Opening Remarks: "Now, with that extra day, it seems like it's been forever since the last ball game. (I'll) wrap that up real quick. The (players) did a nice job on offense. We overcame several things. That's a good sign. Many of the players played very well. We did have a few problems and then we ended up overcoming them. And then we get to this game. It's going to be a great challenge, great opportunity for us. This defense, the total stats are very low but let's make no mistake, these guys are very, very good. I believe they're second in the league in third downs. They're very, very high in first-half defense. So, we've got quite a challenge here. They've got excellent players across the board, very good pass rushers. Ninety-two, Haynesworth, is excellent. Excellent set of linebackers, their coverage men are making plays. I know they're very high, I believe it's two, in takeaways. I believe nine different players have forced fumbles, and they've intercepted the ball quite a bit—and that's what they live off of, are those third downs and those turnovers. So we've got to be on top of things in this game."
On whether a divisional opponent will use the same game plan in the second matchup if they were successful in the first game: "It's always different, depends on the team. Most of the time in the league, you're not going to do the same thing too much, twice. But, we'll see. They've had a bye week, so I'm sure there have been some things."
On whether he expects the Redskins to use the same Cover-2 defense that worked so well last time the two teams met: "It worked well. (They allowed) 14 points. We'll see."
On whether the Eagles will take what the Redskins' defense gives them, or will they challenge them: "Challenge it, but you do have to be precise and efficient. Look, we've had great success against some of these teams that try and do that. Now this football team on defense now, Green Bay (was) just a little off, Indianapolis—they played very well against them, but it appears that this defense made them just a little bit off. They were a big part of it. They've played some excellent offenses, as well. So, the big-picture statistics are a little misleading there. It's going to be quite a challenge for us."
On how often teams have spied QB Michael Vick and whether he expects to see more of that: "Well, there are all different forms of spying. You do it so many different ways. He's got a little bit of it. He's got a little bit of it. Very difficult with Mike, though. It's a very difficult thing to go about your plan of attack on Mike, because he's so talented."
On how much poise Vick played with after not playing for a month: "Mike's playing the quarterback position at a high level. I was proud of all the guys. We overcame quite a little bit there, and much of it was our doing, but the (players) had great poise, I thought, during that last game. That's a good sign. Mike's a calm, cool, collected customer now. There's no question about that. Most of that's learned, and then you got some of it natural, but he's pretty good that way."
On what he saw from T Jason Peters on film in his first game back from an injury: "He looked good. Yeah, he's ready to go it looks like this week. He did a fine, fine job last week. You've got to give him credit. We've got the best training staff in the world there. They're magic men, they sort of make things happen. And then you've got to give the player credit, he got that rehab done and it was quick."
On how he felt the Eagles did against Haynesworth last game: "Haynesworth, he does it to everybody, now. He's a heck of a player. So you have to account for his presence. There's absolutely no question about it. There's only just a select few that are like him."
On how helpful using maximum protection on offense has helped Vick: "Well, I'd have to go re-count it, but there's different style of maximum protection, as well, but you're right, we have done quite a little bit of that. I like to give the quarterback, and certainly Mike, a little bit of air. So, I think that helps."
On why TE Clay Harbor has not seen the field since the Green Bay game: "Well, he's been in a learning process, and he's really done a fine job. He's worked very hard, diligent, to get better every day. And that was his mindset: get better every day. And then, he may very well be able to help us here sometime in the future. He's done a fine job. We're very high on Clay, and so, I think his future could very well be bright, if he does it the right way."
On whether G/C Nick Cole is the starting RG: "Well, yeah, it depends on health, but yeah."
On whether G Max Jean-Gilles is practicing today: "We'll see. It's day-to-day, you know those things. It's day-to-day."
On how Cole's knee is and how he performed last week in Jean-Gilles' absence: "He did good last week. Did good, and he's continuing rehab and treatment on the knee, so I think he'll be fine. He played well last week. He's a good player. He's a good player that's battling a couple of things."
On whether it's important to give the quarterback some time when looking to throw down field: "Yeah, that's right. And you can do other things, as well, which we've done. That's right."
On whether TE Brent Celek is not going to have many catches because of the maximum protections they are using on offense: "Every game's a little cyclic. Every game's a little different. Every group of games is a little cyclic. I thought going into last week, I really thought he was going to get the ball a little bit, and that's my responsibility. I'll try to get that thing going a little bit."
On whether he has given up on the hope that Vick is going to learn how to slide: "Yeah, Mike doesn't slide. No, that's okay. There are two philosophies to that. And I don't want to name any names, but there are great quarterbacks who never slid. They go head first and get an underneath hit. Now the one mistake Mike made was because he was trying to score, is that he didn't get in underneath those two players that hit him several weeks back. But that's okay going head first and getting hit underneath of the hits. A touch more risky, just a touch, because you're not giving yourself up, but he did do a good job about two-thirds of the time last week, of getting up and getting out. Now, he did do that a couple of times, there was one or two other times where I thought he could have done a little bit better there, but he's such a playmaker, that if he thinks he can make a move and score, then he's going to do that. And that's okay. But when's he's got two to three people trapped, I'd like to see him get down."
On whether he gets excited or worried when Vick scrambles: "No, I don't get worried. I get excited. He's got to do it right."
On whether he felt the majority of Vick's runs were justified: "In fact, I felt there was one where he could've started the process, anyway. I thought he did a beautiful job of that and especially the way that defensive team played. And (quarterbacks coach) James (Urban) drilled him on it, and then Mike did it in the game several times that really helped us in that ball game, with the way that they pass rush in their lanes and the spins and all these type of things. I thought he did an excellent job there. Sometimes when you have active quarterbacks, it looks like a free-for-all and it's not. It's very disciplined with the really good ones, and Mike was really disciplined within his movements and all of the decision making that he made. He was very, very good at that last week."
On the success the team has had on opening drives and whether scoring first is something that he emphasizes: "Well, that's the way it's been. In the second half, we're not very good, but in the second drive of the second half we're excellent, so it's a little bit cyclic there, as well, but we do like to be very, very good coming out in the ball game and coming out at half. Our second drives have been excellent coming out at half, so I've been trying to get that a little bit better. But that's just how we go about our business, and we do emphasize it, and we do review it and all those types of things. But it may not be emphasized quite as much as you may think."
On whether you have to teach quarterbacks to slide or he assumes they know how to do it: "Well, it depends on the style of the quarterback. And I've been through it several times, with age sometimes comes in, prior injuries—those types of things. And then, yeah, you drill it. If you want him to slide, you drill it. That's easy to drill. Some guys are better at it than others. It's sort of like catching the ball, some guys just catch the ball better than others. Some guys slide better than others, but yeah, sure, you drill it, and you teach it, but that's not a factor with Mike."
