Here are the comments of Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, linebacker Takeo Spikes and special teams coordinator Rory Seagrest. They all know playing the Cowboys will be a huge challenge.
Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson Press Conference
12-13-07
On whether the Cowboys have become even more efficient since the first game:
“I know one thing, they were pretty efficient the first time we saw them against us. It was probably our worst defensive game, to tell you the truth. They’ve been steady. They’ve had some close games, but they’re putting points on the board and moving the ball about every game you see. Even though they’ve had some close games, offensively they’re right with the Patriots.”
On Cowboys QB Tony Romo:
“He’s probably a guy who has much better vision this year than last year. If the first receiver’s not there, he goes to the second. If the second’s not there, he goes to the third. He’s been very effective on check downs when people take away their main receiver. That’s what I see; I see a guy who is getting rid of the ball. Not just throwing it away, but going to the second, third, and fourth receivers. He’s doing a great job with that; probably as good as anybody in the league right now.”
On whether Romo is the best quarterback he’s faced in the division since he’s been in the league:
“It’s been about nine years now, that’s a tough one. He’s as good, right now, he’s playing at as high-performance as I’ve seen since I’ve been here. I can’t think of anyone else in the division who has played like him.”
On whether the Cowboys are still as effective offensively without Romo at quarterback:
“[WR Terrell Owens] and [TE Jason] Witten [are] two of the premier players. He’s doing a good job of getting the ball to the running backs and [WR Patrick] Crayton. There’s no question, he’s got some good weapons, but he’s playing well. He’s a steady quarterback.”
On how Owens got so open so many times in the first game:
“We weren’t as good, as far as playing man coverage on him. I think we’ll be better in that. We had some blown coverages, to tell you the truth. It came down to that, we gave up big plays. That’s part of guys not being here for a while and not practicing, but we’ll get that straightened out. That was the biggest thing.”
On whether the cornerbacks are concerned about the number of yards given up in the passing game this season:
“I’m concerned. They’ve got to have a short memory and I think they’ve got to still be making sure it doesn’t bother them and still be aggressive. We need to make sure we’re in great position, as far as man coverage or blitzes. They’ve got confidence and I want their confidence back, too.”
On why the secondary has struggled:
“I don’t think I can pinpoint one thing; I think it’s kind of a combination. Sometimes, it’s guys working together and sometimes it’s mishandling the coverage, that’s all. I don’t think it’s one thing. I wish I could put it on one thing, but it’s not.”
On what makes Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett special:
“It’s hard to say, because he’s been in the league a very short time. Even after going against him the first time, I know a little bit more about him. He is a typical guy who does a lot of changing of personnel, scripting plays, different plays every game you see. He’s very innovative; he comes up with different things all the time. You have to be on your toes and make sure you can handle all of his formation adjustments. That’s the biggest thing.”
On whether they use Witten differently than other teams use their tight ends:
“I don’t think they use him any differently except for the fact that he’s such a big target out there. He’s a big strong tight end. You might have a linebacker on him and he’ll muscle a linebacker. You might have a safety on him and he’ll muscle a safety. He’s just a big tight end. He doesn’t get downfield as well as some other tight ends like [Giants TE Jeremy] Shockey, but he’s such a physical guy on his short routes.”
On Romo’s ability to check down to the running backs the last time they played the Eagles:
“That was the biggest thing he did a good job of, I thought, besides us having a couple of bad coverages. I thought he did a great job of getting the ball to the backs on the check down. We’ve got to take care of that.”
On whether Witten is similar to former Cowboys TE Jay Novacek:
“He’s a little bit different. They’re using him quite a bit, but Novacek was almost like a wide receiver playing tight end. This is a tight end playing tight end. He’s such a physical guy. Novacek was never a physical tight end; he was more of a wide receiver playing tight end.”
On whether he is pleased with his defense so far this season:
“I’ve said this before, I wish there was some consistency. I’m still concerned [about that] every once in a while. We play and play and all of a sudden we give up a big run or pass. That’s the biggest thing. Some of those are calls too. The other day, I called a blitz and maybe I wish I didn’t call a blitz. It hurt us, so there are things I wish I had back too. Probably jus the consistency of the big plays.”
