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December 27, 2018
Head Coach Jay Gruden
On injuries:
"Did not participate were [Matt] Ioannidis, hamstring, [Josh] Doctson, illness, [Ty] Nsekhe, knee. Limited were [Ryan] Anderson, hamstring, [Maurice] Harris, concussion, [Vernon] Davis, concussion, [Tony] Bergstrom, knee and ankle and [Zac] Kerin, knee. IR, we put [Colt] McCoy and Jordan Reed on IR."
On how he would sum up the season for TE Jordan Reed:
"I think he did some good things, without a doubt. I think everybody was trying to work together, work through the quarterback change early on with Alex [Smith] and Alex was getting to know everybody. Then, obviously we had the quarterback issues, with the injuries, then he had the injury. I was actually pleased with the way he played. Statistically, probably we would expect more, but I think a lot of that had to do with some of the quarterback changes probably."
On if Reed will get a full season of work instead of rehab:
"Yeah, I think so. I don't think this is a bad injury. I think he possibly, if we were playing next week he could have gone next week probably. So yeah, I think that's a great point. I think it will be great for him to get a full set of OTA's in and training camp. There's a lot to be said about that. Guys who miss those opportunities to get better and stronger sometimes struggle throughout the course of the year, but having that will be beneficial to him."
On DL Matt Ioannidis and OL Ty Nsekhe playing Sunday:
"Yeah, I don't know. Ioannidis maybe, Ty is pretty sore. I would say Ty is probably a longer shot than Ioannidis."
On what the days after Sunday will look like for the players:
"We'll have obviously exit physicals, we'll have a team meeting in the morning after the game and then after that, after they get their physicals and exit physicals I'll try to meet with each and every one of them throughout the course of this week and next week before they go. Then, obviously I'll probably have to meet with the owner at some point and see what the deal is."
On if the team has thought about bringing QB Josh Johnson back next season:
"Yeah, that's a ways away for us. We're trying to focus on Philadelphia. I think all those discussions will take place once the season is over and we have a green light to move forward, talking about our personnel, we'll go there then."
On the business operations changes and how it affects him:
"Not one bit, to be honest with you. I didn't even know about it. It's unfortunate, I've gotten to know some of those guys and I'm sad for them, but I've had nothing to do with any of that."
On what weight he puts on the game for young players or pending free agents:
"We put a lot of weight on every game to be honest with you. We are very critical in our evaluation of everybody throughout the course of the year. You obviously want to see players get better and stronger as the season goes on, both mentally and physically. That's why we have the weight room in here. So, that's something we'll have to look at, but this game is important. I want to see the type of character guys we have, I want to see how they compete, regardless of the score, whatever happens in that game I want to see guys wanting to play football, wanting to compete and wanting to get a win."
On what he thinks the biggest difference was for the defense in comparing the times they played well versus the times they struggled:
"Yeah, I mentioned it before, I think offense had a lot to do with it. I think we were off the field a lot, we didn't control the ball like we did when we were playing well and sometimes we punted. Sometimes, we had three, four first downs and punted and backed them up, but when we struggled I think we were not efficient on offense, turned the ball over a little bit. Then defensively, we got behind, the whole playbook was open and we just failed to make plays at critical times – third downs especially. Then we gave up some gash runs, which are uncharacteristic of our defense. Big plays hurt us, third down conversions hurt us and then obviously being on the field a lot also hurt us."
On if he was surprised about RB Adrian Peterson's durability:
"Yeah, I'm not surprised by it, but it doesn't happen very often for a back his age to do what he's done. Accomplished what he's accomplished, getting over 1,000 yards, playing through some painful injuries, really. Practicing, working hard, being a great teammate, just been very impressed with Adrian's total package so to speak. It was a blessing in disguise. Obviously we missed Derrius [Guice], we had high hopes for him. Rob Kelley went down, we needed a back and it's not very often you get to sign a Hall of Fame type back to your roster when you have a couple of injuries. Fortunately, he was around, we signed him and he's everything as advertised."
On if they will look at bringing Peterson back next season:
"Yeah, it could happen. We'll see what happens. I'm sure he's got to weigh his options out, as do we and we'll go from there. But, like I said, we're a long way from that. We're just trying to focus on the Eagles right now and put our best foot forward to try and get a win the last game of the year."
Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky
On the comments made by S D.J. Swearinger and if he discussed the comments with him:
"I did not, I did not speak to him afterwards but you know his statements are out there. He made them and he has to, you know, he just made his comments and you know that's what most players do if they had comments. I try to do the best I can across the board to protect each and every player across the board and you know that was it."
On his interactions with Swearinger before the comments were made:
"I think overall you know it was just trying to lead us in the right direction. You know every time it was the most important thing that we get out there and play as a team. One unit I always told you, it doesn't matter what call it is I don't have a magic crystal ball but as long as we play together and play as a team we'll have success."
