Opening Remarks: "Let me give you the injuries. These are the guys that will not play: (S) Nate Allen, (DE) Jason Babin, (WR) Riley Cooper, (LB) Casey Matthews. Nate has a slight hamstring spasm, so we're working it out and I'm going to just hold him out of this game. (QB) Mike Kafka, he got a little work in today. So, really, those were the primary ones. The way we're going to work the game is the starters, I'll hold out.
"(WR) Jason Avant, I'm going to hold him out. So there are a couple of guys like that that we'll keep on the sideline. The rest of the guys are going to play and it all varies, but (I'm) going to start the young quarterback.(QB Nick) Foles will go a quarter and then (QB) Trent (Edwards) will take three quarters. Right now, Kafka's not going to go. I'm going to hold him out unless something drastically changes here. But as of right now, I'm going to hold him out of the game."
On what missing Thursday's game will mean for QB Mike Kafka in terms of fighting for a roster spot: "I've got enough time with him to be able to make that evaluation. The main thing for him right now is that it's tender right now. He took some snaps yesterday and he could feel them and it's just best that we hold him out."
On the difference in the new protective vest QB Michael Vick is wearing compared to previous vests he has worn: "It's a Kevlar vest, so it's the latest, greatest. It's supposedly the best. That's what I can tell you. They're not quite as cumbersome as the other ones and it'll still protect you. He took a good shot. I mean, it wouldn't have mattered what he had on. He took a pretty good shot right there."
On whether S Oshiomogho Atogwe will play on Thursday: "As of right now, yes. Atogwe will play."
On whether FB Stanley Havili will play on Thursday: "Havili will not play."
On whether Havili is the starting fullback: "Right. He's the number one fullback."
On what he hopes to see out of the players that do play on Thursday: "It's a great opportunity for these guys to show. They were told when they came here they were going to have an opportunity to play and put film out there. If they make our team, more power to them. If they don't, it gives them an opportunity to catch on with somebody else and that's what this is all about."
On whether Atogwe will go longer than the other veterans because he has missed time in the preseason: "I'm going to just see. Again, I don't want any setbacks with him. I want him to get out though and have an opportunity to show."
On whether T Demetress Bell will start at left tackle: "He'll be at left tackle, yeah. That whole group's going to have an opportunity to play."
On whether he will hold out DT Fletcher Cox and DT Derek Landri: "Yes."
On whether the rest of the defensive line rotation will play: "The starters are going to be held out. That's what I can tell you. So, (DT Antonio) Dixon will have an opportunity and (DT Cedric) Thornton will have an opportunity. They're going to rotate, so they're all going to get in there and have a little rotation going."
On whether DE Darryl Tapp will play on Thursday: "Tapp will not play, no."
On whether LB Akeem Jordan will play on Thursday: "Jordan, I'm going to give a couple of series to (play), unless a long one goes longer than what I think. So, we'll give him a little bit of work."
On whether CB Joselio Hanson will play on Thursday: "Joselio will not play."
On whether QB Nick Foles is the back-up quarterback at this point: "Yeah, he's in that position right now."
On how tough it is to evaluate the quarterback position behind Vick and Foles with Kafka only receiving a few snaps this preseason: "I know (Kafka) well enough, I think, to be able to make that evaluation. We'll give Trent (Edwards) an opportunity to play and hold Mike out, not because I have all the information. That's not what I'm saying. I don't want to hurt him. I don't want him to be injured."
On whether he has a lot of hard decisions to make when trimming the roster, due to the high level of talent: "Well, I think there are going to be some tough decisions. I think we've got some competition at spots that won't be easy. That's a good thing, though. That's not a bad thing and we tell the players when they come here, 'You make it as hard as you possibly can on (general manager) Howie (Roseman) and I to make that final cut. I mean, you come out and give it every snap. Every opportunity you have, you take full advantage of it and make it your best snap.'"
On whether Foles is second on the quarterback depth chart right now: "Right now, that's what he is. He's the one that's going to start the game."
On whether Foles being second on the depth chart takes into consideration Kafka not playing in this game: "He asked me right now. I'm just telling you that's what it is. I can't get any clearer than that."
On whether he intends to keep the best players, even if that means going heavy at one position: "Yeah, that's normally what we do. You want to keep the best players. Listen, you've got to balance that out. There's a whole lot of balancing that goes on there, but in theory, yeah, that's what you want to do."
On how active the phones are regarding trades at this point: "Very active. Howie's constantly on the phone. That's how it works."
On whether T Jason Peters still has a realistic chance of playing this season: "There's a chance. I would tell you it's probably slim but there is a chance."
On how important the final preseason game is for the young safeties: "Yeah, some of these young guys I think every opportunity they get, that's big for them. Listen, it's competition. You seize the moment and enjoy the opportunity and do the best you possibly can do. (S) Jaiquawn (Jarrett), he's one of the young guys that has an opportunity to play, he'll get a lot of snaps and will take full advantage of that."
On how much talent this year's team has compared to his playoff teams of the past: "Listen, I want to see us go through the season but I would tell you that there are going to be some tough decisions. The quality is up. The talent is up. I'd tell you that I think (general manager) Howie (Roseman) has done a phenomenal job, he and his guys of bringing people in here, both the pro and the college department and creating this intense competition at some spots here. That is healthy and it's good for your football team. I would tell you the talent is there. We just have to play as a football team. That's the important thing."
On the presence of former head coach Dick Vermeil at practice today: "He's been in and out of town. He wanted to sneak out for a day. He talked about coming out to Lehigh a little bit there but he had to do some business so he came out today. He picked a pretty nice day to come out. Love having him out here. All time great."
On whether the team is exploring trade options for one of the backup quarterbacks: "The phones are ringing so everybody is talking all of the time. That's the best way I can put it. Every position you're talking about things. That's just how it works right now. To pick a specific position, I can't do that. Just know that there are calls being made and calls taken."
On the announcement that Brian Westbrook will retire an Eagle: "Tomorrow that's going to take place. I think everybody knows what I think of him. I think the world of the guy and one of the smartest players I ever coached. He's got a phenomenal mind on him. (It's a) tribute to that that university out there, Villanova. Great school and we've got a lot of special ones here."
On whether Westbrook is the prototype of a running back in his offensive system: "We've been blessed with some good running backs and I'd put him up against anybody. He's a great runner, great blocker, (and) good route runner and catcher. You could move him all over the place, he had the aptitude and capacity where you could take him and put him anywhere you needed to put him. You weren't going to run out of gigabytes with Brian Westbrook."
