Andy Reid Press Conference

Head Coach Andy Reid Press Conference
11.22.06

Injuries/opener:
“[LB] Shawn Barber has a sprained MCL. He will not practice today. [CB] Will James has a sprain of his MCL, also. We’ll just have to see how he does here. [LB] Jason Short has an ankle sprain and he won’t practice today.”

“We look forward to the challenge of playing the Indianapolis Colts. We know that they are a great football team. We’re going to prepare ourselves and get ourselves right and ready to play against them.”

On who will be the QB on Sunday:
“Jeff Garcia.”

On what lead him to that decision:
“I did. I just thought that he was the best one for the job right now.”

On what changes need to be made in the offense to better suit QB Jeff Garcia:
“Well, not much. He and [QB] Donovan [McNabb] were similar in that they’re both mobile quarterbacks, so he can do that part of the package the same that you do with Don. And he has a lot of experience in this offense, so most of the throws that we had in before we will keep in.”

On whether they will try and roll Garcia out more:
“That’s been one of his strengths, to throw on the move. We’ll see how it goes, how it works.”

On whether he anticipates him throwing to the WRs more as he gets more work with them at practice:
“I think it is not fair really to judge him on Sunday. I think it will be a different look when he has an opportunity to practice. You don’t practice the number two quarterbacks much, if at all, during the week in the NFL.”

On how much input assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg had in the decision:
“I made that decision.”

On whether the QB decision is a week by week thing:
“No, he’s the quarterback. It’s not a short leash or anything else. That’s not what it is. He’s the quarterback and I think he has great experience in this league and has been a very successful quarterback in this league and this system.”

On why he didn’t just say all this and make his decision on Sunday or Monday:
“Because I didn’t want to.”

On whether QB A.J. Feeley will get some snaps with the first unit:
“Not many.”

On whether he took any input at all in making his decision:
“I bounced it off people but it ends up being my decision and one that I wanted.”

On what the chances are of LB Shawn Barber playing Sunday:
“We’ve got to see but it is going to be a stretch for him to be there. If you talk to him he will probably tell you he is going to be there, so we’ll see.”

On whether S Michael Lewis might be considered for Barber’s role if Barber doesn’t play:
“Michael has kind of worked into playing in there a little bit. We’ll work on of that tomorrow and [defensive coordinator] Jim [Johnson] will put all of that together tonight.”

On whether he has had a chance to gauge where everyone’s head is at after dealing with all the different things from Sunday:
“I don’t think there is any time for people to think negative right now, not on this football team. Other people can do that. But on this football team there is no time for that. You figure out what your problem is and, man, you get it fixed, right now. That means coaches and players. That’s where your energy better be going.”

On whether it is tough for a QB in a loud dome situation:
“It can be, yeah, and it is loud there. That’s something we are going to work on. We’ve got noise pumped into our [indoor practice facility] that we’ll use in the next day or two. It will be something that we have to address for sure.”

On when the last time he spoke to McNabb was and how he is feeling:
“He had quite a little bit of swelling in the knee and the knee was a little bit tender. He’s working on getting his flexibility in the knee and the swelling is down a little bit right now. He’s optimistic about how the surgery is going to go and getting that done. I think he’s anxious to get it done so he can get back with the rehab process. His spirits are good. He is not going to hang his head about it. He’s around the locker room here, so he knows people are going to be watching how he handles the whole thing. He’s been upbeat about the team part of it and he wants to get the knee taken care of.”

On whether they know when the operation might take place:
“Well, we don’t. We just have to get his flexibility right now. That’s what he’s working on.”

On how they can fix the dropped passes:
“You go right back to the basics and that is looking the football all the way in and not pulling your eyes off of it to make a play down the field. You exaggerate it all the way into your hands and into the tuck position. That’s what you focus on and concentrate on.”

On whether he feels the receivers might be trying too hard to make a play sometimes:
“I think they are trying hard to catch the football. There have been some drops in there, but they’re trying. At the same time you have to go back and you have to focus in on the fundamental part of it and they are not always doing that. We need to get that taken care of.”

On how they fix the tackling problems they are having:
“You work on it. They’ll be in pads today and you work on it. It’s the only way I know how to fix it and the players understand that.”

On whether having the players in pads in November is unusual:
“Well, it is, but I think it is important right now. I think you’ve got to put a little emphasis on the tackling part if it is not getting done right. The players understand that. They’re the ones out there doing it and they know. We’re going to keep the pads on today and work on some tackling.”

On how fundamentals can disappear in the middle of the year:
“It happens. That happens with teams and you have to work your way through it, kind of like a batter hitting a ball. You go through a slump – or like a pitcher throwing a ball. There are slumps and you have to work through it. That’s the only way to get through it. If you just sit there and think that it is going to change, then you’re wrong. We’re going to keep pushing through it and get it right.”

On whether players are more receptive when things aren’t going right:
“This group has been very good that way. You know, you asked me about the pads – there are teams that a coach will tell you to put the pads back on and they‘ll look at you cross-eyed. There’s none of that. They are pretty realistic about things. They haven’t fought the coaching part and they want to be good. I don’t question that part.”

On whether there has been any talk of the parallels from 2002 went McNabb got hurt and the team had to go on the road for a tough game the following week:
“I reminded a couple of them that we turned a negative into a positive. That part, I think, is important. There are plenty of other people that don’t think good things will happen, but it is important that the people wearing the uniforms believe the good things will.”

On whether it was difficult to decide between Garcia and Feeley:
“I brought Jeff in here for this situation, if something were to happen to Donovan. And Jeff was here before A.J. I have a lot of trust in Jeff. I have a lot of trust in A.J., too. I think they are both very good quarterbacks, but I brought Jeff in here for this reason right here and now he has an opportunity to do it. His track record – he is a pretty good quarterback.”

On whether what Feeley accomplished in 2002 in an emergency role made it tough for him to decide:
“Not necessarily. Again, I thought this out well before something like this had happened. Obviously, by brining [Garcia] in here you had somewhat of a plan going there if something were to happen.”

On Colts QB Peyton Manning:
“Peyton Manning is a great player. He is playing as well as or better than anybody in the NFL at his position. He’s a smart guy and a great challenge for our defense. You have to do a little studying when you play Peyton Manning.”