On facing Arizona's PR Patrick Peterson: "Yeah, I said this last week that we'll always face some guys that have the opportunity to strike quick and we mentioned his name. He's very good, three returns in eight games. I don't know how long he can keep that pace up but that's pretty impressive."
On how the fake punt pass came about: "I can't run you through everything about that because some of it is strategy that we aren't going to reveal."
On whether they plan on using the play again: "Well, I wouldn't tell the other eight teams on our schedule exactly what we're going to do. That's strategy and that's like anything else."
On how the call was made: "The call is part of an automatic that either can or cannot be used. We could either protect it by what we see, or we can throw it. Given the opportunity, which was a great opportunity, we got the ball at the forty-two, down by three, and you have to pick up six yards. You have to take advantage of that opportunity. We didn't."
On whether Colt Anderson ran too far on the play: "No, he didn't run too far. He ran the route exactly the way he was supposed to run it. In other words, it wasn't fourth-and-20 where even if he catches it, he could be dragged down. It was a short yardage for that play. We were presented with a great opportunity. It's really frustrating that we didn't capitalize on that opportunity. Aside from that, you can't make it un-happen. We have to go out and play ball."
On whether time and the situation was considered when the play was called: "If they were, it was the most perfect time to throw it. Specifically, we don't have a formula for it whether you're 15 points up with 14:00 to go in the first quarter or if there is two minutes in the game. You generally wouldn't throw that if you are winning, I will say that. Truthfully, it was the perfect opportunity to throw it but it wasn't executed."
On whether P Chas Henry was able to execute the throw in practice: "Yeah, he did. He can throw, and he can make that throw. He was the third string quarterback at Florida. That's pretty good at a school like that. He didn't execute it, and my high school coach used to tell me when I first got into coaching that if you do it 20 times and it's not done right, you didn't do it enough times. You need to do it at least 21. Based on that statement, we didn't practice it enough."
On what has happened with PR DeSean Jackson with decreased productivity: "Yeah, he hasn't been too close (to breaking away for a long return). In fact, I'm doing a poor job in that area because we have had very limited good returns. I told you guys that his approach to learning and applying his trade at that position, learning how to do this, was better than it was a year ago. You are looking to be rewarded because when you do good behavior, you want to be rewarded. You don't want to live like A Bronx Tale where all you see is reward for bad behavior. Your dad drives the bus and does everything right, but he's got nothing. You like to see him rewarded for that good behavior. There a lot of things, but I'll say that I haven't taught all the concepts that it takes to manage that ball properly, to understand all the situations of whether it's punted directionally, close to the sidelines, punted with a lot of hang time. You have to be able to take advantage of opportunities. It's like playing golf where if you're in a precarious situation, you may not want to use the putter. There are some things you have to do when you're in those situations. I've had it for a long time, and I just have to do a better job in the moment. We understand all the things it takes for every situation, and that was a situation where he was going one way and the ball was punted the opposite. A lot of things happen, and we have to do a good job teaching it and that's my job and I fall short."
On whether Andy Reid has to give the green light to attempt a fake punt: "Ultimately, everything I do is in concert with the head coach. We game plan and talk about all this stuff. He's great about all of that and he's on top of everything. Any time we go into any situation, if I'm not on top of it then I'll be on top of it because he'll say something like 'Get the hands team ready.' He's always on top of everything. I'm responsible for the play, but of course he knows about that and of course he knows when we're going to do things and when we're not going to do things because we talk about it. We always have a lot of things in to take advantage of situations. You can't make it un-happen. You may not agree, but it was a good situation to take advantage of that opportunity. We just need to make the throw out there."
On whether the punt coverage against Chicago's KR/PR Devin Hester was the best he's ever had: "Against him, it was the best I've ever had anywhere. He's really good. Boy, the guys did a good job and they played really well. It really didn't have anything to do with what I did because we were very vanilla. I said, 'We can be as simple as we can be, and I want you to play as fast and hard as you can play.' They did a really good job. He's hard to stop, and they're hard to stop because they have a lot of really good players."
On whether Peterson is in the same class as Hester: "I would say after eight games and with what they were in their college careers, he absolutely is. That's a compliment for both of them because you're talking about exceptional and unbelievable athletes. Certainly, Hester's abilities for longevity and to continue to do it and have a sharp edge make him unique. The guys that have all the records are really unique because if you went down the list of all the guys the last 20 years that have led the league in punt or kickoff returns, it's very, very short in terms of championship reign. You don't even know who they are. The guys like Hester and Brian Mitchell, you can visualize their runs. It takes a talent to have that tenacity, hunger, and desire to go flying into the briar patch. There is a daredevil mentality that Hester has, and that's why he gets those runs. Can Peterson maintain that? Who knows, and only the future will be able to tell us that. At this present moment, I don't think even Hester has had this. This kid has gotten three (punt return touchdowns) quicker than anybody. He's actually ahead of where Hester is in his pro life."
On whether Peterson's daredevil mentality can be used against him: "He's fielded some balls inside the five, and those are things that as a football team, certainly you need to take advantage of. If you don't, you sit back there and say that this isn't very good and this guy gave us a gift because he's fielding it at the one, and you have to get down there and make a play. We're in overtime, what the hay? All we have to do is play decent defense and decent offense and we're going to win the game by making that play. They didn't do that, and he did. You have to be bold enough to step in the ring and throw some leather. If Buster Douglas is fighting Mike Tyson, he's not trying to get a draw. He's throwing some leather to win it. He did it, and that's what you have to do against guys like that. You can't go in there trying to get a tie. You have to knock them out. You have a lot of guys with that mentality. The Rams didn't because they have done a really good job, but at that moment, he came up big. That's as big of a play as you can make. 99 yards in overtime? Come on, that's rare. That's probably never happened before. The longest return is 103 yards, and that was on a touch in the end zone where the Rams were playing the (Saints) and all the (Saints) ran off the field. (Robert) Bailey scooped up the ball while it was in the end zone because they thought it was downed. So he gets an asterisk by his return."
On whether having a rookie punter throwing the pass on the fake factored into the equation: "If you think he can't throw it, it definitely enters into it. Maybe I'm wrong, but being down by three presents you with a great opportunity. Not a great time to be cautious."
