Update on Mychal Kendricks, Jason Peters or Earl Wolff?

COACH KELLY: I don't meet with those guys until the afternoon.  I haven't met with [head athletic trainer Chris] Peduzzi and those guys.  I do not have an update right now.

Have you heard anything?

COACH KELLY: I don't have an update. You can ask me again if you want.

Do you play differently if you don't have Kendricks?

COACH KELLY:  We don't have any information right now.  So Monday is a big breakdown day.  We start getting meetings going this afternoon.  I meet with Peduzzi and [head team physician Peter DeLuca] when I get back inside.

How big is it when you have Allen Barbre playing more than he has, Najee Goode and Roc Carmichael and those guys all came in and played well?

COACH KELLY:  They did.  It's a credit to those guys.  I think really Najee and Roc weren't here.  They weren't here in the offseason.  They weren't here in camp.  We acquired them in September.

To kind of see those guys get put in the situation that they did, and to respond, I thought Roc did an outstanding job playing out there.  Najee played really, really well. He should have had a pick‑six. 

But to see those guys, I think it speaks to the depth a little bit.  Obviously, we were tested.  But I thought Allen played really, really well when he was in there.  So to have all those guys be able to contribute and step up is kind of what this league's all about, because everybody's facing injuries at this point in time during the season.  You're 10 weeks in.  Really, your depth is going to be tested.

But when we had an opportunity to get those guys in the game, I thought they responded really well.  Hopefully we'll be getting the other guys back and it will just add to kind of the overall team itself.

I get that you don't have a medical update.  On the flight home, did you talk to those three guys?

COACH KELLY:  Yeah.  That's one thing, they feel like they're pretty good and they're ready to go.  But it's the same thing.  We've dealt with it.  That's why I'm not going to make statements because we thought Pat [Chung's] was going to be a week or two deal, then that lingered.  I thought Mike [Vick's] was going to be a short deal.  That's gone on.

I'm not an expert, so I just defer to those guys.  I always defer to the doctors and training staff to tell us how long they're in, how long they're out.  Sometimes they look a little bit worse than they are.

Mychal said he felt good, didn't think there was anything big‑time wrong with him.  But we'll see.  Jason said he's going to play.  But every time Jason's had anything, he's told me he's going to play.  But the one thing about Jason is he has played.  He hasn't missed any time since I've been here.

We meet, and that's kind of our schedule every Monday afternoon.

Speaking of Vick, I don't know if you know if he's going to be able to practice.

COACH KELLY:  I don't think he'll go.  He'll try to test it.  He ran.  I watched him.  He got a good workout yesterday at Lambeau running around a little bit.  He said it feels better.  He will not be full tomorrow.  We'll see if we can get a feel for what he can do and what he can't do.  I know he won't be full tomorrow.

Did you talk Pat Shurmur about what he did or did not see on the 36-yard pass to Green Bay WR Jarrett Boykin?

COACH KELLY:  I talked to all those guys.  They said they got one clip up in the box.  They saw both feet down.  Couldn't really tell where the elbow was.  Then they were snapping the ball and going.

What our coaches see in the box isn't what everybody sees on national television.  It's just what's available to them then.  There was really no discussion after that.  I talked to [assistant defensive backs coach] Todd Lyght about it, I talked to [defensive coordinator] Billy Davis about it.  That's all what we got.  That's what we went on, so...

Does something have to change about the replays?

COACH KELLY: They got one replay.  According to my guys up there, they got one look at it.  That's all they can go off of.

Looking back, was he in or out?

COACH KELLY:  It's tough on the coach's copy.  It looks like the elbow may have hit before.  But we weren't privy to all those other ‑‑ according to those guys up there, they weren't privy to all those other looks at it.

What feed do the coaches in the booth get?

COACH KELLY:  I don't know.  I don't know what feed they get.  I don't know what feed they get.