On why the defense has struggled to get sacks late in the season over the past two years:
“I really don’t know. I don’t have an answer for that. As long as we keep pressuring the quarterback, we might not get the sacks, whether it’s blitzes or alignment. [DE] Trent [Cole] is doing a great job, as far as pressuring, and [DE Juqua Thomas]. But, I really don’t have an answer for that, I really don’t.”
On how he gauges LB Stewart Bradley’s progress when he only plays on special teams:
“It’s hard to. All we know about Stewart is that we think he’s going to be a fine prospect because he’s doing a good job on special teams. You always like to see your linebackers playing well on special teams. He’s a big guy, he can run, he’s a strong guy, and he’s got a future here with the Eagles. We’ll see how it goes next year.”
On when it is appropriate to start taking a look at the younger prospects who are currently backups:
“Not yet.”
On whether he imagined he would use S J.R. Reed so much on defense this year:
“No, I couldn’t. Like I said before, the guy has a great heart, to believe he’s doing what he’s doing after two years ago. I never thought he’d be able to walk right again. To play football the way he is, and he’s contributing, he’s got a big heart; he really does. He’s fighting through some things that probably bother him, as far as that foot, but he plays fast and he’s getting very productive.”
On DTs Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson:
“I think they play well together. They kind of know each other now and have been given a lot of reps together; probably too many reps. I’d like to rotate a little more. They’re both steady. They’re both playing with injuries and they’re banged up and bruised a little bit, but you can’t get them off the field. They both have good character. We really need to rest them a little bit more and try to get [DT] Kimo [von Oelhoffen] a little bit more in the rotation this week.”
On how von Oelhoffen has looked so far this year:
“He’s doing a good job and he’s going to play a little more this week. He’s doing a good job.”
On why he’s not ready to start taking a look at some of the younger players in the game:
“Right now, we’re going to play the best guys who are going to give us a chance to win the football game. There might be a time we say we want to look at them, but not right now.”
On whether Owens and Patriots WR Randy Moss are different players:
“It shouldn’t be. That’s the same type of character we’re going against. We didn’t do a good job against T.O. last time. I know our guys are up to it and we’ll see how it goes.”
On how LB Omar Gaither has handled playing in the middle:
“I think he’s been a very solid linebacker. I think he’s been productive. I think he’s handled this defense well, as far as two-minute situations, clutch situations. He’s come up and handled things. He kind of knows what I want. Sometimes, I don’t even have to signal defenses in. he kind of knows what I want. He’s really doing some good things that way, and he’s being very productive.”
On whether he plans to be more physical with Owens:
“Being physical, and they move him around quite a bit. We have to make sure we’re in the right combination coverage, depending on where he is. This is one thing that Jason Garrett has done; he’s moved T.O. around a lot. It’s not just one wide receiver to the single side or the weak side or the strong side. He’s moved them all over, he’s moved them to the backfield. That’s what you have to kind of pay attention to—where he is lined up.”
On whether they use Owens in motion often:
“Yes, that’s a big thing they’re doing right now.”
On whether Gaither has done enough to establish himself as the middle linebacker:
“I have a lot of confidence in him right now. I think he’ll get better. I think he’s a football player and he’ll get better.”
On whether CB Lito Sheppard’s struggles have affected the team’s defense:
“I know Lito has struggled a little bit. The guy is a good football player. He’s been injured. It hurts when you’re injured and don’t have training camp or the first part of the year to get ready. He’s still kind of working his way back. I think he’s healthy now and I expect a good game from him on Sunday.”
On whether Gaither is the long-term solution at middle linebacker:
“I didn’t say that. That’s not written in stone, I just think he’ll be on the field. But, I’m happy with him at middle linebacker.”
On where Bradley fits into the linebacking corps:
“I think that’s one thing we’re going to find out in the next year a little bit. Do we want him as a strongside linebacker or a middle linebacker? He’s kind of a backup at both right now. It’s just one step away from an injury and all of a sudden he’s right back up in there, so we’ll see. I like him as a MIKE linebacker, but we’ll just have to see. I’m not sure yet. I hope it’s a nice problem we have.”
Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg Press Conference
12-13-07
Opening Remarks:
“Heading into Dallas, we’ve got a great opportunity and a great challenge. It’s an excellent defense, one of the top defenses in the league. They’re very good in specific areas. They can certainly rush the passer and stop the run.”
