On whether there is anything he tries to do with K David Akers after he missed two field goals in the last game: "A guy as experienced as David, he knows what he needs to do to be successful. We tried five field goals against Oakland and missed two of them. I think the first one slid to the left just a little bit, he might have overcompensated going to his right. You want to make every kick and I know David does. We also set a team record. It's the first time in the history of the Eagles that a kicker has made three field goals over 40 yards in one game. You look at that and you measure that with the misses. You always want to make the kicks, you need to make those kicks, but when you're trying five field goals over 40 yards, those things come about in a game."
On whether the first missed field goal began with a poor snap: "No I don't think so. I've looked at it over and over again and the first one, he just slid left just a little bit and he just overcompensated, I think, a little bit on the second one."
On why S Quintin Demps took over as kickoff returner against Oakland: "(CB) Ellis (Hobbs) had hurt his wrist; he had a little problem with his wrist. When you have a guy that is going to carry the ball in traffic like that on a kickoff return, that's a little bit of a concern so we let Demps take over that for that week, but Ellis will be back this week."
On the improvement in kickoff coverage: "I think the guys have worked hard in practice, we really do. The guys are giving us good effort; they're concentrating on staying in their lanes and being disciplined. It's been a process that's gone on here for a month or two and I think we have gotten better each week."
On whether it takes time for coverage teams to come together:"You have to do that for a consistent basis. As the year goes on you hope to improve obviously, offense, defense and special teams, but that in particular you have a group guys that are now getting a feel for each other, where they belong, where they fit and I think we're making progress."
On going against a returner like Redskins WR Antwaan Randle-El: "I know Randle-El very well. We were together (at) Indiana (University). I know what kind of athlete he is. He is a very good person, good guy, very elusive. You really have to be disciplined. You have to understand that you don't need to get a big hit on him. You just want to get your hands on him and get him to the ground. He is definitely a threat."
On whether he had a big role coaching Randle-El at Indiana: "I wish I would have had more, to be honest. He was just a quarterback. He did not return punts or kicks in college. You could see that he had the skill to do it, but because of his role as the quarterback on the team he didn't do it in college."
On whether LB Will Witherspoon will play any special teams:"Will has a background in special teams; he's helped out on punts this year with the Rams. At this point in time I don't think that he's going to be involved. He has his hands full with being new here and learning the defense even though there is a lot of carry over. I don't plan on using him."
On whether there are specific things he looks at on film to figure out how to achieve a big return: "Each week you look at your team and what you need to do to help make a play. We obviously need to improve on our basic fundamentals really, punt return. Those are the big things that we need to get better at right now, punt and kickoff return."
On whether it's a matter of the right blocks happening at the right times:"It is. You want to get in position, give yourself a chance to make a play. The other teams are good on their coverage phase too, but we feel if we can be in the right place and give effort, use good technique, good fundamentals, that we can get (WR) DeSean (Jackson) and Ellis loose."
On reducing penalties on special teams:"You have to measure that both ways. One of our goals this week was to not get a penalty on special teams. We addressed it week in and week out and we absolutely were going to go into that game and not get a penalty. I would hope that the guys would have enough confidence in what they're doing and knowing that if they use good technique and use effort and get in good positions that they won't get a penalty and we're just going to have keep working hard at our fundamentals and get better on that."
On DeSean Jackson doing well on punt returns is just a matter of getting the first guy to miss: "Yes, he has an excellent ability to do that. You see him on offense; whenever he gets in space he's dangerous. He did a good job. We averaged almost 11-yards a return which is good, but you'd like to get that one extra block to really get him loose and get him going on a big return."
On whether he has worked with Jackson on not trying to return balls deep in their own territory: "It's a process for all young returners. I have had some young returners in the past and DeSean is going through it now. They just have to be put in certain positions over and over again and understand the importance of making good decisions. I was really pleased that he let the ball go that went over his head and then he reacted exactly the way that we want him to getting away from the ball. He saw that the ball was bouncing around and it's a learning process, and he's going through that and he's getting better."
On what concerns him about the Redskins' special teams besides Randle-El: "They are a very sound, physical group. They have a lot of big guys. As you watch Washington, they are a little bit different in the fact that the type of body types that they have on their special teams. They have a lot of big, physical guys and that concerns you from that perspective, you have to deal with that. They have an excellent player, (FB Mike) Sellers I believe he was All-Pro last year as a fullback, really tough hardnosed guys and that's the thing we have to deal with this week."
On whether he'll ever tell Jackson to take a gamble in his return game: "You don't want to ever deviate from making those decisions. If he's going to catch a ball at the 6-yard line as opposed to letting it go and bouncing in the end zone. You just can't do those things in a game. The number one thing that you can't do on special teams is put your offense and defense in a bad position. Yes, he has play-making ability, but you have to stay within the rules and you have to understand how you affect the other phases on the team and you just need to stay with the things that he's taught."
On whether P Sav Rocca has changed specific things to improve the last couple games: "I know Sav is a guy that is 35, but he's really only been in the NFL for a couple of years. I see him making progress each week. He's more poised. He's able to directionally punt better. He gets the ball off under duress pretty well. I just see him improving; I do think he's making progress."
