Andy Reid had his Friday News Conference and talked a great deal abou the healfth of his football team. Brian Westbrook, L.J. Smith and William will all be starting for the Birds.
Head Coach Andy Reid Press Conference
10-12-07
Injuries:
“[WR] Greg Lewis is doubtful for the game with an ankle sprain. [FS Brian] Dawkins is out with a neck stinger. [CB] Lito [Sheppard] is questionable.”
Opening Remarks:
“We look forward to playing the Jets. It’s great competition. They’re in the same situation as we’re in, and it should be a heck of a football game.”
On whether players not mentioned above that had previously been on the injury report will play on Sunday:
“Yeah, everyone else should be ready to go.”
On what the latest is on Dawkins:
“Dawk is having treatment done out of town with a specialist. He’ll be back, obviously, for next week’s practice.”
On why he decided to have Dawkins see a specialist for his neck stinger:
“Well, it’s still bothering him. So, we’re looking at different ways; people that we know and trust. They’re specialists there.”
On whether he expects TE L.J. Smith’s play to be better than it was before his surgery:
“Well, he feels better now. He feels a little bit looser in that area. We’ll just keep bringing him along. I’m not going to ask him to play the whole game; that’s not what I’m going to do. He’ll get in, we’ll see how he feels, and try to be smart with this.”
On how CB Lito Sheppard has looked in practice:
“He’s getting there. He can’t quite open today all the way, but he’s getting there. He’s close. That’s a positive.”
On whether Sheppard would play in a limited role if he were able to play on Sunday:
“It would be a limited situation.”
On whether RB Brian Westbrook and TE L.J. Smith will play in a limited role:
“Well, they’re going to be out there to start with the two you mentioned. We’ll just see how they hold up, and keep a close eye on it.”
On whether Dawkins is worried about his playing future due to his injury:
“Not at all. It’s not that kind of a thing. It’s not one where he’s worried about that. Nerves are crazy, and you start dealing with those stingers, and you’re dealing with nerves. Everybody is different. We’re just going to get him taken care of and see how he does here as we get into next week.”
On whether LT William Thomas made significant improvement with his MCL sprain that allowed him to practice today:
“He feels pretty good right now. It worked out well for him yesterday. He practiced today and felt good.”
On whether the team is over the mistakes they made during the first quarter of the season:
“We’re working hard on that. We didn’t do a great job of that when we played the Giants. It’s something we’ve been working on, both as coaches and players, and we’ve all got to do a better job there.”
On whether the fault of penalties falls on the players or coaches:
“It depends on the penalty. With a false start, obviously, we’ve got to focus in a little bit more and concentrate on the ball on both sides of the football, and do a better job there.”
On whether he expects more from WR Reggie Brown:
“Sometimes this is how it works as a wide receiver. It can be streaky at times playing that position. Sometimes you’re going to get the football, sometimes you’re not. It depends on the coverage that teams are playing, and so on. Reggie’s going to be fine as we go on here. He’s a good football player.”
On how LG Todd Herremans has been able to return so quickly following arthroscopic surgery on his knee:
“He’s a tough kid. What he’s done is unbelievable. [Head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder] and he have worked very close on it. He’s gotten treatment, after treatment, after treatment. The thing that he was able to do was keep the swelling down. In that kind of situation when you’re dealing with cartilage, you don’t have to go in there. You’re just cutting a piece of cartilage away; you’re not having to go in and repair something and sew it back together. So, that helps, but that’s the kind of kid he is- very, very tough and determined. His mindset right from the get-go was to play. [Head team physician] Dr. [Peter] DeLuca did a heck of a job with the surgery.”