Getting back to Kendricks and Wolff.  In camp you knew the day of when three guys tore their ACLs.  Are these not ACLs from what you heard after the game yesterday?

COACH KELLY:  Yeah, that's my understanding, but I'm not going to make any statements on whether they are or aren't.

As much as you like to push the tempo, how much did you appreciate the final drive where you can certainly invoke your will on a team knowing they have no ability to stop you?

COACH KELLY:  I don't think they had no ability to stop us, but that's part of being a sound offense.  I've said that since day one.  You have to be a good two‑minute offense, you have to be a good four‑minute offense.

Again, I think there's a lot of misconceptions about what we want to do.  We want to win football games.  We the same thing against Tampa Bay and ran the clock out.  We were fortunate enough to do it with 9 minutes and 32, take the ball over.

You either want to score in that situation or you want to run as much clock as you possibly can.  I think it's a credit to the backs, a credit to the quarterback and really to the offensive line and the tight ends in that situation.

Did you have Cary Williams jumping from side to side at corner rather than staying at one side?

COACH KELLY:  A couple times there were some things in just certain calls.  But it wasn't an entire game plan thing.

Did you guys play off the receivers a little more than normal?

COACH KELLY: It depends on what Billy's calling.  There's certain calls where they're playing press, there's certain calls where they're playing up.  I think it's just kind of how they're doing it.  I think a lot of what they were trying to do is we were putting so many guys in the box, their only option was to get the ball out wide.

There was another call you could have challenged on a completion where the ball was fumbled forward.  Did you not challenge it because you thought he had the first down anyway?

COACH KELLY:  Yeah, that was the little discussion that we had.  We talk about 'em all the time in between plays, what we can do, what we can't do. We felt like he had the first down.

What stood out with Nick Foles on tape when you reviewed it?

COACH KELLY:  Again, I think Nick's really, really smart with the football.  Very rarely do you see Nick throw a ball where all of a sudden it's tipped, you know, when it's almost intercepted.  I think going the other way, our defense, there's a couple times we probably should have made some more plays defensively on the ball and didn't.  But you don't see that out of Nick.  I think he has a really good understanding of what we're doing.  He doesn't really ever put the ball in harm's way.

Most of the time, to his credit, he's going to the right spot where it should be.  You know, he does a good job of protecting the football, especially with the pocket breaks down.  A lot of times that's where plays occur where all of a sudden it's turning a bad play into a worse play.

Sometimes the right thing to do is just kind of pull it down and let's get the next snap off.  I think that's what he's done.  He's a real good decision maker.  Again, I've said it since day one:  He is a better athlete than people think.  He picked up a couple critical first downs for us again in that football game because he can make good decisions. So just really happy with how he's played in the last two weeks.

Vinny Curry continues to get more snaps. Is that because you need more pass rushing or is it because he's improved at the defensive end position? COACH KELLY:I think he's getting better at just overall run defense.  Again, I think that's a misconception.  We don't two‑gap on every play I think.  But in the run game itself, you know, I think Vinny is starting to get better and better.  It was his best game against the run this week.

I think all those guys on the defensive front, Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan probably played his best game, Ced [Thornton] played up to his standard, which has been pretty high. Vinny played really well.

Again, we knew going into the game with a backup quarterback and then going to the third quarterback, shutting down their run game was going to be extremely important to us.  It started up front.  I thought all of those guys did a really good job.

But Vinny really has come along.  Credit to him.  He's getting better and better.  And with that he's getting more playing time.

With Nick's running, he's not the fastest guy, but has a good knack of when to do it. How unusual is that for a guy who is not necessarily fleet of foot?

COACH KELLY:  Yeah, I think the thing with Nick is, he may not be fleet of foot, but he's fleet of mind.  He's a really, really good decision maker.  Part of being a guy that can distribute the football throwing the ball, being a good decision maker is the same exact situations in the run game.  You have to be a good decision maker to know when to give it and to know when to pull it.

