On DE Trent Cole's performance against double teams: "In Trent's case, when you see things like the double team as much as he does, he's learned how to develop a repertoire of moves and an arsenal to combat the double team, so he remains productive as a pass rusher."
On whether he has had to work on beating double teams with Cole: "Trent, along with our defensive line coach, put together a plan for Trent and everybody else on the defensive line for the opponent that they may face that week, and the potential double teams within that."
On why Cole's name is not always mentioned among the NFL's top defensive ends: "In my mind he is one of the top (defensive ends) in the league. You appreciate, week in and week out, what he does and the effort he gives, from a coach's standpoint."
On whether LB Will Witherspoon exceeded expectations in his debut: "The production was there and the production was there for everyone to see. That's a direct result of his hard work. He busted his tail last week and it's nice when hard work pays off. There is still room for improvement within his game."
On what S Sean Jones brings to the defense: "You come in with an experienced safety, number one, who has played in the league for a number of years. He's seen things that even we can't draw up on the chalkboard for him. The communication aspect needs to remain the same, number one, and we need to have a physical presence in there. That's what Sean brings to the table."
On whether Jones struggled with learning the defense when he first got to Philadelphia: "If you look overall over the years at free agents coming into this system, defensively, it takes some time for them to master the system to the point where they can play and excecute."
On DE Jason Babin's play against the Redskins and whether he has earned himself a spot in the defensive rotation: "Anytime you make plays there is an opportunity for you to get back on the field again. I was pleased with the way Jason played having not been on the field for the period of time that he had endured. He did a nice job, mainly from an execution standpoint and then within that he was also productive."
On how the defensive play-calling system worked with S Quintin Mikell wearing the defensive headset: "It seemed to go well. That would be a question for (Quintin), but from a coach's standpoint it worked well. It's something that we've done for a couple of weeks. Having Will (Witherspoon) in the lineup allows us to go back to a middle linebacker, such as Will, but right now it hasn't been broke so we are not going to look to fix anything there. There are some challenges and the players have handled them extremely well to this point."
On what makes the Giants offensive line so good: "They've been together a long time, so there is some continuity there and to me they appear to be a highly intelligent, hard working group that works well together and as an offensive line that's important in the run and the pass game. In terms of passing off stunts in the run game and protection-wise in the pass game, so they've done a great job."
On whether there is a possibility that Witherspoon will wear the defensive headset: "Every week will be different. This week it will be Quintin."
On LB Akeem Jordan's play this season: "Akeem's got great instincts as a football player and we recognized that coming out of college. When things happen on the field that you can't draw up as a coach all the time, he reacts well to those things that we necessarily haven't always talked about. He loves to be nasty and physical and that's what we love on defense."
On whether Witherspoon is becoming more comfortable with the defense and how that will change the game plan: "I think it's a work in progress. As an overall answer to your question, each week we expect him to grasp a little bit more and a little bit more of the details. There are a lot of details in a package that is as expansive as ours is. Going forward we'll be able to do, hopefully, a little bit more but in the end we are going to do what it takes to win the football game."
On whether he expects to have S Macho Harris back this week: "That would be a question for (head athletic trainer) Rick (Burkholder), but he's working hard to get back and we would love to have him back."
On the Giants receiving corps: "I think they are probably more formidable now than they were before, in terms of spreading the ball around. It gives the quarterback, in this case Eli (Manning), a lot of different options, including the tight end passing game with (TE Kevin) Boss and the other two tight ends as well. You are talking about three or four young, dynamic receivers that have very bright futures and all bring something different to the table."
On whether the team had its eye on this game when they made the decision to sign LB Jeremiah Trotter because of the Giants running game: "I would say it's one of the games, but when you look at the NFC East and the running game that each of the teams have in the NFC East you need a big body in there to stop the run."
On whether he feels that DTs Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley are one of the top tackle tandems in the league: "They do a tremendous job. Being able to handle the run the way we did the other night, it all started with those two pillars up front coming off the ball like they did and then it spread out to the defensive end position. If you don't have two tackles that can play like those two have played – you have to stop the run first and so, they've done a great job."
On the defensive line rotation and the importance of keeping those guys fresh: "Highly important it is. In terms of rushing the passer when we need to rush the passer, coming off the edge with speed like we want to do, having the depth to do that number one and then the substitutions in order to do that and manage the game effectively, but we need to have that speed coming off the edge. It also helps you in the run game as well."
On the ability to get pressure on the quarterback without blitzing being a key to winning games: "Every week is different and it's important to pressure the quarterback. (Jokingly) If I could sit back here and get pressure and they'd just let us – give us the green light to rush past the offensive line this week with one guy then we'll just drop 10 guys in coverage, but I don't think that's going to happen."
