BALTIMORE RAVENS
HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
(Opening Statement)
"I just want to congratulate our football team, first of all. In fact, I couldn't be more proud of a football team. I couldn't be more proud of a bunch of guys. I know we'll talk about individual players, Ed Reed was just up here. I don't know if a guy can play a better football game. But just, our football team, fighting through adversity, finding a way to overcome mistakes and overcome a very difficult opponent, situations in the game, and then taking over in the fourth quarter. I think that's something any coach would be proud of.
"I thought the Eagles competed like you would expect them to. That's a very good football team over there. It's a very well coached football team. They have a lot of talented football payers. They're going to continue to win a lot of games. We've all seen it before, and it's just a heck of a victory over a great football team."
(On what he was thinking about the end of the fourth quarter)
"I was thinking I had to get the ice out of my collar, because it was cold. We were thinking about getting off the field. You know, it's funny, you may feel like the game is in hand at that score, but we felt like we had to keep them out of the end zone. We can't let them move the ball down the field and score, because there's a scenario that they could get back in the football game. So, I thought our defense did a good job of getting off the field right there.
You talk about Ed Reed. I'm thinking about Ed Reed, here. What did he have, two interceptions, right? He played a great game and had some other batted balls down, but the one play you didn't see was on the blocked punt. [Jameel] McClain got the blocked punt, right? Well, Ed Reed lines up over the slot. He's pressuring the slot the whole game. You talk about playing special teams, well, here's a star in this league playing special teams, he's pressuring the slot, that pressure pulls the personal protector out of the middle of their protection and Jameel comes clean and gets the safety, which was a huge play as far as giving us a little bit of a lead there. So, that's the type of stuff that our guys are doing, the little things that you don't necessarily see that makes a coach proud of a bunch of guys."
(On if he was shocked to not see Eagles QB Donovan McNabb start the second half)
"I was surprised. I'm sure something happened with Donovan, injury-wise. But we didn't know what to make of it, but we were just talking about Kevin Kolb. From what we've seen over the years, he's a very talented young quarterback. He's a rhythm passer, West Coast-type guy, very accurate thrower and we felt like we had a challenge defending him.
(On if he would be surprised to know that McNabb might have been benched)
"I have no idea what happened. I was talking to Ray [Lewis] in the second half, and Ray felt like one time we got to him and he was hurt a little bit. My guess is that's probably what happened. Something along those lines."
(On if, at 7-4, he's starting to think about the playoffs)
"We're going to start thinking about Cincinnati. How about that answer? We know that we have a shot for the playoffs. We know we're in the hunt. Our guys understand that, but our focus is on Cincinnati. Our focus is on going to work on Monday, and trying to become a better football team than we were today. Really, that's what you do in November and December, to have a chance to be a playoff football team."
(On how he dealt with last week's loss to the Giants)
"I think we put it behind us, and we took lessons from it. You do both. You take the emotions, and you put them behind you. The hurt – you put it behind you and you move on from that. But the lessons, you have to take with you, and you have to improve as individuals, as a group, as a football team. I thought they did a nice job of that."
(On Jarret Johnson's play)
"Jarret made a great play, obviously, on the sack – pick, whatever that was. I've never seen a play like that before. It's as good a play as you're ever going to see. They were moving the ball a little bit that time. I thought they had some momentum going in the first quarter going into the second quarter. Give Rex Ryan credit. Give our coaches credit. But give our players credit. This is a game – well, first of all, we did a good job against the run. Secondly, our guys made plays. You always joke about you have to find a way to make plays. Our guys, within the structure of the defense, playing very disciplined style of football, made plays. That was the difference in the football game. Really, the turnovers and the plays."
(On Ed Reed's first interception)
"We were trying to get it all straightened out. I think it was a forward lateral and that's why it was ruled down at that point in time. So, that's what happened. We were glad to have the ball, I can tell you that."