Again, not every play we call is a zone-read play, but when they're called, he can be a factor.  It's really just taking advantage of what the defense is.  If they're all going to commit and try to take away the running back and no one's responsible for the quarterback, you got to be able to make them pay, and Nick has done that for us.

There were some plays where you ran with LeSean McCoy even though the Packers had seven men in the box. Is that something you have to commit to even when the matchup isn't there?

COACH KELLY: No, because a lot of time we got a lot more man free so the math outside wasn't right either because it was a man for a man.  Usually there's an overhang player that we're going to read or we're just going to let run, because even if it does fall in -- it happened a lot -- they're going to fall in for gains of five.  We'll take gains of five if we can.

Allen Barbre isn't a huge left tackle for his size.  Does he have a good center of strength? Is he a good technician?

COACH KELLY: Combination of both. He's a really, really strong football player.  You know, he's got pop.  He's got really heavy hands, as [offensive line coach Jeff] Stoutland likes to say.  He's really good at technique.

He really came along during camp for us, you know, and when we were talking about ‑‑ obviously Dennis [Kelly] got hurt and was down for a little bit – where are we at the tackle spot and Allen was playing really well at guard.  Let's take a look at him and see what he can do because he is such a good athlete.

I think having his ability to be both a swing guard and tackle for us, and really our first guy off the bench for us, was a huge plus for us.

Then to watch him play, I thought he did a really, really good job in his first extended playing time, was really solid in protection, kind of helped us get to the edge a lot when we were running to the left.  So really happy with him.

But a lot of it is he's a real good technician, but he's a real strong football player, probably just not as tall as some of the left tackles out there, but really happy with how he played.

How has Dennis Kelly come along?

COACH KELLY:  Dennis is getting better.  You know, the tough part in this league is, you know, with only a 46‑man active roster, we're only going to be able to keep seven guys up, unless there's an injury.  So Allen for us is kind of a guard-tackle guy.  Julian is kind of a center-guard guy.  From a depth standpoint, that's kind of where we were.

I think he's coming along.  He's out there every single day working.  I think he's getting better each week.  That's the positive.  Right now, you hope you don't have to get to him because that means the starting five and the other two guys are healthy.

Lane Johnson looked like he played a fairly good game.  Were they his best two games back‑to‑back?

COACH KELLY: No, I wouldn't say that.  No, I thought he played really well in the Oakland game.  I thought he pass-protected really well on Sunday.  But we still got some work in the run game and he knows that.

When you encountered controversy with Riley Cooper over the summer, you said it wasn't something that was going to go away anytime soon.  Do you feel like it's going away?

COACH KELLY: No, I meant the issue in general.  I don't think the issue will ever go away because I think we all have valuable lessons that we can learn from it.  Riley, obviously, because he was at the forefront of it, but I also think the guys understanding what he was about and what he was like as a human being in the locker room.

Really, my statement was about that issue in general.  It should never go away.  I think we always should be aware of it and not brush it under the rug.

He struggled his first five games getting open.

COACH KELLY:  I don't think he struggled his first five games getting open.  He didn't have the ball thrown to him.  But I don't think he was struggling getting open.  When you watch the tape, he was open.

What's been the difference for him?

COACH KELLY: I think we've got more time to throw, we're doing a better job in protection.  I think the guy calling plays is calling better plays, so...

On the first touchdown to Cooper, was Nick's throw where he wanted it to be?  Did the wind take it? COACH KELLY:  I think the wind took the first one to DeSean [Jackson].  It was a lot different ‑‑ it was weird.  In the first half it was hard going down towards the scoreboard end.  When we came out the locker room, the wind was blowing that way.  It seemed like at halftime it flipped.

So I know on the first one it really took it.  I think on the second one he saw him beat the safety, but he knew where the safety was.  He was trying to lead him on the other side of the safety, which normally doesn't happen.