On whether or not he was open to Swearinger's suggestions over text after he reviewed film at night:
"Yeah, it was usually maybe on a Tuesday night or something like that usually about eight or nine o'clock you know, I think I don't remember exactly what time, you know and just text about certain things and I'd text back. It happened probably two or three times throughout the season and I'd just say, ‘Yeah, pretty much we're looking at it.' You know from that standpoint sometimes if it's a third down situation, you know first or second down stuff probably about three or four texts we had."
On if texting is a good approach for player input or if there is a better way:
"No, I think across the board what you do as a coach is you have your game plan, you go in through it and then all of a sudden certain routes do show up or something that might change you know throughout the week. You know even during halftimes, when we're in halftime it'll change based upon what they're doing. And, I think during the week everybody has the ability to change what's best for the team and what's best for the individuals that we have playing out there. So you know it changes during the game, sometimes halftime, during practice, sometimes it changes."
On if he ever implemented changes suggested by Swearinger:
"Yeah, sometimes I think. You know overall for the whole season, you know I think players come up, ‘Hey how about this stunt?' From a D-line perspective, [Defensive Line Coach] Jim Tomsula comes to me you know or even [Outside Linebackers Coach] Chad Grimm, even today. You know coaches come back and forth and same thing with the players. You know in this situation, ‘What about this or that?' You know and, ‘Hey we're sticking with the plan we're doing.' Or vice versa. We take a look at it."
On if he thought Swearinger's comments crossed the line:
"He said what he said. I can't do anything about it. It's what he said, you know crossing the line. Hey, I'm just going out there trying to win games as much as we can each and every week."
On keeping the team together and ensuring everyone is on the same page:
"That's the biggest thing is we're all on the same page. I think it's vital that every game that you play that every person, the new guys that are in there whoever they might be, Deshazor [Everett], whoever, are on the same page. From a lingo standpoint they've got to understand what we're trying to get through. We're looking at this game as an important game for us, it's a divisional opponent and it's Philly."
On how he's working the safety position for the final game:
"Yeah, I think a little bit with like I said Deshazor is going to be playing a decent amount and then Jeremy Reaves will get opportunities in there. So, those two individuals will be playing a decent amount."
On what Deshazor Everett brings to the table:
"I think the biggest thing is he's been in a couple packages we've had throughout the year. Overall, he understands the defense, he understands you know from the concepts. Does a great job; he's a physical player that'll put his hat in there. Did a great job today actually and looking forward to him having a great game this week."
On what the biggest difference is in the defensive performance from the beginning of the season to now:
"I think overall, sometimes the injuries that we had you know with ‘Dunny' [CB Quinton Dunbar] and stuff going down, that kind of hurt a little bit. You know with ‘Dunny' being a pretty good player, you know locked down some guys and made some plays on the outside. But, you know overall I think we tried to get better every week we could. We held opponents sometimes to less points. You know sometimes in that Tampa Bay I know that was a lot of yards but I always tell them, ‘Hey, they could drive the ball as much as they want but as long as they kick field goals we always got a chance.' But overall, I think the injuries kind of hurt us a little bit."
On promoting guys to develop leadership on their own:
"I think the biggest thing as an ex-player and as a coach, I think the biggest thing is those rooms have to have leadership in them, you know what I'm saying? I know there's a couple rooms that we do have some leadership qualities in each room. But from a coach's perspective, the hardest thing is when you don't have those leaders. We do have those leaders here and I'm expecting them to step up this game and they have you know pretty much for the last couple weeks when things haven't been as great as they have been."
On if he thinks S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix can fill that leadership role:
"Yeah, definitely. A guy from Alabama, of course that came from a great organization in college and I think he's one of those individuals that's going to step up and do a great job for us."
On the younger players on the roster's performance this season:
"Yeah, I think individually-wise I think Fabian [Moreau] has done a great job across the board we've had a lot of young guys. Matt Ioannidis, he's been up and down with injuries. Of course Jonathan Allen, the number of sacks that he has, has some success inside. [Daron] Payne's done a good job on the inside. Ryan [Kerrigan], you know he's a guy that's going to give you 11, 12, 13, hopefully 14, 15 sacks a year. But you know overall, I think as a collective group we're doing better. I think we just got to keep on improving and kind of scale back a little bit of the calls for the younger guys that are in there and hopefully everything will go great on Sunday."
On if there is a heightened intensity playing the Eagles this week:
"I think the energy's been great in the meetings, I think out in practice it's been great. I think it's a divisional opponent which we know. And I think that's the most important thing is we got to go out against these guys and go out there and put our big boy pads out there all the time, you know out there and try to strike, separate and try to make plays."