(On if he felt that the defense was poised to come back from last week's loss)
"I don't think you ever know because there are no guarantees, and you're going against the fourth ranked offense, I think it is, in the NFL, with a bunch of weapons, with a great system. Again, a very well-coached football team. We had our work cut out for us. So you couldn't just say, 'Oh, we're going to get revenge. We're going to come back, and we're going to make up for last week against this team.' I think our guys took care of the details, tried to play good, sound, fundamental football. I thought Rex put together a great game plan like he always does."
(On how strange it was to see Andy Reid across the field)
"There's no way to describe it. It was meaningful looking across, seeing Andy Reid over there, seeing Coach Johnson, seeing the Eagles, because I have great respect for them. The Eagles believe me, will be back. The Eagles don't go away. That's why this game was so important for our football team, because we knew the type of football team, the type of effort we were going to get from the Philadelphia Eagles. They've just got great character, and they're a reflection of their coach. After I spent more time looking at their coverages and their fronts, trying to get some indication of what they were playing, I thought Cam Cameron did a great job. Staying with the play calling, along with our offensive coaches and players, staying patient and protecting the football. A lot of negative yard plays from a Jim Johnson-defense, like you're usually going to get, and our guys didn't let it get to them. We didn't crack, we kept pushing forward. We came up with some plays when we had to. The zero blitz touchdown was huge."
(On if he had changed from the Gatorade bath)
"These are the same clothes, yes. The pants are still wet."
(On if he is worried about pneumonia)
"I'm still a young guy, I'll be alright."
(On Daniel Wilcox's touchdown)
"Obviously it was huge. He made a great catch. What an athletic play. It was a great job by Joe [Flacco] holding it, giving him a chance to get open and make a play. Again, you talk about the defensive plays, there were a couple of huge offensive plays—quarterback to receiver, tight end plays that were big."
(On the Eagles' kickoff return for a touchdown)
"Their kickoff return—give [Special Teams Coordinator] Rory Segrest some credit. He's done a great job with that special teams over there. They made a decision that they were going to upgrade their special teams and they've done it. They've played well all year. They blocked every single one of us out there. You talk about our special teams, well that was a disappointment. For the rest of the game I thought we played well. Those are plays that you just can't allow against good football teams in tight games. Our guys have to make an effort now to understand that you don't run around blocks at the point of attack, you don't stay blocked one for one, and we've got to get better in that area. But give those guys credit. That returner they've got—he runs hard, he breaks tackles, and they probably have the best wedge in football with those three big guys they have back there, led by Nick Cole. But we have to get better at kickoff coverage."
(On the play of the running backs, including FB Le'Ron McClain)
"Le'Ron? That's what he does. He runs the ball north and south, and he's physical. You can hear him running the ball on the sideline. That's a big statement for our offense because we want to be a physical, downhill running offense. And when you have a back like Le'Ron, running the way he's running, that's a signature. He's an athlete too. He makes people miss."
(On the injuries along the offensive line)
"It's a credit to the offensive line, I'm glad you brought that up. Because what Jared [Gaither] did again today, with that injury—because we really didn't want to play him. He was more in there for more of an emergency type situation, because we have the other two tackles hanging on by a thread. Adam goes down and Jared jumps in and plays really, almost the whole game. I think it's a really courageous effort. He's a young guy that has figured out how to play through pain and play well through pain. It's just a tremendous for where he's going as a football player. He's going to be a great football player."
(On the Eagles' run game)
"Well, I'm really pleased with our defensive front. I thought our guys did a great job of playing through leverage, getting a knock-back type of mentality with our defensive line. We're proud of that."
QB JOE FLACCO
(On the Eagles' performance)
"They were definitely coming after us. Any time you have two good teams like this going at it late in the year you know it's going to be a dog fight. That's what it was for most of the game. We kept at it and kept at it and didn't put our heads down. Late in the game we prevailed."
(On the Eagles' Defense)
"They're real quick, and they're real fast, and they get after you. That's how they played defense for years you have to fight through that stuff. There's going to be games like this, this is what the NFL is all about. When you get a game like this, you got to make sure you play through it, keep your head up and come up on the other side."
