk to you guys every day and give you everything. I do talk to the player, in particular the quarterback, and I've done that since I've been here. I make sure that I keep them up to date and informed on everything. Obviously, we have a game coming up, a pretty big game, so we wanted to get on that as fast as we could. Learn from our mistakes and move on and get on to the New Orleans Saints."

On whether his commitment to Vick is a reflection of how QB Nick Foles is progressing in practice: "No, please don't read into (that). Nick is doing fine. Nick's doing fine and he's progressing very well. (QB) Trent (Edwards) is doing well. They're okay there."

On whether he feels the offensive line is still a work in progress: "I actually saw progress with the line. Now, there are going to be blitzes that get you every game and then you've got to either get it out or you've got to make somebody miss and go and that's if you don't have anybody to get it to. So, that's kind of how that works and that happens, again, to the best of them in this business; Michael being one of them. That happens. You're going to have one or two of those a game, especially when you play teams that are bringing a bunch of different looks at you."

On whether the team realizes what a tough spot they are in: "It's simple this way – you have to prepare yourself to play the football game. You go into every game saying that you're going to win that football game. That's the way that you prepare yourself to go in, achieve, and do your best each and every play. If you make a mistake, you learn from the mistake and you pick it back up and try to do it right the next time. All the projections and any looking forward, that's not where you go. You take care of business right now. The most important game of the year right now is the New Orleans Saints. That's how you approach it."

On the extent of the injury to DT Cullen Jenkins: "I think he's going to be okay. I had the chance to visit with him over the last couple of days. I think he's getting treatment and he was able to finish the game. It tightened up on him a little bit with the hurricane and all that. I think it's going to be fine."

On whether Reid sees Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo trying to do the same things he did in New York: "Steve right now is bringing a lot of people, and he gives you a lot of different looks. You have to be sharp and make sure that you prepare. He's a very good coordinator."

On whether facing the last ranked defense in the league is a good chance to get themselves right: "I wouldn't say it that way. That's not how I approach that. Listen, there are a lot of good football players in this league and they've got a few of them. They bring it, and you have to be on your A-game when you play them."

On whether there will be any personnel changes from the last game: "No."

On what he saw from RG Dennis Kelly in his first NFL start: "Actually, Kelly did a pretty good job. That was a respectable job that he did, in particular with his first start and for going against a really good player. Can he do things better? Yeah, he will. He's a rookie. He'll get better. I thought he did a nice a job. I think (guard) Danny (Watkins) is going to struggle to make it in this game. He's hurting right now. This is going to be a fight for him to get into the game."

On what different things the team can do to create more pressure: "You saw us do a couple different things last week just moving backers up on the line or bringing backers. We got hurt on one with a penalty. We did a nice job covering it and then we got called on a holding call on it. We made the quarterback flush out and we put him in a position there to make a throw. We're doing a couple things there to mix it up. We can continue to get better and make sure that we're putting the guys in the right position to do it."

On how DE Brandon Graham played with increased snaps: "He's progressing as he goes on. We're lucky to have some good players there. They rotate and they stay fresh and explosive. We're restricting the pocket and we just have to get a few more hits on the quarterback."

On whether they plan on keeping a shorter rotation on the defensive line like they did this past Sunday: "Yeah, we've done that format. (DE Phillip) Hunt didn't have any snaps in that game."

On why Watkins will struggle to make it on the field Sunday: "He has an ankle (injury). Sprained ankle. He has a bit of a component of a high-ankle, and then it has a bit of a component of a low ankle. Anything that he does lateral hurts him. He's good straight ahead, but any movement where he has to plant and drive off it, he can't do that."

On whether this could be an ongoing issue: "I'm just going to take it day by day. That's how we're going to go about it and see how he does."

On how DT Fletcher Cox has progressed from the start of the season: "Fletcher has continued to get better. Every snap is an important snap for him for his progression. He's working there."

On what warranted Cox's promotion to the starting lineup: "He's playing well. Really, we have the eight guys in there that can go with the two-deep look, but I look at all those guys as starters. They're all playing. If they have equal opportunity, fine, that's great."

On why DE Jason Babin did not have as many snaps as the weeks before: "It really wasn't by design. It was only a two-play difference. It wasn't really by design."

On whether they saw this chronic ankle problem with Watkins before they drafted him: "This will pass here. It's not where it's going to be career-ending or any of that."

On what the tape showed him about defensive coordinator Todd Bowles' first game: "We didn't start off good enough. I think the players would tell you that everybody had a piece of that pie. In those first couple of series, it got a little better as it went but you can't have that many penalties and you can't do those things. Todd understands that and the players understand that. We've all got to do better there."

On what the plan is with DT Mike Patterson: "I'm going to see how he does. He felt really good last week. I'm going to work him in for practice, and we'll just see. Obviously, I'm going to make a move somewhere there. I have another week where if I don't feel comfortable there with how he's feeling, we can go from there. He feels good right now."

On whether there is a chance he plays on Monday: "There is a chance there. Absolutely, there's that chance."

On how the loss of Saints head coach Sean Payton has affected QB Drew Brees: "Sean is a great coach. Their offensive coordinator is a great coach, too. Sean is one of the best in the business. I'm telling you that the numbers show you that he's playing pretty good. He's a really good quarterback."

On the Saints being first in the league in passing but last in the league in rushing: "They are doing well in the passing game. They're explosive there. They are putting up points and doing a nice job of that."

On whether Watkins will return to right guard if he is healthy enough to play: "We'll see how he feels once he gets in there, and takes it from there. We'll see how he does."

On why there has been a pattern of negative running plays the past few games: "No, it is. We have to do better there. Some of it has been on the outside run game, where we're getting penetration there. Whether it is a safety up, we have to do a better job of getting a body on a body and securing the line."