Eagles Fans Chant “Fire Andy” in Loss to Pats

Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid Press Conference

On injuries sustained in the game: “[LB] Moise Fokou has a sprained ankle.”            

On the loss: “Obviously the Patriots were a better team today than we were. You obviously can’t have that many penalties and turnovers when you’re playing a good football team. It’s my responsibility and I have to make sure that I take care of it.”

On the play of [WR] DeSean Jackson: “He has to do a better job.”

On DeSean Jackson not being in the game during the Eagles final two offensive possessions: “I just wanted to give the other guys an opportunity.”

On whether DeSean Jackson was benched: “I just wanted to give the other guys an opportunity.”

On DeSean Jackson being the only offensive starter not in the game during the Eagles final two offensive possessions: “I just wanted to give the other guys a chance to make a play.”

On the decision to attempt three consecutive pass plays in a 1st-and-goal situation from the Patriots’ 5-yard line: “The teams that we saw that had success against [New England] obviously threw the football. They did a good job with that. They were stout against the run, and you play into their strength with that. Again, I’ll take responsibility for that.”

On the decision to pass on a 4^th-and-goal play from the Patriots’ 1-yard line: “I thought that was the best thing to do. Obviously it didn’t work.”

On the high number of Eagle penalties: “Penalties and turnovers - you can’t do that, especially against good football teams. You have to be more disciplined than that.”

On whether [QB] Vince Young will start on Thursday in Seattle if [QB] Michael Vick cannot play: “We’ll see. I’ll evaluate everything. I’m not going to make any decisions right at this moment.”

On why Michael Vick was not on the sideline: “He couldn’t play.”

On Michael Vick not being on the sideline like other injured players such as [CB] Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and [WR] Jeremy Maclin: “It was similar to what I’ve done in the past with quarterbacks. He was in pain, so I didn’t want him standing out there when he was in pain. Why would I do that?”

On whether he heard fan chants calling for his firing during the game: “I really don’t hear much down there [on the field]. I didn’t hear it. The way we played, I can understand.”

On what improvements can be made in the limited amount of time before Thursday’s game in Seattle: “We have to take care of the penalties and turnovers, and we have to play a little tighter on the defensive side.”

On whether he feels the team is still alive in the playoff hunt:“Absolutely. None of us can predict the future and how things will go. There are a lot of different variables there, so you keep fighting. That’s what you do.”

On the effort of the team in the game: “I thought the guys played hard.”

On why the Eagles did not appear as sharp as they did last Sunday in New York: “You have to give credit to [New England]. They did a good job against us.”

On his decision to activate [CB] Nnamdi Asomugha and use him in a limited defensive package: “We felt like he could go out and play in a limited role – in particular cover the tight ends. So we had a package that allowed him to do that.”

On whether major changes had to be made to the defensive game play following the injury in practice sustained by Nnamdi Asomugha: “We covered the base, but we went back and obviously, we don’t have anybody that can play out there that is his caliber of player. But I expect the other guys to step up and do a good job if he can’t play. That’s what we did.”

On what can be done to eliminate third down defensive penalties that extend opponent drives: “You keep working on it. You keep working on the fundamentals and concentration, and all those kinds of things. That is my responsibility to make sure that my football team is disciplined enough to do that. It’s not anybody else’s responsibility other than mine.”

 On why the team has not played consistently week-to-week: “That’s something we have to figure out. If I could answer that, I’d do that right? We have to keep working the fundamentals and the things that you’re doing right. That’s how you go about it.”

On whether [QB] Michael Vick has to be 100 percent healthy to play on Thursday in Seattle: “We’ll see. We have a short turnaround, and I have to make sure I evaluate that.”

On whether he is disappointed that [WR] DeSean Jackson was not in the game at the end: “To sit up here after a game like that, I’m disappointed in a lot of things – starting with myself. I didn’t have my team ready to go. That’s why I start with me. You can ask me any type of disappointment question that you want and I’m probably there. We have to figure it out and get back and make sure that we get it right.”

On whether he is satisfied with the effort of DeSean Jackson: “We all have to do a little better.”

On the Eagles lack of pressure against Tom Brady: “[Defensive coordinator] Juan [Castillo] mixed it up. We did blitz, but there weren’t a lot of things working. [Brady] was getting the ball out fast, and he did a nice job. His receivers did a nice job, so you have to give compliments to them.”

On why the defensive breakdown occurred which resulted in New England’s long touchdown pass to Wes Welker: “There was a communication mishap there. We have to get that worked out.”

On why defensive communication problems are still occurring 11 weeks into the season: “It’s all of our faults. We all have responsibility here, and I’m not pointing to anybody. I start with myself, and that’s where I’m at right now.”

On whether he still stands by his decision to hire Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator: “Obviously [the media] didn’t ask me that last week [following a victory at New York]. We had a bad game all the way around. We have to do a better job all the way around.”

 On what improvements can be made defensively after 11 weeks of play: “We have to get better. We have to work on the fundamentals and get better.”