(On the touchdown pass to Daniel Wilcox)
"I felt kind of good about the throw once it came out of my hand. That's a play where I roll out, and I am really thinking 'run first' and if it pops open, I will hit him with a pass. There was no way I was getting outside of anyone on that play. I looked up, and he was open really early, but I couldn't see him that great so I waited and waited. I knew it was going to be a tight window, but I wanted to give him a chance to make a play, and he made a great catch."
(On the touchdown to Mark Clayton)
"He was running a little slant and everybody converged on Todd. I had to plant my back foot and wait for Mark to come open. He reached his hands up and grabbed it and went all the way."
(On playing the team he grew up close to)
"It was a lot of fun out there. There were a lot of family and a lot of friends here and a lot of people form my home town. It was a pretty normal game. It was fun going up and meeting Donovan after the game; I have been watching him for a long time now, growing up watching the Eagles. It was pretty cool to be able to go up and play those guys and, of course, come out with a win."
(On Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb not playing in the second half)
"I was surprised, I asked him after the game if he was O.K. and he said yes. I don't really know what happened with him today, but our defense put a lot of pressure on him and did a great job of causing turnovers."
(On his blocked punt for a safety)
"It was a good job by Ed. It was a good job by Coach Rosburg making the good call by getting us all in position. I was just in the right place at the right time."
(On this being his 2nd safety of the season)
"I didn't have any in college. I guess I'm getting them all in the NFL."
(On getting this win after last week)
"It's big for us. Every win is big. But it's good to have momentum and to keep getting as many wins as you can."
CB SAMARI ROLLE
(On shutting out the Eagles' Offense after last week's game)
"The Eagles are a good team. Last week, we didn't play as well as we wanted to. Not for the whole game, but we had some breakdowns. A play here and a play there, and it just added up. Today, we wanted to win this for Coach Harbaugh, and we wanted to move on."
*(On Ravens' Defense performance and his interception) *
"I did alright. We won the game, and that's the most important thing."
(On Donovan McNabb not playing the 2nd half)
"I thought he was hurt. But I heard they held him [out]. That's not fair. That's not fair at all. Nobody asked why he wasn't out there. I thought something was wrong with him."
(On if Ed Reed trying to lateral to him on his interception return)
"Luckily, we scored and it all worked out.
OLB JARRET JOHNSON
(On his sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery)
"As a rusher, you know if he steps up too far to grab, he's going to bring [the ball] back. I just reached in and was able to get it up in the air and caught it and ran with it, and he ran me down."
(On whether he saw the ball hang in the air)
"Yeah, it's just a reaction thing."
(On the defense taking some time to get into a flow and then dominating)
"Their offense is so good, and they have so many different weapons and different ways to attack you. So we were worried about this game defensively because of how explosive they can be. We were able to get them off their spot and make him run around. It was a good win for us."
(On his split sack with Trevor Pryce)
"I was supposed to come up underneath and was able to bull rush him, and Trevor beat his guy clean. I just jumped on with him."
(On his two big plays helping set the tone)
"Well, we know how dangerous a quarterback he is. But we knew that if you make him run around, he's not as accurate. That was something we wanted to do early, make him run around, and we were able to do that."
S ED REED
(On the 108-yard INT-TD)
"Haruki [Nakamura] pointed out that 86 [WR Reggie Brown] was on the end of the line, and it's usually a tight end, so we kinda knew it wasn't going to be a run to that side. I was watching 86's feet when he was in the huddle just to find out where he was going. Once he went across the field it was pretty simple from there. Just keep trailing it. The quarterback never even saw me come from behind."
(On breaking his own NFL record – longest INT-TD, 106 yards)
"It's a blessing. It's a blessing just to come out and read the keys and do your job. Everybody did their job on that play. And it'll just come right to you, like Ray [Lewis] told me."
(On if he was surprised to see Donovan McNabb benched at the half)
"Yes. We didn't know what happened. We figured that was something that the Eagles would work out. It turned our antennas up. New quarterback, we just didn't want him to get any rhythm."