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Head Coach Jay Gruden
On injuries:
"Did not participate were [Matt] Ioannidis, hamstring, [Josh] Doctson, illness, [Ty] Nsekhe, knee. Limited were [Ryan] Anderson, hamstring, [Maurice] Harris, concussion, [Vernon] Davis, concussion, [Tony] Bergstrom, knee and ankle and [Zac] Kerin, knee. IR, we put [Colt] McCoy and Jordan Reed on IR."
On how he would sum up the season for TE Jordan Reed:
"I think he did some good things, without a doubt. I think everybody was trying to work together, work through the quarterback change early on with Alex [Smith] and Alex was getting to know everybody. Then, obviously we had the quarterback issues, with the injuries, then he had the injury. I was actually pleased with the way he played. Statistically, probably we would expect more, but I think a lot of that had to do with some of the quarterback changes probably."
On if Reed will get a full season of work instead of rehab:
"Yeah, I think so. I don't think this is a bad injury. I think he possibly, if we were playing next week he could have gone next week probably. So yeah, I think that's a great point. I think it will be great for him to get a full set of OTA's in and training camp. There's a lot to be said about that. Guys who miss those opportunities to get better and stronger sometimes struggle throughout the course of the year, but having that will be beneficial to him."
On DL Matt Ioannidis and OL Ty Nsekhe playing Sunday:
"Yeah, I don't know. Ioannidis maybe, Ty is pretty sore. I would say Ty is probably a longer shot than Ioannidis."
On what the days after Sunday will look like for the players:
"We'll have obviously exit physicals, we'll have a team meeting in the morning after the game and then after that, after they get their physicals and exit physicals I'll try to meet with each and every one of them throughout the course of this week and next week before they go. Then, obviously I'll probably have to meet with the owner at some point and see what the deal is."
On if the team has thought about bringing QB Josh Johnson back next season:
"Yeah, that's a ways away for us. We're trying to focus on Philadelphia. I think all those discussions will take place once the season is over and we have a green light to move forward, talking about our personnel, we'll go there then."
On the business operations changes and how it affects him:
"Not one bit, to be honest with you. I didn't even know about it. It's unfortunate, I've gotten to know some of those guys and I'm sad for them, but I've had nothing to do with any of that."
On what weight he puts on the game for young players or pending free agents:
"We put a lot of weight on every game to be honest with you. We are very critical in our evaluation of everybody throughout the course of the year. You obviously want to see players get better and stronger as the season goes on, both mentally and physically. That's why we have the weight room in here. So, that's something we'll have to look at, but this game is important. I want to see the type of character guys we have, I want to see how they compete, regardless of the score, whatever happens in that game I want to see guys wanting to play football, wanting to compete and wanting to get a win."
On what he thinks the biggest difference was for the defense in comparing the times they played well versus the times they struggled:
"Yeah, I mentioned it before, I think offense had a lot to do with it. I think we were off the field a lot, we didn't control the ball like we did when we were playing well and sometimes we punted. Sometimes, we had three, four first downs and punted and backed them up, but when we struggled I think we were not efficient on offense, turned the ball over a little bit. Then defensively, we got behind, the whole playbook was open and we just failed to make plays at critical times – third downs especially. Then we gave up some gash runs, which are uncharacteristic of our defense. Big plays hurt us, third down conversions hurt us and then obviously being on the field a lot also hurt us."
On if he was surprised about RB Adrian Peterson's durability:
"Yeah, I'm not surprised by it, but it doesn't happen very often for a back his age to do what he's done. Accomplished what he's accomplished, getting over 1,000 yards, playing through some painful injuries, really. Practicing, working hard, being a great teammate, just been very impressed with Adrian's total package so to speak. It was a blessing in disguise. Obviously we missed Derrius [Guice], we had high hopes for him. Rob Kelley went down, we needed a back and it's not very often you get to sign a Hall of Fame type back to your roster when you have a couple of injuries. Fortunately, he was around, we signed him and he's everything as advertised."
On if they will look at bringing Peterson back next season:
"Yeah, it could happen. We'll see what happens. I'm sure he's got to weigh his options out, as do we and we'll go from there. But, like I said, we're a long way from that. We're just trying to focus on the Eagles right now and put our best foot forward to try and get a win the last game of the year."
Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky
On the comments made by S D.J. Swearinger and if he discussed the comments with him:
"I did not, I did not speak to him afterwards but you know his statements are out there. He made them and he has to, you know, he just made his comments and you know that's what most players do if they had comments. I try to do the best I can across the board to protect each and every player across the board and you know that was it."
On his interactions with Swearinger before the comments were made:
"I think overall you know it was just trying to lead us in the right direction. You know every time it was the most important thing that we get out there and play as a team. One unit I always told you, it doesn't matter what call it is I don't have a magic crystal ball but as long as we play together and play as a team we'll have success."
