Head coach Doug Pederson. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson Press Conference
9.15.16

COACH PEDERSON: Let me just update you on a couple things. Injury-wise, [TE] Zach Ertz and [CB] Leodis McKelvin will be held out of practice. They are still week-to-week. Then a couple of other things: first of all, I just want to congratulate [LS] Jon Dorenbos for his performance in America’s Got Talent. I think that’s not only representing himself, but also the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Eagles. So [I want to] congratulate him.

And also the nominations for the [Pro Football] Hall of Fame for [former Eagles] Donovan McNabb and Brian Dawkins, [both of whom] I had a chance to play with. Just a shout out to both of those guys and congratulations to all of them.

Q. Do you have a roster move at the corner position?
COACH PEDERSON: Right now, no. Just going in with the three, right now. We haven’t made that decision. We’ll still monitor that day-to-day, but haven’t made that move yet.

Q. Is part of that because S Malcolm Jenkins can go into the slot if you have to use him there?
COACH PEDERSON: You’ve got Malcolm who is very versatile there. [S] Rodney McLeod has played a little bit. So we’ve got some piece that have played in those positions in the past. Again, we’ll monitor that and keep an eye on it this week.

Q. How has Ertz progressed health-wise with the rib injury?
COACH PEDERSON: Good. Good. Yeah, he’s progressed well. He’s feeling better. You know, we just can’t risk putting him back out there right now with any kind of contact on that shoulder, but it’s still being monitored and we’ll see. Again, it’s a week-to-week thing and we’ve just got to see what happens on Monday.

Q. Are either of those guys out for the game on Monday or are you still hoping they can play?
COACH PEDERSON: Still hoping, obviously, for the best with both of them. We haven’t ruled on any of them yet, so we’ll see when we get to Monday.

Q. When something’s displaced, do you have to do something or is it just a matter of healing?
COACH PEDERSON: You know, I don’t profess to be a doctor in this field, but I do know with this rib, it’s just displaced about seven millimeters. It just has to work itself back together and tighten whatever is up in there. That’s the word I got on it. Again, it’s a day-to-day, week-to-week injury.

Q. How excited are you to see what TE Trey Burton can do with more first-team snaps?
COACH PEDERSON: I’m excited, No. 1, to get him back out onto the practice field and get him into this game – work him back into this game. Obviously, we had a plan for him last week and that didn’t come to fruition. But again, to get a guy like Trey and his athletic ability and his ability to run and catch the ball and move him around a little bit, I’m excited. I’m excited to see what he can do.

Q. If McKelvin can’t play, would you bounce CB Ron Brooks outside or would you just put CB Jalen Mills in there?
COACH PEDERSON: Well, I think it’s a combination of both. And again, it would be monitored this week. But you know, [we’re] very comfortable if Jalen were to start out there. Obviously if Ron were to start out there, [we] could move Jalen inside and vice versa.

So there are some combinations that we can play with throughout the week to see which one is the best fit. But we’re very comfortable if Jalen has to go out there and play corner.

Q. How much different is the gameplan if Ertz isn’t able to play and Burton takes his place?
COACH PEDERSON: It’s not different at all. In fact, last week, when found out that Trey couldn’t go, we just evaluated it and looked at a couple of the plays, and that’s where you saw [G/T] Matt Tobin in there a little bit in some of those three-tight end sets. Again, we just go. It’s part of the game and you’ve got to make adjustments whether it’s during the week or on game day. And it worked out for us.

Q. Do you anticipate having T Lane Johnson available this week?
COACH PEDERSON: I do. Again, I haven’t heard anything and until I do, he’s my right tackle.

Q. QB Carson Wentz has received a lot of attention the last few days. President Barack Obama mentioned Wentz in a speech and he has the biggest-selling jersey in the country. How has he handled everything?
COACH PEDERSON: He’s handled it fine. I tell you, he and I have had conversations the last couple days and I just wanted him to be aware of just limiting the noise on the outside. Let’s just focus on football.

And that’s the one thing about him and his maturity level, is how well he does balance work with some of the outside influences, whether it be the media, or autograph sales, or autograph jersey sales, or autographs and different things like that. He’s handled it really well. Again, he was in here early – he and [QBs] Chase [Daniel] and Aaron [Murray] – getting on to Chicago.

Q. It is kind of a big change for Wentz though. He came from North Dakota State and I don’t know if the President talked about him a lot when he was there. If he had been at a bigger school, maybe he would have received more attention. You know what I’m saying? He went from nothing to all this in a hurry.
COACH PEDERSON: Yeah and this is where I can step in and help him and protect him and keep him out of that and keep him focused. If I can keep him in the building, as long as I stay in the building, then we’re going to be okay. I know there’s always outside influences and the more success he has on the football field, all that off-the-field stuff will take care of itself. But the last few days, he’s handled it well.