(On if the defense felt like it had to make up for last week)
"We were focusing on the Eagles. We were not worried about last week. Last week was done and over with. It was an ugly loss, but we knew we had to face the Philadelphia Eagles. We knew they were another great team, and this game didn't get blown out of proportion until the last couple of minutes."
(On if he baited the quarterback on the second interception)
"Why does everybody think I do that? I don't bait people. It's more of a respect thing. I haven't really been getting many balls thrown to my side. I had a couple drops by one or two of them. It wasn't a bait. I was just covering the guy, doing my job."
(On if the team picked up its intensity after the half)
"We had to make some halftime adjustments. Coach came in and talked to us. At the beginning of the game, they had a hurry-up offense, a good thing going, really with McNabb. But it was more us communicating. So once we got settled down at the end of the first quarter, it pretty much was homerun hitting from there."
(On trying to lateral the ball during the first interception)
"It was 'Be smart, be smart.' It was all the veterans on the team, all the guys on the team saying 'be smart, know the situation.' Coach didn't really have to say anything, and he didn't. I kind of went up to him and said, 'My bad.' In certain situations you're supposed to have the ball tucked."
(On trying to score on the first interception)
"I thought I could throw a block or something and Samari [Rolle] could spring it, but I didn't know the whole line was chasing him. It was a terrible pitch. I usually don't lateral the ball that bad."
(On if he was going to lateral the ball again on the second interception)
"He [Haruki Nakamura] asked for it (laughter), but he was telling me to watch the guys coming to my right."
(On the second interception)
"I was just thinking, 'Just run.' And once I saw [Brian] Westbrook, I know he's a fast guy. I thought I ran out of bounds, and it was 'Just keep running, be smart.' And then it just sprung from there."
(On if the team talked about beating the Eagles for Coach Harbaugh)
"No. We're a smart team. We knew where Coach Harbaugh came from. We knew he came from Philly, so it was already there. It was an 'X' game on the schedule. Coach didn't have to say anything to us. We didn't have to say anything about it, but we knew it was just 'Come out, and play til the end of it. Play 60 minute football, no matter who it is.' We're going to give the same effort, but yes, it was a little more special."
(On the team fighting through injuries)
"It just shows the character of our team. We have a lot of great guys on this team, and the coaches do a great job of getting everybody prepared. Everybody's like a starter. We even say that about special teams. Guys that play special teams are starters because that's an important part of the game."
(On him playing through his own injuries)
"Oh yeah, it's just grinding it out. That's who we play for. I play for my teammates and coaches. That's why we keep doing it week to week. We do a great job as a training staff to try and get guys healthy. So I just try to do my part."
(On the ice bath that coach Harbaugh got)
"We've been doing it all year. We plan to do this in late January or February, so that's just practice."
(On where the team is going)
"Just keep taking care of one team at a time, one week at a time. At the end of the season, if everything goes to plan, we'll look and see where we are. But first things first, we've got to handle our business. We control our fate, pretty much at this point. So let's just go at it."
(On the team bouncing back in a different way than last year)
"We've got an outstanding new leader in John Harbaugh, mainly the leaders on this team, you know, Ray Lewis, you can't say enough about the guy. He made sure that we showed up here today. We did a good job this week in practice getting the defense ready. Harbaugh and Cam did a good job of getting the offense ready, and we came through as a team today and defended our home turf."
(On the McNabb move)
"The only reason I thought, was maybe he got hurt on a freak play or something early, but I didn't know why he was yanked. I thought he was doing a pretty good job. He had a few picks, but you know, two of them weren't his fault, if you look at it. I don't know why he was yanked. At halftime, it was 10-7. They still can win. You definitely want your veteran quarterback in there. "
(On the Ravens' ability to finish teams)
"That's something we took pride in training camp, just finishing games in four quarters, running the ball and protecting Joe [Flacco]. It's something we've just taken pride in since training camp, they told us the first day, OTAs, back then."
