Opening remarks: "Training camp has been going very well. There has been a lot of hard work going on and a lot of preparation in the classroom. We will open it up to questions."
On WR DeSean Jackson's return to the practice field: "He missed very little time. He put in some hard work and (head athletic trainer) Rick Burkholder and his staff did a nice job of getting him back out here as quickly as possible. He fit right in today and did a lot of work in his playbook so that he would be prepared with the things he missed on the field in the last couple of days."
On whether he feels that this camp is more difficult than other training camps he has been a part of, in light of DE Chris Clemons leaving yesterday's practice with dehydration: "This is about normal for a training camp. It does get hot. Again, our training staff, with Rick leading it, does an excellent job with the hydration situation. The players typically do an excellent job. It's unfortunate, but those things do occur on occasion and it comes back to preparation. We have to prepare ourselves for the heat with hydration."
On how well Jackson has been picking up the offense: "He's done a good job up to date. There is a long way to go, and a lot of hard work left for him. However, he does play the game in a natural manner. He's got gut instincts, he's very smart, so he learns very quickly, and those things aid him in being able to get onto the field. If he keeps progressing, he's got a chance to be a factor with us."
On how K David Akers' field-goal range affects the offense: "David is an excellent kicker; there is no question about it. Before every game and sometimes during the game if the weather changes, we will discuss exactly what his range is previous to the game. Pre game, coming out at halftime, those kinds of things. There is no issue there. We just know what we believe his range is in that particular game and it does change from game to game, whether you're indoors, outdoors, or into the wind."
On WR Hank Baskett's ability to run the fade route: "He does many things well, and that's one of them. He also does multiple other things for us that most fans don't see. He's a big, physical man who does quite a few different things for us and that certainly is one of them."
On whether TE Kris Wilson is struggling to get a grasp on the offense: "We've got competition at that spot. We have competition at virtually every spot, which is a good thing. At tight end, talking about Kris, he is coming into a new offense and there is a learning curve. He's a sharp guy who is doing most things very well. The experience within our offense with the reps, I would think he'll be playing very well in a short period of time."
On whether he has said anything to Wilson to encourage him: "I have talked to him several times throughout this camp, yes. Some of it is encouraging."
On LT Tra Thomas and RT Jon Runyan: "They have great experience and are both terrific players. They have both done an excellent job here later in their careers of keeping themselves in terrific physical condition on a consistent basis throughout the year. I think that has added years for both of them. They are both terrific players and we need them both. They both add toughness to the football team."
On Thomas' and Runyan's ability to play through pain: "That's what they do. They play football. Both of them have an extremely high pain threshold. It's an uncommonly high pain threshold."
On whether RB Tony Hunt needs to work on his pass blocking or learning the assignments: "That's right, it's both of them. It's both the assignment and the fundamental part of the technique."
On whether it affects continuity when an offensive lineman misses time in camp: "On an offensive line, all of them have to play well individually. However, the most important thing is playing well together as a unit, and the tight ends come into play as well."
On whether T King Dunlap has stepped up and played at the level he hopes: "Not yet, but I'll say that he has some great physical attributes. He will go through a process. He'll have some great days, then he'll have some bad days. (Offensive line coach) Juan (Castillo) is coaching him like all-get-out. There will come a time when he's playing at that high level on a consistent basis. That's what we're looking for and we're trying to get him to that point as quickly as we can."
On whether he had plans for G Shawn Andrews to play some tackle during the days when Runyan and Thomas have the day off: "I want to talk about the guys who are in camp here and our plans for them. When Shawn gets in, we'll have a plan for him."
On whether the offseason additions in the offseason have given him more options on offense: "We've talked about that a couple times before. We certainly have added some skill and ability. We have some skill and ability and we've added some skill and ability. We may be able to put the defense back on their heels just a little bit more throughout the season with that skill and ability."
On whether T Winston Justice's future is at RT: "He's really good at the right tackle spot. He'll also get some reps at guard throughout the season and so forth. Most of the linemen, the guards will take tackle sets on occasion and the tackles will play inside, just in case something rare happens where two or three guys are down and we need to do something there."
On how hard it is to keep things new for QB Donovan McNabb: "Of all the great players I have coached, Donovan, I think, has a chance to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I really think that. Now, there is a little bit left to do here, but all the great players have that mentality that they are never done learning. The game changes so fast, week to week and sometimes day to day. If they have that mentality that they have to continue to keep learning, then it stays fresh for them. Then, we do some other things, especially with the veterans. Our individual drills, we try to be creative with those. During the installations, because the installations get long for them; they've heard it for the 300th time. Every time they hear it, they may grasp one thing that will help them in the future. We try to keep that installation just a little bit creative, as well, for those guys."
On what McNabb does to try to be a learner: "The biggest thing I think most people don't see of an NFL player and certainly a quarterback and then a quarterback of Donovan's caliber, is all the hard work and preparation in the film room, with his position coach, with (quarterbacks coach) Pat (Shurmur). Pat does a great job with the quarterbacks. Then, on their own, they grab DVDs from (video director Mike Dougherty) and take them home. They spend hours and hours on their own in our film room. Donovan and (C) Jamaal (Jackson) get together for hours during the season, on any particular week, and they schedule that themselves. He goes through a whole process to get ready for a football game, to get prepared for a football game."
On whether he has ever had an offensive lineman miss all of training camp and step into the lineup and be fine: "Well, Shawn was hurt a couple years back, so that was a similar situation there. Yes, I've had a couple of those. Like we've discussed, it's important for that offensive line to play at a high level as a unit. That's the most important thing right now."
On whether he has seen any slippage from Runyan or Thomas in their level of play: "No, I haven't. They have done a great job, like I said, of keeping themselves at a high level of conditioning throughout the year. The guys who tend to have a little trouble, in my experience, are the guys who balloon up a little bit in the offseason and take it off getting ready for camp or in training camp. Then, they balloon up again in the next offseason. Those guys tend to have a little more trouble. William and Jon, neither one of them do that. They keep themselves in great shape all year 'round, so I see no drop-off."
On the high number of sacks allowed in 2007: "It's a combination of things. Normally it's never one thing. I will tell you that Donovan became a better quarterback last year. It sounds crazy, but going into last year, Donovan was certainly healthy enough to play, but he was not nearly healthy enough to be Donovan McNabb. He became a better quarterback because with the lack of mobility, he learned many things throughout the course of his playing time there in game situations. Now, he has it all back, it appears. He's 100% healthy; he's running and gunning again. I'm sure he's pleased with himself."
On whether McNabb has evolved as a quarterback: "You're right on that. However, I do believe that he has worked so hard that I think he's going to be very close, with his mobility and his running ability and all of those things, I think he's pretty close to where he was. Most guys don't get close, but I think he's pretty close. You'll see it on the field."