On whether or not he was open to Swearinger's suggestions over text after he reviewed film at night:
"Yeah, it was usually maybe on a Tuesday night or something like that usually about eight or nine o'clock you know, I think I don't remember exactly what time, you know and just text about certain things and I'd text back. It happened probably two or three times throughout the season and I'd just say, ‘Yeah, pretty much we're looking at it.' You know from that standpoint sometimes if it's a third down situation, you know first or second down stuff probably about three or four texts we had."
On if texting is a good approach for player input or if there is a better way:
"No, I think across the board what you do as a coach is you have your game plan, you go in through it and then all of a sudden certain routes do show up or something that might change you know throughout the week. You know even during halftimes, when we're in halftime it'll change based upon what they're doing. And, I think during the week everybody has the ability to change what's best for the team and what's best for the individuals that we have playing out there. So you know it changes during the game, sometimes halftime, during practice, sometimes it changes."
On if he ever implemented changes suggested by Swearinger:
"Yeah, sometimes I think. You know overall for the whole season, you know I think players come up, ‘Hey how about this stunt?' From a D-line perspective, [Defensive Line Coach] Jim Tomsula comes to me you know or even [Outside Linebackers Coach] Chad Grimm, even today. You know coaches come back and forth and same thing with the players. You know in this situation, ‘What about this or that?' You know and, ‘Hey we're sticking with the plan we're doing.' Or vice versa. We take a look at it."
On if he thought Swearinger's comments crossed the line:
"He said what he said. I can't do anything about it. It's what he said, you know crossing the line. Hey, I'm just going out there trying to win games as much as we can each and every week."
On keeping the team together and ensuring everyone is on the same page:
"That's the biggest thing is we're all on the same page. I think it's vital that every game that you play that every person, the new guys that are in there whoever they might be, Deshazor [Everett], whoever, are on the same page. From a lingo standpoint they've got to understand what we're trying to get through. We're looking at this game as an important game for us, it's a divisional opponent and it's Philly."
On how he's working the safety position for the final game:
"Yeah, I think a little bit with like I said Deshazor is going to be playing a decent amount and then Jeremy Reaves will get opportunities in there. So, those two individuals will be playing a decent amount."
On what Deshazor Everett brings to the table:
"I think the biggest thing is he's been in a couple packages we've had throughout the year. Overall, he understands the defense, he understands you know from the concepts. Does a great job; he's a physical player that'll put his hat in there. Did a great job today actually and looking forward to him having a great game this week."
On what the biggest difference is in the defensive performance from the beginning of the season to now:
"I think overall, sometimes the injuries that we had you know with ‘Dunny' [CB Quinton Dunbar] and stuff going down, that kind of hurt a little bit. You know with ‘Dunny' being a pretty good player, you know locked down some guys and made some plays on the outside. But, you know overall I think we tried to get better every week we could. We held opponents sometimes to less points. You know sometimes in that Tampa Bay I know that was a lot of yards but I always tell them, ‘Hey, they could drive the ball as much as they want but as long as they kick field goals we always got a chance.' But overall, I think the injuries kind of hurt us a little bit."
On promoting guys to develop leadership on their own:
"I think the biggest thing as an ex-player and as a coach, I think the biggest thing is those rooms have to have leadership in them, you know what I'm saying? I know there's a couple rooms that we do have some leadership qualities in each room. But from a coach's perspective, the hardest thing is when you don't have those leaders. We do have those leaders here and I'm expecting them to step up this game and they have you know pretty much for the last couple weeks when things haven't been as great as they have been."
On if he thinks S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix can fill that leadership role:
"Yeah, definitely. A guy from Alabama, of course that came from a great organization in college and I think he's one of those individuals that's going to step up and do a great job for us."
On the younger players on the roster's performance this season:
"Yeah, I think individually-wise I think Fabian [Moreau] has done a great job across the board we've had a lot of young guys. Matt Ioannidis, he's been up and down with injuries. Of course Jonathan Allen, the number of sacks that he has, has some success inside. [Daron] Payne's done a good job on the inside. Ryan [Kerrigan], you know he's a guy that's going to give you 11, 12, 13, hopefully 14, 15 sacks a year. But you know overall, I think as a collective group we're doing better. I think we just got to keep on improving and kind of scale back a little bit of the calls for the younger guys that are in there and hopefully everything will go great on Sunday."
On if there is a heightened intensity playing the Eagles this week:
"I think the energy's been great in the meetings, I think out in practice it's been great. I think it's a divisional opponent which we know. And I think that's the most important thing is we got to go out against these guys and go out there and put our big boy pads out there all the time, you know out there and try to strike, separate and try to make plays."
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