(On the system for rotating the running backs)
"I really don't even know. I just go with the flow. Whenever coach tells me to get in as a blocking fullback, get in as a half back, I just go out there, I really don't know. That's on coach and them."
(On if he's shocked he gets the ball this much)
"I know coach Cam [Cameron] came to me as soon as he got hired, called me, and just told me to not put myself inside a box, 'You can be a running back too, inside this offense.' I really didn't think I'd be getting 18 carries in a game. I thought about five or six or something like that. It's great though, to help out the team and contribute."
(On the offense being patient)
"We just knew we were one play away. We were killing out there. It wasn't anything they were doing. We went over everything they were doing in practice all week. We knew what to expect, and we just wanted to execute. Coach Cam told us at half-time, just to be patient, to go out and finish, and we did."
(On him personally wearing down the Eagles' defense)
"I just had that mentality going into the game, to do what I do, run North and South, and get all those guys. They're a smaller defense, get on those guys, wear them out a little bit – that's my mentality for any team I go against."
(On getting the running game going early)
"The coaches told me at the beginning of the week that they were going to let me get a few catches early. Lorenzo [Neal] and I were talking earlier in the week about just going in there and giving it to him. When I touched the ball I wanted to run north and south and get down hill. My offensive line did a great job opening holes and I just hit them."
(On his touchdown)
"When we are down on the goal line I just fell like I don't want to get stopped. I just keep plunging forward and try and get to the end zone that's the mentality that I have."
(On the Eagles defense)
"They have a great defense they are small guys but they are fast and that was giving us some problems in the first half. There stunts were giving us a problem in the first half. We came in at half time and made some adjustments and just finished the game."
(On getting a win at home)
"This win was great we put last week's game behind us. We knew we had a six game stretch and we are still in the hunt. It's six one game seasons. Now we have to put this win behind us and get ready for a big test on the road in Cincinnati next week."
(On the Ravens being 7-4 and in the playoff hunt)
"Being 7-4 at this point, I think, is an absolute blessing this late in the season. We're still in November, in December, hopefully, we can win out. To have a chance to be at this point at this time of the year is an absolute blessing, and we've just got to keep fighting, and hopefully, we can keep winning games."
(On his touchdown catch)
"I saw Joe [Flacco] throw the ball. He threw it kind of hard, and kind of far, and it felt like he threw it too far in front of me. And the dude grabbed my arm to try to keep me from catching the ball. I just stuck my left arm up, I just felt like God was with me. I absolutely felt blessed, and kept my feet in-bounds, and got six points."
(On if he was confident that he was in-bounds)
"Oh yeah, yeah. I knew I was in-bounds. I had my little celebration dance, whatever – 'high hater,' 'no hate,' 'how y'all doing' – all that stuff. I definitely knew I was in-bounds. The red flag, I felt like that was useless."
(On two of his five catches being for touchdowns, and if that's all he does)
"That's what they keep telling me, [Edward] Lee. They keep telling me all I do is catch touchdowns. One catch today, one touchdown. I'll take it either way it goes. If they're going to keep throwing me one ball a game, let's pray that it's all touchdowns. It is what it is."
(On if the team can start talking about playoffs)
"I think you've got to take it one month at a time. We break the whole season down into months, four games every month. You try to win more games than you lose every month. If you come out with 3-1 every month, you're on your way to the playoffs. We just keep trying to win each one and pray for the best, pray for the best."
(On if the team had a sense of how important this victory was)
"It was Coach Harbaugh's old team, and anytime you're playing an old team, a former team, I think there's a lot of emotions going on. We knew that he had some serious passion going against the Eagles, so we wanted to win this one for him. And not just win it, but win it big. We came on strong in the fourth quarter, and we just got blessed with a lot of points later in the game. We felt good. It felt good to be able to get him a win against his old team."
WR MARK CLAYTON
(On his touchdown and celebration flip)
"My touchdown was a little more routine than [Daniel] Wilcox's acrobatic catch. Mine was just a slant, and the defense pretty much all jumped [Todd] Heap, and it was just a sprint to the goal line. The acrobatic flip was probably the worst celebration ever. [Laughter] It probably won't happen again. I'm pretty sure it won't happen again."