On QB Donovan McNabb’s perceived reluctance to throw downfield:
“We certainly try to [throw downfield], even against those soft defenses. However, if you just simply can’t get it down the field, then you have to be very efficient. You have to run the football and protect well every play. We have to be accurate, we have to catch the football and we have to gain yards after the catch, if the defense is playing you in that manner.”
On where the line is between being smart and too conservative:
“There is a real fine line there between being aggressive and taking care of the football.”
On what’s not working on offense:
“There were four or five plays last week where we needed to execute.”
On defenses focusing on RB Brian Westbrook:
“We’ve been reliant on him for quite some time. I remember the playoff game against Minnesota [in 2004] where their whole focus was to stop Brian Westbrook. It’s been that way for quite some time. Brian’s having a great year; he’s one of the elite players in this league. I’m sure every defense that we face, that’s one of their objectives is to slow Brian down just a little bit.”
On the tight end play this year:
“It’s been a tough year for [TE] L.J. [Smith]. He’s done everything he can to get himself ready to play physically. I thought we had him back there for a little while. It’s been a tough year. He’s worked hard and has been diligent in trying to get himself on the field and playing at a high level. And then we have [TEs Brent] Celek and Matt [Schobel]. Both of them have done a good job. Both are different. One is more of a pass receiver and one is more of an in-the-box type guy.”
On TE L.J. Smith being 100% at any point this year:
“No, he hasn’t been one hundred percent, no. He’s certainly tried hard to get there, but he hasn’t been one hundred yet.”
On whether the offense would function better if TE L.J. Smith weren’t injured:
“You don’t know that because you can’t go back and replay it. L.J. has done everything possible that he could do to get himself healthy. Matt and Brent have played really well when they’ve had the opportunity. We’d like to have L.J. healthy, but that’s not the case. We need to move on.”
On L.J.’s injuries directly affecting QB Donovan McNabb:
“When a man’s injured, we expect the next guy to step up and play as well, or better, than the man he replaces. We have to be efficient throughout all of our injuries.”
On L.J. when healthy:
“L.J.’s a fine football player. He’s pretty good in the run game as well as the pass. Brent is gaining experience right now. Matt certainly has experience and he’s very good in the pass game.”
On using RB Tony Hunt this week:
“He’s done a good job throughout the minicamps and training camp and the first part of the year, even when he was inactive. We’re comfortable with him in virtually any aspect of the game. Early in the season, when he was active, we used him in some situational aspects of our game. He certainly could get some snaps.”
On what WRs Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown could do better to help the offense:
“Playing at a high level on a consistent basis. Both of them are playing pretty well right now. We need to play better as a whole offense. We had a mistake here or there at virtually every position to slow us down in the past couple weeks.”
On the red zone play this year:
“We started off slow in the red zone, then for five or six games we were really, really good. Then we slowed down a little bit, again. I’ve got to do a better job there. We’ve got to execute a little better there. We’ve certainly had some opportunities, and we’ve got to get better. It’s a little cyclical. When you’re really good, it stays consistent when you want it to be. We’ve been up and down there in that area. We’ve been up and down too much. We’ve got to be more consistent. We’ve had several opportunities early in the year and we’ve got to make do on those opportunities.”
On yards per pass attempt being down this year:
“Yards per pass attempt is one of those statistics that correlates highly with winning. You like it to be high. Every game is different. Sometimes it depends on how many guys you [send] down the field and how we’re playing, and those types of things. You like to have it high. That is one of the statistics that correlate with winning.”
On what number is the goal for yards per pass attempt:
“Some games you might have an extremely high yards per catch. Others, you might be [around] seven or eight and that would be a good game. If you’re below that, then you’re not quite as explosive as you need to be. If you’re below that [7 or 8], then you need to be really efficient to move the chains. Usually, in those games, if you’re good on offense and moving the chains in a consistent manner, it’s because you’re going to a lot of third downs. Those can be hard to get sometimes. You have to be consistent.”
On the offense generally doing better in the 1st half:
“It goes back to execution. I have to do a better job in the second half as well. That’s a little cyclical too. We’ve got to get better and we’ve got to do a better job overall. Normally you want to play at a high level, on a consistent basis, over the whole game.”
On not throwing fade routes in the red zone:
“Anytime a defense gives you a one-on-one opportunity, you typically do that.”
