Openings Remarks:"Wrap up that last game real quick. Sort of a tribute to the players hanging in, hanging in, hanging in. Sometimes good things happen there. Such an emotional game—whether you win or lose—an emotional game. Very important to get back and refocus. So that's what the players are doing right now. The preparation, that's important here. So we've got a big game now, get to this game against the Minnesota Vikings coming in. Like I said, the key will be preparation here. Putting the hard work in after that emotional win last week. This Minnesota Viking club is ranked high in many defensive statistics, and it starts with their front. They're very, very good up front. Their linebackers are very active, real smart, as well. And you can see that clearly on film, very smart, always well prepared. They've had some injury situations in the secondary, so we should be getting some more information here in the next day or two on that."
On why the offense is so good in the fourth quarter: "Well that's a good thing, to be able to execute late in games when it's important. Most of those have been important situations. So that's good. I think otherwise, it's a great accomplishment for the players that they stay disciplined, they run the play, then they let their natural ability go, and of course we've got some big-time playmakers and that's shown up late in games, as well."
On whether he sees the influence of former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson on the Vikings' defense: "Yeah, absolutely. Bring up Jim Johnson, what a great coach. Jim Johnson, great coach. A lot of coaches came out from his influence there. Excellent. In fact, the team that's leading the league in defense, of course came from here, the coordinator did. But yes, you clearly see that on film. Now, (Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier) has got to do with his players' strengths. He's got to do certain things within that, but certainly is very, very similar."
On whether fourth quarter success has more to do with in-game adjustments or just becoming more efficient by the end of the game:"Well, we make adjustments every series, very quick adjustments. We're very, very young on offense. Across the board, we're young. That's another great quality to have. The key is they're all very smart, really sharp guys. The best thing I can say is that will—they kept it tight now. And then the execution part. We did execute much better late in the game than we did early. We had some opportunities. Now, that defense, I will tell you, is very good. That's a heck of a defense. However, it's high-risk, high-reward. If you're not on it, that defense can make a good offense look really bad. And that's what occurred there for a little while. And then we were just a little bit more precise. You're talking inches sometimes. Early in that game, we were just off a little bit."
On how much of the comeback can be attributed to QB Michael Vick's instincts taking over: "Well, Michael has great instincts. Michael's got it all at this point. Really, the most important quality, in my opinion, for a quarterback to have is gut instincts, then comes the decision making and the timing and accuracy. Then comes the big arm and athleticism and those types of things. The gut instincts are critical for a quarterback, and you can see that."
On what makes WR Jeremy Maclin so dangerous in the red zone:"I'm glad you brought that up. He's got 10 (touchdowns) I believe. He's having a heck of a year. Jeremy Maclin's a heck of a football player and he's sort of overlooked a little bit, with Michael's dynamic ability and (WR) DeSean (Jackson) and (TE) Brent Celek, and (RB) LeSean (McCoy). He's sort of overlooked. He's been a touchdown maker for us. He can score on the deep plays, and he can also catch and make the quick the move—and he's a physical guy, he's a strong guy. And then, like he did on the game-tying (touchdown against the Giants), nice little move, boom. Now, that takes strength to make that move and get up the field. So, he's a physical guy. He's done it time and time again down there, down in the red zone."
On Maclin's block on Celek's touchdown catch: "Both of them did. He had a heck of a block and DeSean had a heck of a block on the right side, as well. Now, Jeremy's was more important because it popped (Celek) free. (Wide receivers coach) David Culley has done a great job. That was a good point, down the field that makes those 20-yard plays into the 40-yard plays or more. He blocks very, very well. He and (WR) Jason (Avant) are both excellent blockers, and DeSean is a little bit underrated there. He's a pretty good blocker down the field, as well."
On the comparison of Maclin and Jackson to former 49ers WRs Jerry Rice and John Taylor in terms of being dangerous: "It's a little early for that. That's why I don't like to compare. And (Vick) to (former 49ers QB) Steve (Young). I'll do it a little bit, but some of these players have done this, and it's unfair to the other player, because they've done it over a long period of time. So, that's our challenge. That's Michael's challenge, that's DeSean's challenge, that's Jeremy's challenge. Do it over a long period of time and a high level. And I have no question they'll be able to do it. So, in several years from now, I think we can compare them very favorably. Now, I would say DeSean is about the most dynamic player I have ever been around—the dynamic ability that he has. Now, Jerry had it all, of course. And (Bengals WR Terrell Owens) had it all. He had to work at a couple of things, so did Jerry, a couple of things. But it's too early to compare."
On how Vick is able break long runs late in games: "Well, there's several things. Some of it's genetics. He's built that way. The other thing is, as you know, when he came here, he was working before every practice and after every practice virtually every day, very few exceptions that way. And then, this offseason he put the hard work in. He put the physical, hard work in. And then, the rest of it's in the mind. We've got some guys with guts on the team. Michael's certainly got guts. So, that comes into play, too."
On other teams using defensive schemes that they've never used before against the Eagles:"Well, that's part of this league. Any time you have a quarterback playing at high level, you're going to see different things that they've never done, and is not on film. Now, there are some good things to that and some bad things. The good thing is that they haven't done it much. The bad thing is you're not quite as prepared for it, so you tend to make a few more adjustments, but you get that with any quarterback that's playing at a high level. They're not going to sit there and do what they've done. You can't do that. You can't do that on offense, either. You've got to try to keep people off balance. We see that, and Mike's gut instincts come into play on occasion, especially early, if you're seeing some things that you've never seen before. But you don't want to chase ghosts too much and start making stuff up that they could do this, and you adjust to it in the game. We do a little bit of that, but too much chasing ghosts is not good."
On how fortunate he feels that his Opening Day second-string quarterback is an MVP candidate: "That's right. And we've got an excellent backup that has won games for us. And we went through that earlier in the year, if you remember. The first ballgame, (QB) Kevin (Kolb) got hurt and Mike came in, and shortly thereafter, Mike got hurt and then Kevin came in. And then the next guy steps up, so I'm sure that that's their mentality. The next guy steps up and whatever it takes to win the next ballgame. Now, (Vikings QB) Brett (Favre), you've got to put great in front of his name now. The great Brett Favre. I'm just telling you, Brett Favre can take a college team and have a chance against anybody. That's the way he is. I'm sure that that's probably their thought process last week, as well. Brett can take a team and will them to win."
On the Vikings change at quarterback and what that does to the rest of the offense: "I'm sure that they are doing the same mentality that we would do. We expect (Vikings QB Joe Webb) to play as good, or better. It's that simple. And then, you may structure it just a little bit different, whatever it takes to win the game. Doesn't matter how you're going to do it. So, I'm sure that they're in that mentality."
On what the trickle-down effect that the Vikings' change at quarterback has on their offense:"I would never go there. It's just me. I would never go there. You expect the next man to play as good or better. Done. At any position."