(On if he expected to be that open behind the defense)
"We knew that there was nobody in the middle of the field, that it was wide open one-on-one. I figured it was coming to me, but I didn't expect it to be like that."
(On if the team can talk about the playoffs at this point)
"Our thing from the beginning was just week by week, one at a time. It really is. You hear it a lot, but that's the only way you can take it. We come in, and we try to get better each week, and we go and put a product on the field that, hopefully, wins us games. Thank God that today we were able to get the win."
LB RAY LEWIS
(On the team's effort)
"I just think overall, as a team, we kept our eyes on the prize. We always say every week is a different week, 60-minute football, and we completed it as a team. You go out, and you have a defensive battle the first three quarters; the offense stayed in there, a couple plays came together but defensively, you know, we did some good things that really kept our team intact and came out with the win."
(On if he was surprised about McNabb not starting in the second half)
"I don't know what happened, so it's kind of hard to be surprised or speculate about anything. I remember one play…when he landed on his knee real hard, so I asked him was he all right. I don't know about that or anything. I'd just be guessing myself."
(On Reed's TD return)
"I'm not surprised about anything the defense does. You look at our corners, they played extremely well today. That's the beauty of our team; one weekend, it might be the front seven, it might be the linebackers, it might be the secondary. So when you look at all the players that we have on this defense, it's just a beautiful thing if you step back and look at it. Ed Reed is probably…I've always said it, I might be a little biased, to me he's one of the greatest football players I've seen, bottom line."
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
HEAD COACH ANDY REID
(Opening Statement)
"Injuries. [Correll] Buckhalter has a sprained MCL he just has to have an MRI in the morning. Asante [Samuel] and Darren Howard have neck injuries. We'll see what happens there. It was an understatement to say that was a poor offensive performance it's not all about one guy. We're not all going to sit here and point at Donovan. It's not all about Donovan. We say that as the game on. I think it's very important that everybody around the QB and the QB need to pick up their game. This is something that I'll go back and evaluate. I haven't made any decisions on if Kevin is the starter or Donovan's the starter. We don't even need to go there. I know we have a short week, and I'll think about it in the short period of time that I have, and we'll go from there. It's obvious that everybody, starting with me, needs to pick up their game. When you get beat up like we did today that why that's a head coaching problem right there, and a direct reflection of the job that I'm doing, or that I did today. It's unacceptable. I need to make sure that I get this changed and get an answer."
(On his relationship with McNabb and the decision to substitute Kevin Kolb)
"Sometimes with a player, you can step back an inch and maybe you can go forward a mile. So I was able to step back and again, I haven't made any decisions. I was able to step back and look at it from another perspective. It's important that he plays the way I know he can play and that the guys around him do the same thing."
(On what prompted the change and McNabb's response)
"It was something I thought needed to be done at the time. I haven't talked to him yet, I'll talk to him after this."
(On whether he worries about McNabb's confidence level)
"No I don't."
(On whether he informed McNabb ahead of the substitution)
"The coaches talked to him."
(On McNabb's performance)
"All I can say is he's working through it…"
(On whether the Eagles performance will improve)
"It was pretty poor today, but I'm going to find a way and I think the guys around me have to find a way. We have good people on this football team."
(On how the QB change affects the psychology of the team)
"It's something that needed to be done at that time. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I didn't think it needed to be done at that time. I'll evaluate it and see what needs to be done here, coming up for this game on Thursday."
(On QB Kolb's performance)
"He did some good things and he has some things he needs to work on. It's not an easy thing to do."
(On whether he thinks he is giving up the run and short yardage frequently)
"Listen, if I say yes you can come back and say. 'Well you didn't run it very well either' so put it that way, we got to get better. I am just stating things I know, you know. So we need to get better at short yardage, with running the football or passing the football."
(On RB Westbrook's status and performance)
"Bad enough to where he didn't practice. He felt really good the last couple days, and he did some good things, and we also need to make sure that we pick it up around him."
