Head coach Andy Reid met with reporters on Wednesday morning at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., the site of the NFL Annual Meeting. In his first public address since the opening weekend of free agency, Reid covered a wide array of topics -- from his relationship with Donovan McNabb and the playmakers on offense to the new rule changes for the 2008 season and the acquisition of prized free agent cornerback Asante Samuel and what it means for Lito Sheppard …

On whether teams have made inquiries into acquiring QB Donovan McNabb: "No."

On whether he expects any teams to make inquiries: "I don't know. I don't know that. I have no idea, nor do I really care."

On what degree of certainty Reid has that McNabb will be an Eagle this year: "I'm sure he will be."

More on McNabb: "Donovan's a team guy and that's the way he is so he'll be fine. I've been in communication with him in the offseason and I think he'll be fine."

On if Reid is OK with the playmakers on the offense: "I think so. I think we have pretty good playmakers where we're at, which I think was evident by the results at the end of the season. We went on a bit of a run there and I thought some of the guys stepped up and played well."

On the fans' interest in upgrading the WR position: "I think they understand it. They're passionate about that X spot. Sometimes that can be a bit overrated, but I understand the want there. I don't necessarily feel the same way, but I understand where they are coming from."

On WR Reggie Brown: "Reggie started off OK and progressively got better as the season went on. I thought he finished strong."

On Brown's consistency: "I think that's important. Consistency is the most important thing with him."

On Brown working together with McNabb: "They were together before. I don't think that was it (the reason for Brown's inconsistency). It's just a matter of catching the ball with just a little more consistency. I think he's pretty good  - quick, can change direction, accelerates fast – the things that make you successful in this offense."

On whether Brown needs more 'fire': "I don't think that's it. He goes 100 mph on everything. If he keeps doing that, he'll be fine."

On McNabb's workout plan and if he will be in Philadelphia or Arizona: "Normally it's about two weeks on (in Philadelphia) and two weeks off (in Arizona). He is in Philadelphia right now. That's fine. I don't make a big stink about the offseason program. I don't do that unless I feel there is a guy who has a problem conditioning himself. Donovan is always proactive about that. Whether he is in Philadelphia or Arizona, he is always going to be working and he's going to have the guys come out and work with him. I've never really been too concerned about all of that."

On McNabb's play last year in the scheme: "I thought it was just a matter of his leg coming back, and in order to come back you have to play on it. You're going to go through a couple of highs and lows. He pounded through that like a warrior, man. He grinded that thing and he came out on top."

On the status of CB Lito Sheppard: "Lito is on the team. I don't look at it that way (that a trade is imminent). I look at it as Lito is part of the group and we have a pretty good secondary."

On whether Sheppard needs to be at the conditioning program: "I don't do all that. I don't get into all that, that they (players) have to be there (at the NovaCare Complex). I never have. I've never done that."

On managing three talented CBs on the team: "The one thing is, Asante has only played that one position. Lito has been all over the place (at all three CB spots). Sheldon (Brown) has been all over the place. It gives me a bunch of flexibility to mess with those three guys. It would probably be very similar to when I had Al (Harris) and they all played and they were all starters. I'm not really in the business of keeping people happy. I'm in the business of winning games. I think they all want to win. When it is all said and done, that is the primary goal."

On why teams aren't crowded around Reid talking about McNabb: "I'm not trying to trade him. That might be the reason."

On whether Reid ever had to talk to McNabb about perceived 'hurt feelings' after the team drafted QB Kevin Kolb: "I talk to Donovan more than any player I've got. We always have. I think that is important with a quarterback. I've tried not to let that be an issue. I've shot him straight with all of that."

One whether Kolb could be a No. 2 QB this year: "Yeah, he'll compete for that spot this year in training camp."

On if there have been any trade inquires for QB A.J. Feeley: "I haven't (received any), no. Nor about Kolb. Not for any of those three (including McNabb). I can sit here and honestly tell you that nobody has (asked about trading for an Eagles quarterback)."

On Kolb's progress: "This is always a big offseason for a rookie (a player coming off his rookie season), so he gets a lot of individual attention. The way the offseason is set up there (at the NovaCare Complex), there is a period for the returning rookies to come in and get schooled back up on where they were at (in the system). Since Kevin is the only rookie (quarterback), he was the only one in going through that. It's been good for him. But to say that I know where he's at, it's a projection. I think I do, but he hasn't been that starter. Philadelphia is a pretty easy city to play quarterback in (laughs)."

On Philadelphia as an Eagles town: "It really is a phenomenal city. They are so passionate about their sports teams where in other places maybe it's game to game, in Philadelphia it's play to play. That's how you are critiqued. You really haven't lived until you've played or coached there. It's awesome. It really is. It challenges you and keeps you on top of your game. It's quite an experience.

"They're going to let you know if you do good and they're going to let you know if you do bad. And they're real about it. I'm good with that. That's the way you as a coach. If you have a bad play, you're like, 'Dog gonnit.' When you do good, you feel alright. That's how it is."

G Max Jean-Gilles will have a shot to win the starting left guard spot in 2008

On the return game and the kick return man, specifically: "I think that's a spot we can upgrade, although I think Reno (Mahe) is a very solid answer. I also think, like we do at all spots, you're looking to get a little better at each position. That would be a good challenge, to do that."

On whether there was ever a point Reid thought the Eagles would sign WR Randy Moss: "He made it very clear where his heart was, so I'm not sure there was ever a spot where I said, 'We've got him.'