Riley is really, really good at tracking the ball.  He was an outstanding baseball player.  Kind of when you throw it up, he can make adjustments on it.  You haven't seen that much when he ran a post route and then had to make a hard right turn.

I think Nick was trying to get it onto the other side of the safety even though he beat him because with the ball in the air that long, if the DB was going to be able to make a play on it, if he can kind of offset the throw on the DB, then Riley would have a shot at it.  Riley made a great adjustment to the football.

I know he was drafted as a baseball player.  Is that something that can come in handy?

COACH KELLY: I think it does.  It's one of his qualities, is that he can track a ball when it's in the air and can adjust his body and knows where to go to it, can adjust his angles when he's chasing it down.

So I think Nick understands that.  I thought it was a helluva play by both those guys.

Nick starting the majority of the time over the last month, getting more and more comfortable, what kind of input does he have with the game plan?  Do you ask him what he likes more?

COACH KELLY:  Yeah, but that's the same dialogue that goes along all the time.  We ask those guys every single week whether you're one, two or three, what do you like, what don't you like, what do you like in these situations.  We write them all down.  We have them with us.  We discuss them.  That's a process that always goes along with the quarterbacks.

What is keeping you from going with Nick regardless of if Mike Vick's healthy?

COACH KELLY:  I think what we've done for the last two weeks has worked for us pretty good, so we're going to stick with that formula.  It's got us 16 touchdowns, no interceptions and two wins, so why would we change?

Was Alex Henery's missed field goal because of the wind?

COACH KELLY:  Yeah, it was.  When you watch it on tape, he hit it right down the middle.  I talked to Alex about it.  He thought he had it.  We talked to Donnie Jones about it.  He said, 'Coach, I saw it go right off his foot.  It was heading right down the middle toward the goal post, then it got pushed with the wind.'

Their kicker had the exact same situation.  Blew it the same way.  Probably got to make a little bit more adjustment for the wind.  But I think he hit is pretty good.  When you watch the initial copy, it took off, was heading down the middle.  Then it seemed like it got pushed with the wind, so...

You had Najee Goode crashing the line of scrimmage a lot and it looked like he had snap count timed pretty good.  For him not to even have that much experience, is that accurate what I'm saying?

COACH KELLY: Yeah, I mean, probably some of the blitz looks, we're always trying to time up our blitzes.  I think everybody in the league is if you can get a beat on it.  One of the things about Naj, he's a really sharp kid, I mean real smart guy.  I think he was an industrial mechanical engineer major.  He has a really good grasp.  When he got here, that's one of the first thing that struck us, this guy is an intelligent football player.

He, like any other guy, and you can say it, and it can be a cliché, is you're one chin strap away from playing, but do you really approach it that way?  Obviously, he did.  So did Allen [Barbre].  So did Roc [Carmichael].

When you watched him out here since the first day we got him in September, there was something about him.  He's an extremely hard worker.  He prepares like a professional.  When his opportunity came, he took advantage of it.  You can't rely on the, 'I haven't got a ton of reps.'  That's what the deal is in this league.You're not going to be able to get a ton of reps if you're a backup.  But if you go in, you're responsible for all that stuff.

Some guys gravitate to that a little bit better.  He's one of those guys.  I think it's a credit to him on how hard he's worked, even though he doesn't get the predominant amount of snaps.  DeMeco [Ryans] obviously does and Mychal [Kendricks] obviously does.  But when he got his chance in there, I was really happy with what he did.

Was he the first inside linebacker or backing up Mychal Kendricks?

COACH KELLY:  He was backing up Mychal.  I think if [Ryans] went down, we would have had [Emmanuel] Acho in there.  We have gotten to a point where we got kind of some depth there when we moved Casey [Matthews] outside.

Having those guys all ready to step in, does that also speak to the position coaches keeping them prepared?