(On playing with 2 RB's)
"It's what I chose to do, but it's not the way I thought it would go."
(On the team's confidence changing with the QB's performance)
"Obviously, the QB is a big part of the football team and the team, but its important that we all feed off of each other, and we all pick our games up, and we've seen that done around here before, and I expect it to happen again."
(On how Kolb responded)
"That is a tough thing to do putting him in there. Did I think he was going to throw that interception down in there tight? No I didn't think that. It's not an easy thing to do coming off the bench, but again, it was something that I thought needed to be done."
*(On his responsibility in the team's performance) *
"It's about me. I'll be the first one to sit in here and tell you that. It's about me. I need to go back and reiterate that to you. If your football team doesn't play better than what we played today, it's about me."
(On the team's chances after the QB substitution)
"I thought it might be a little bit of a spark, and we might be able to get some things going."
(On whether there will be a QB competition going into next week)
"There's no time for a competition right now."
(On when he will make his starting QB decision)
"Well, we don't have a lot of time here, so it's got to be done by tomorrow."
WR JASON AVANT
(On the Eagles performance)
"I think there is enough talking that has been done already. It's just one of those games that was a bad game. We own up to it and we just need to get better."
TE L.J. SMITH
(On the loss)
"We're just frustrated because we definitely have talent and there are question marks right now and we have to get some answers. If we didn't have much talent, that is one thing, but we are a talented team and to loose like we did in a pivotal game is especially disappointing."
(On whether the player's have lost confidence in the coaching)
"It's not anything to that nature. The coaches haven't lost confidence and the players haven't lost confidence. It doesn't matter what play is called or what scheme, you have to go out and execute. That is what it boils down to."
(On whether the coaches have lost confidence in the team)
"I don't know, you'll have to ask them. They scout and prepare us for the plays, to call in certain situations and it is up to us to make the plays."
DE VICTOR ABIAMIRI
(On the Ravens RB Willis McGahee)
"I think we did a good job on them earlier, and then late in the fourth quarter they got away from us. He is a good back and a strong back and he did a good job of closing out the game."
(On Ravens QB Joe Flacco)
"He is tough and a lot of us were close throughout the game. We got him down a couple of times and could have had some more, but I think he played well for a rookie QB."
(On the Eagles QB change and its effect on the defense)
"As a defense, you kind of like the challenge of going out there and getting stops for our offense. Every time we get a stop, it kind of builds some more confidence and I know the offense will get it going sooner or later and we'll have things clicking."
(On Eagles mindset after the game)
"We are definitely disappointed in the outcome of the game. We really can't dwell on it. We have a short week coming up with Arizona. We have to start off with a good practice tomorrow and look forward to Arizona on Thursday night."
QB DONOVAN McNABB
(On whether he would have pulled himself out of the game at halftime)
"No. I guess that's my competitive nature. I always think we can get things going and make some plays. But, I'm not the coach."
(On how he found out he was being removed and his reaction)
"At halftime, I heard about the move from our quarterbacks coach, Pat Shurmur. My first reaction was 'Wow.' Then, I knew I had to go along with it, and I tried to get our guys to rally behind Kevin Kolb."
(On whether he will be the starting quarterback on Thursday)
"I definitely hope so. But that's not up to me. I will prepare as if I am going to be the starter and do what I can to help the team."
(On his post-game conference with Coach Andy Reid)
"I'd rather not talk about that. We had a conversation, but we have a lot of conversations."
(On how he feels after the game)
"I am upset about us losing the game, and I'm upset that I wasn't able to contribute. But I am going to focus on trying to help this team get better by eliminating mistakes and turnovers."
DB QUINTIN DEMPS
(On whether he thought his kickoff return would be a spark for the Eagles)
"Any time you can get a kickoff return for a touchdown, you hope it can be a spark for your team. It was a big-time play, and I hoped it would get us going. I just trusted my blocking. Then, I picked up my knees and ran hard. I just hit the hole and went. At about the 50-yard line, I knew that I was going to score. I made one move and that was all I needed."