On the DT positions: "We were fortunate we didn't have any injuries there last year, so it worked out OK. You would like to rotate them more. Kimo (von Oelhoffen) kind of came on for us there and that allowed us to do that. Montae (Reagor) is a year off of injury, so hopefully he gives us a little bit more. He had been a pretty good player and a good pass rusher."

On the emergence of LB Stewart Bradley: "When we drafted Stew, we thought he could come in and play for us, to get some time in even as a rookie. That's how advanced he was. He had the size, speed, he's a smart guy. Then he had an opportunity to play at the end of the season there and we really liked him. He really stepped up. So, it gave us a comfort that he could step in and play."

On where Bradley fits in on the defense: "I think he can play MIKE (middle linebacker) or SAM (strongside linebacker). Either one. He can run well enough to do either. He's big and strong."

On how Reid tries to improve the Eagles: "I try to build it to where it's the best in the National Football League. I think that's how you go about doing it. If it means you move up an inch or a foot, it doesn't matter.  I don't care. You just try to get better at each position. That doesn't necessarily mean you bring in new guys. How is a guy handling his offseason? Maybe that makes you a little bit better. What kind of competition do you have behind that first group? Is it legitimate competition, or guys who are just kind of flopping around? The more competition you have, the better you are."

On the linebacker spots: "We're young and we fly around. Omar (Gaither) probably has the most experience – Rocky (Boiman) does, but from our standpoint, Omar does. The one consistent thing is that they are all smart guys, they all love to play and they will do whatever it takes to get better. I think they are pretty good right now. I look forward to seeing them on the field."

On the league's discussion on re-seeding the playoff teams: "I'm good with whatever the league does. Whatever direction they take, I'll support. I'm OK with the way it is now, and I'm OK if they go the other way. There are plusses and minuses to both. As a coach, you just want to win. You take care of the things you can take care of. The league has always made pretty good decisions."

On voting 'no' on the defensive speaker rule: "They asked me to vote, so I gave my opinion on it. I just had some beliefs against that. There are some things I like about it and there are some things I don't like about it. I'm not sure I'm going to get into all of that (why he voted no).

On if defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will be happy about the rule going through: "I think he will be, yeah. He's got to figure things out, though. It's not as cut and dried as the offensive side. It's more complicated. There are things that need to be worked out, and that was my big concern. Let's work them out before we pass the vote.

Could Omar Gaither be the one who would have to wear the green dot on defense?

On if there is a potential that a defense would keep a player on the field simply because he has the green dot on his helmet: "Yeah, or you have to switch helmets. Do you have time to do that? What if the offense is in no-huddle on second or third down? How are you going to work that? (Does a player say), 'Oh, I can't go out there because I don't have the right helmet on.'

"For instance, let's say we had (Jeremiah) Trot (Trotter). He was a first- and second-down player. If you have Omar in there on nickel, he's going to call it. We've always had a couple of different guys who could do it (call the defensive signals). Now you're talking about having a safety call the signals and taking the linebacker out ... it will work out. Somehow, it will work out."

On winning at the line of scrimmage: "You guys have heard me say this before, that you win the game up front on both sides of the ball. If the d line is better than the o line, the quarterback is going to be in trouble. If the o line is better than the d line, the defense is going to be in trouble. That's how it worked out in the Super Bowl. That theory really rises to the top. When you start talking about receivers, you can have pretty good receivers, but if those guys up front aren't doing their job, those receivers aren't going to be very good."

On the play of LG Todd Herremans: "Todd's got to do a better job than he did last year. He has that potential. He showed a lot of intestinal fortitude last year by working through that knee (injury) and having knee surgery and not missing any time, and coming back and playing. It bothered him. That said, the production part of it, he has to do better."

On if Max Jean-Gilles will challenge Herremans: "You've got a couple of guys in there, Scott (Young) also. There is good competition in there. I think people forgot about Scott. He's a pretty good player. We'll get that whole crew in there."

On C Jamaal Jackson: "You know what? I thought Jamaal played pretty good last year. We're basically done the self scout part of it, but we looked at it and Jamaal did a good job."

On if Reid is concerned with his OTs: "They're getting older, yeah. I'm concerned. You have to be concerned, but I also think that both of my guards (Herremans and Shawn Andrews) can play tackle. And I've got guards who can step in and play."

On whether he would prefer not moving Andrews: "Not necessarily. Shawn was one of the finest tackles I've ever seen come out of college football. To get him on the field sooner, I put him in at guard. But I would have no problem doing that, no. I thought he could play the left side as well as anybody in this league."

On what he wants to accomplish in the April 26-27 draft: "I think we're in a position now where, with the things we've done in free agency, where we don't have a real, absolute need going into the draft. We can kind of pick and choose who the best player is. We haven't always had that (situation)."

On having a rookie step on the field early: "Yeah. If they're good enough, I'll play them. I don't mind doing that."

On the idea that Samuel is a 'system' cornerback: "I think if he's a system player, then we all need to do the system. He was the most productive corner in the league this year. I think he's a pretty talented guy, whether it's the system or not the system. We'll see how it all works out."

On how the Eagles felt about Samuel coming out of college: "We all knew he was a talented kid, coming from a little bit of a smaller school (Central Florida) and he had a couple of question marks here and there, but I think everybody knew he had talent. He had some inconsistencies here and there, but he worked through those, stepped up to the competition level in the NFL and has done a good job from there."