LB Takeo Spikes Press Conference
12/13/07
On Cowboys QB Tony Romo’s tendency to dump the ball off the last time the Eagles played them:
“I went back and looked at the films, especially when we played against him. We added pressure, and when there was pressure added he dumped the ball off him. We had some busts, some mental, defensive busts. At times, it was just busts. Guys were out there playing hard trying to make plays and failed to cover up the back. We’re pretty much sure they won’t be open because of that reason [this week].”
On whether the last time they played Dallas was their worst game defensively:
“I truly felt that way because if you go back and look at the other games, out of all the games we played, that game right there, I guess you could say it just got out of hand.”
On how he likes playing with LB Omar Gaither:
“I enjoy playing alongside of him. We talk about it all the time, from the first game to the midway point throughout the season, all the way up until last week going back looking at film and just cut-ups. He’s done a tremendous job as far as orchestrating the defense, getting everybody lined up, especially helping me out early on because it was challenging for me trying to understand everything. But, he’s done a great job.”
On how Gaither has become more seasoned now:
“Yeah, he has. He’s definitely more seasoned and I think that just comes along with time. If he continues to have the work ethic and do the little things, I truly feel that the sky’s the limit for him.”
On how they will stop the Cowboys offense:
“Well, you have to stop the run first. They have so many weapons on their offense. But, I preach this to the day that I’m not playing football anymore, if you don’t contain the run, especially with [RB Marion] Barber and those guys, they will embarrass you. So, we definitely have to stop the run, take care of the little things as far as run gap assignment, and then focus on third down. Who do they like to go to? Who shows up in certain situations? Certain formations? That’s when you can start breaking down the passing game.”
On whether the Eagles are better than their 5-8 record shows:
“I think your record speaks for itself at the end of the day. But, as I say people who know football and look at it from a football perspective, when they go back and look at the film and understand stats, they will see a good football team. I’m talking not from a spectator’s eye. I think what has happened to us is just, not enough good breaks. There have been times to where we had the advantage to take advantage of the opposing team and it didn’t happen or certain calls just don’t go your way. It’s all part of the game. I truly believe that you play hard and you create your own luck. So, I think we’re a good football team, but at the end of the day we are what we are. Our record indicates that.”
On whether it is one or two plays that would make a difference for the close games that they lost:
“Definitely. I hate to go back and look, but you talk to guys and you always want those games back. You look at the Green Bay game, you look at the Washington game, you look at the Chicago game in particular, Seattle, several games that I felt like we should have won.”
On whether the key to stopping Romo is hitting him early:
“I think so. You want to do some things that other people haven’t been able to do. That’s something that has not shown up on film, defense’s not being able to get to him. So, we definitely want to take advantage of that when we have a shot to get to him. We’ve got to get back there and make a play. He’s playing at an all-time high. Understand that he may make the first guy miss, but the next guy has to come running hard. We talked about the check-down. If that’s your responsibility, you make sure you take that, handle that, regardless if he’s scrambling or not. Let the defensive line handle that and you handle yours on the back end.”
On the defense’s success in the red zone:
“The other two teams that I played on, we never implemented the red zone strategy. It wasn’t installed until that Friday. We do it here on Thursday. By us doing it on that Thursday, it gives you an extra day to understand what’s going on. It’s introduced to us early. You understand the concepts more than anything, but we still go out and do it on Friday. But, you understand the concepts on that Thursday evening. I think with that, it really starts from the top, with the mentality that [defensive coordinator] Jim [Johnson] has. The way that he thinks and feels about it, it trickles on down to us.”
On being a veteran and when he might yield his spot to younger players:
“As a veteran you never want to see that happen. Number one, if there’s talk about it and if you see it happen, it means you’re out of the playoffs and you have no chance of going to that next level. Then, if it’s you as a veteran player, then chances are you may not be there next year. That’s just the reality of it.”
On Romo’s play:
“He’s a real good quarterback. I have the utmost respect for him. A lot of guys compare his game play to [Green Bay QB] Brett Favre. He’s a guy where he may not throw off of the front foot, he may not step into every throw, but he’s very football savvy. He understands the game and he will do whatever it takes to make plays. He’s a guy that has great escapability, and at the same time, at the last minute he’s going to make a play happen. He’s a playmaker. With saying that, you have to respect him and he’s playing at an all-time high.”