(On whether he was relieved to get a touchdown after so many close calls)
"I was confident that it would happen sooner or later. But, I would gladly trade it for a 'W.' Making a play like that would have felt a lot better if we won the game."
RB BRIAN WESTBROOK
(On his reaction to Kevin Kolb replacing Donovan McNabb at quarterback)
"I felt we were still in the game, and I was hoping he could get us going. We have a lot of confidence in Kevin Kolb and we thought he could help. I am supportive of Donovan McNabb as a friend and a player, and I am also supportive of Kevin Kolb as a friend and a player. They are both good quarterbacks. We need to find a way to get things going and pull together as a team."
(On how the quarterback switch impacted the team's mindset)
"It doesn't affect us greatly. We were right in the game, and we had some opportunities to score. We have confidence in both quarterbacks."
(On how he felt Kevin Kolb played)
"Kevin made some good throws and he put up a great fight. He took control of the huddle and did some good things. I'm sure he regrets the throw he made for the interception, but that's part of the game."
(On the Eagles' offensive play)
"We're not very effective right now, and it's not all because of Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb. There are a lot of other guys on the offense who need to play better. We have to find a way to win. This was a tough loss for us and an embarrassing loss. We didn't do much on offense, and we left our defense out there hanging."
(On whether this could be the end of the Donovan McNabb era in Philadelphia)
"That's not for me to judge. Donovan McNabb has been our leader for a long time, and he has done so much for our team. I will always be supportive of him as a friend and a player."
LB OMAR GAITHER
(On when he found out that he wouldn't be starting against Baltimore)
"I know you guys [media] didn't find out until today, but I was told about it on Tuesday. The coaches told me they wanted to make a change and that I would be playing on special teams. I was surprised because I thought I was playing well, but that's their decision. I am just going to do everything I can to help us win. Akeem [Jordan] is playing very well but, obviously, I wanted to be out there playing."
(On what it was like watching from the sidelines)
"It was eating me up inside. I wanted to be out there with my teammates and battling. But now, we have to forget everything else and get ready for Thursday."
LB AKEEM JORDAN
(On his play)
"It's always exciting to play. It's always exciting to be out there with everybody, enjoying life."
(On the defense's play)
"Well, we lost the game. I mean, I've got emotions about losing. I don't like to lose."
(On going forward)
"We've got to win every game from here on out."
QB KEVIN KOLB
(On when he found out he was going in)
"My quarterbacks coach told me at halftime. He came back in there and told us. My thought process was let's get it right, get out there and not try to do too much, try to lead the team the way I thought I should and obviously, it didn't go quite as I expected."
(On how he feels he played)
"What frustrates me is once I got in a rhythm, and we went down the field, I made a mistake at the end there that basically cost us the game. If I make that throw or throw it away, I can make that throw and then it's a totally different ballgame. I think that's what frustrated me. I've just got to keep getting better. Obviously, it didn't go good, and I'm not going to pretend that it did."
(On the difficulty of playing in the second half)
"It's difficult, but that's your job. As a second-string quarterback, you're one play away. Everybody knows that. You've got to prepare for that, and you've got to go in and do a better job than what I did."
(On following Donovan McNabb)
"He's been the guy here for so long, and I was focused on going out there and winning the football game. I support him; he supports me. We have a good relationship, and I don't expect it to be any different."
(On Andy Reid's QB decision)
"I think Andy understands we have to win now and…that's all he was trying to do, was win a football game. He's got to allow me to do that, and I didn't get in there and win the football game, so I'll go back and look what I did wrong and get better."
LB TRENT COLE
(On the play of the defense)
"I think we did good, and also I think we did bad. But we lost as a team. I don't really know what else to say."
(On the play of Joe Flacco)
"He led his team to a win, and so that's all you can really say."
(On the pressure they got on Flacco)
"I think it was working. It's a team. We win as a team and everybody's got to do their part and everybody's got an affect on the game, and everybody affects each other and things just didn't get done."