COACH KELLY:  Yeah, I think it speaks to everybody.  I think, you know, it's to the person who's teaching them, but it's also to the student because, you know, I think every coach is gonna approach it the same way.  You're always trying to get everybody prepared.

There are guys that actually kind of grasp that concept and really work it.  You can tell when their opportunity comes, do they take advantage of it?  Those guys did, which is exciting about our depth, because we know we're going to get tested again as the season continues to wear on.

Explain your philosophy on why you just keep on going at the pace at the end of the third quarter rather than letting the quarter run out and move forward?

COACH KELLY:  I know exactly what you're talking about.  I guess my answer is because we like scoring.  So it's the concept of either, you know, we're not in ‑‑ it wasn't a point at that point in the game when you were thinking about working the clock.  But we also, you know, felt like we had a pretty good play dialed up.

One of the things about us is we can get into a rhythm.  I think in the second half, we got into a rhythm pretty good and we were moving.  It was just trying to take advantage of what they are.  I think a lot of times when you let the other team kind of catch their breath and get settled and can kind of talk about things, obviously we believe the pace we play is at is not what everybody can practice at.

We're trying to stay in that rhythm.  We also knew when there was 9 minutes and 32 seconds to go, it's a two‑score game, now we got into another rhythm.  Then we get into four‑minute rhythm.  But at that point in time, we weren't going to take our foot off the gas.  We knew we were going to need more points.

Just to clarify, you said with 16 touchdowns and no interceptions, why would we change with Foles?

COACH KELLY:  My approach in terms of how we're doing things.  Who's up, who's available?  I've made this point before.  I've had guys go down on Friday.  So why does it really matter who I say is the starter for the next Sunday's game?

People are curious, they care.

COACH KELLY:  Then I'm going to name you the starter.  You're starting this week and I'm excited about it.  Let's fire it up, write the notes, let's go.

In preseason when you named Mike Vick the starter ‑‑

COACH KELLY:  Because of who was going to get the reps with two healthy bodies.  We don't have two healthy bodies right now.

You wanted to make clear that he was the guy.

COACH KELLY:  Because he had to get the reps.  If I didn't say anything and Nick was like, 'I thought there was a competition, but Mike gets 10 snaps, I get 2 snaps, what's going on here?'  Nick is getting all the reps right now because Mike is not practicing.

At some point, Vick will be able to practice…

COACH KELLY: When that day comes, we'll have a discussion.  But that day's not here.

When you say, 'Why would we change?'

COACH KELLY:  I was being sarcastic.  I thought that would go over big in this crowd (smiling).  A lot of times questions coming this way, there's a lot of sarcasm.  You have to be able to catch and receive, you know what I'm saying (smiling)?

We don't have a quarterback deal because one of our quarterbacks is out banged up.  It may be a scoop for all you guys, but first-team reps tomorrow, Nick's gonna take 'em for Tuesday.  I said that tongue‑in‑cheek all week long.  On Thursday it's going to be...  You know what I mean?

That's the way it's going to be.  We don't have to make any decisions on anything because Mike's not going right now.

You have been asked about the home losing streak.  Is there a danger in your view of either trying too much or carrying it around in their heads, game day trying too much?

COACH KELLY:  No.  I don't think that's our mindset.  Our mindset is to win every single game we play.  I watch these guys on a weekly basis prepare.  And I don't think they say, 'Hey, we're away, let's do this.  We're home, let's do this.'  They're not like this.

It's a consistent group in their approach.  What is the answer for us not winning at home and being 5‑1 on the road?  I don't know.  If we knew it, we'd replicate it.  Do we have to take the buses and drive around for a half hour before we go to the stadium?  I don't know.  If that was the answer, we would do it.  We don't have that answer.

But I do think we have an advantage.  We love playing at home.  Our fans are outstanding.  They deserve it.  That's what our goal is right now.  We have a one‑game season, and it's against the Washington Redskins, it's at home, and we're excited to get back into the Linc and play in front of our fans.