Special Teams Coordinator Rory Segrest Press Conference
12/13/07
On how tough it was to see last week’s game end with a special teams play and whether it has an effect on the guys:
“I don’t think so. It was a difficult situation there. Obviously, we had hoped we could come through with it. During pregame, we really didn’t feel good with anything over 50 yards. It was a situation there at the end of the game where we felt like we had to take a shot. We thought [K David Akers] Dave made a great effort there. He got the ball to the goal post. It was a situation where it drifted right there at the last second. In terms of being successful, obviously we’d love to make those plays and hopefully we’ll make it next time around if we get in that situation.”
On whether Akers’ last field goal was as far out as they would have attempted:
“Again, it was really over our max. We try to determine that pregame where we feel good with making a kick. I think Dave’s longest one in pregame going in that direction was 51 yards. It was a difficult situation there with the weather the way it was. There was a little bit of a head wind. It was just a situation where we felt like we had to take a shot.”
On whether they are in a situation where they would consider using RB Brian Westbrook as a punt returner still:
“Yeah, most definitely. We go out each week trying to get that win, so absolutely.”
On why they haven’t used WR Kevin Curtis as a punt returner:
“He just doesn’t have a lot of reps there. [We’re] trying to get the guys we’ve got the reps during the course of practice. We’ve tried to squeeze him in on occasion. It’s just that right now we’ve got guys trying to get as many reps as we can and get comfortable with them back there.”
On whether they will take a look at Curtis as a returner in the offseason:
“I believe so. Obviously, we’re up for options there. The guys we’ve got, again, are doing a nice job. They’re working hard at it to get better each week. It’s just a matter of time right now, being able to get the guys the number of reps they need to be successful.”
On what goes into the decision to send Akers out for a field goal attempt on that last play against the Giants:
“It was a pretty quick decision there. But, it was either take a shot at a field goal or throw a hail-mary down the field and see if we can catch it in the endzone. Either one of them are kind of a low percentage play. We just felt like it was worth taking a shot there on the field goal. Again, if it had been 56-yards, I believe it would’ve been good. It pushed right, right there at the last second and hit the goal post. It was actually going right through the middle and just veered off last minute.”
On what the cut-off time is before he decides what play to call when there are no timeouts left:
“Probably closer to ten (seconds). Each situation is different there depending on where you are field position wise, how far you’ve got to pick up the previous play going into the field goal position. We have different situations that we rehearse, primarily we go over that in training camp. At that point, it probably would have been closer to ten seconds because of the length we had to get down there in field goal range.”
On whether there is a certain position that carries over characteristics to make a player a good special teams player:
“Yeah, absolutely. You can tell what kind of players guys are going to be at their position, see how they handle movement in open-field, for example. Defensive players, they have been able to make a play in space. A lot of that is very complimentary of what you’ll see on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.”
On whether LB Stewart Bradley impresses him with his movement:
“Yeah, Stewart’s done a really nice job for us. He’s gotten out there and made a lot of plays and he’s made a lot of progress as the season’s gone along. He had some learning to do there in the early part of the season, just like a lot of the younger guys had, as far as kick return for example, being able to set up and understand the angles and the anticipation of where his returner is going to try to go. The same thing on kickoff, being able to read the blocks as he works down the field. But, Stewart’s done a really nice job for us and, he’s made a lot of progress as the season’s gone along.”
On whether he had to start over with certain players because they had limited experience as a special teams player in college:
“Yeah, and a lot of things are different. Even if they did it in college a lot of the techniques and obviously the schemes are going to be a lot different than what they’re used to there. So, there’s going to be a big learning curve as they come in. We’ve had a lot of young guys come in and they’ve done a great job and made a lot of progress this year.”
On whether he expected to lean so much on S J.R. Reed this year:
“J.R’s one of those guy’s who’s going to give everything he’s got. He works hard, he stays after practice. He’s going to do everything it takes to be successful. He’s a strong runner out there for us. He understands how to setup the blocks. He’s another guy that’s made some progress throughout the course of the year. We’re glad we’ve got him there and I hope that he can continue to have a little more success here the last three games.”
On whether they are frustrated that these last few games could have gone either way:
“Well, sure. Obviously, we go out each week to win. Anytime you come up short you always look back and say, ‘If we had done this or that differently…’ At the same time, we just have to move on to the next game. Right now, we’ve got Dallas coming up and we have to put all our emphasis on trying to win this game this week."