Q. When you talked about making the decision to start Wentz, you said that he was ready to start. Regardless of whether you thought he was ready, was the idea to get him out there right away to help advance his development and not have him sit out an entire season?
COACH PEDERSON: Again, looking back on all that, I did say all along that we were going to let him sit in order to understand Philadelphia, understand the media, understand the fans and then be ready maybe in a year or so. But it just happened to be, you know, last weekend.

And again, being around him as much as we have, and as much as I have and, to see the time he’s spent studying and preparing himself — Listen, he’s been playing football a long time and he’s been very successful at it.

He’s won a lot of games and he’s won championships. And you can’t take that away from anybody, at any level of competition. Hopefully you saw it last Sunday: his ability to lead the football team and make plays. And he hates to lose. It’s just like a player that is aggressive; I’m not going to take that aggression away from a guy. Those are things that I see on a daily basis, our staff sees it and our players see it on a daily basis.

So that was really, for me, the deciding factor to say, ‘Hey, you’re our guy now and let’s go.’
Q. As much as you want to keep Wentz focused, what is the sense of pride that you have to hear the President of the United States talking about Wentz and his jersey being No. 1 in sales and all that stuff. Is there a sense of pride?
COACH PEDERSON: Well, if they’re not talking about you, something is wrong. That’s always been my philosophy. It is exciting to be mentioned that way but at the same time, listen, we’re on to Chicago. It’s another game week, another set of circumstances. It’s Monday Night Football, it’s a national spotlight. There’s more media attention. Everything about this week is different than last week. So we have to refocus. I have to refocus. The beauty of it is you get back in here this past Monday and you dive right back into football and you don’t pay attention too much of all the peripheral stuff on the outside. That’s going to take care of itself. Again, the more success you have, more things can kind of creep in, and you just have to stick to your plan and stick to what you believe in. Each week, just dive back into football and try to win another football game.

Q. Are you kind of anxious to see how Wentz will respond with playing on the road in a Monday night game? I take it he didn’t play in an environment like he’ll face at Soldier Field on national TV when he was at North Dakota State.
COACH PEDERSON: Yeah, Solder Field – obviously I played in Green Bay for eight years and had a chance to play there a lot. It’s a great place to play. It’s a great city to visit. It’s a Monday Night Football game and it’s very exciting. Emotions are running extremely high, and I’ll be, you know, again, I’ll be trying to keep him as calm as I can along with myself and try to approach it the same way we approached this last one. But at the same time, you know, enjoy the moment. You don’t get many of these and especially on Monday night.

Q. If former Eagles QB Donovan McNabb does get inducted into the Hall of Fame, that would be three Hall of Fame quarterbacks you had as teammates [McNabb, Packers QB Brett Favre, Dolphins QB Dan Marino]. Can you put that in perspective?
COACH PEDERSON: I think it’s great. I think it’s great. I think the Hall of Fame and each one of these guys that I had a chance to play with would tell that, you know, it’s really a team award. I know individually it’s the stats and all that, but you can’t get there without the rest of your team and that’s the beauty of the Hall of Fame and these guys. And for me to be able to play with each one of them, you know, it’s obviously a blessing on my career for a guy that was undrafted and to play as long as I did. Happy for all of them and just wish them, Donovan, the best of luck going forward and see where it goes.

Q. Who on the Bears defense do you worry about?
COACH PEDERSON: You know, I tell you what, their pass rushers on the outside [OLB Willie] Young, [OLB Sam] Acho, guys like that on the outside, it’s a different animal than we had last week. I think they can really bend and attack the quarterback. You know, in the back, [CB Kyle] Fuller, in the back end — guys that have played, they have even got some experienced guys that have played with Coach Fox [Bears Head Coach John Fox], whether it be in Denver that I’m familiar with, and again, it’s a very similar scheme to what we faced with Cleveland. You know, again, these guys, the one thing that stands out to me on film is their ability to rush. We kept Carson relatively clean last week. We did miss a couple of protections and he got hit a few times. But this group can get after you. So that’s the challenging side of each week. Each week is a different animal, and this is what Chicago can do to you.

Q. What are some of the staples of a John Fox and Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio defense?
COACH PEDERSON: It’s usually a multiple front. It’s an under front. They will play a little over. He’s also a 3-4 style, true 3-4 base defense. You get into their sub-defenses, he’ll show you different odd looks, along with his even looks. What we call spinners, he’ll take a D-end or a tackle and one of his athletic guys and move them around and create some confusion. So we have to be on point with how we identify it. And the thing is, too, with some of these defenses that do this, it’s a lot of stuff around the box, but zone coverage on the back end. So, if you know that and you can protect it, then there are some opportunities to complete the ball down the field and we get a chance to work on it today.

Q. Wentz’s numbers against the blitz the other day were unreal. What does it say about his recognition and execution when Cleveland was bringing in an extra guy who was so good? Wentz is a guy who didn’t have a training camp.
COACH PEDERSON: Well, it goes back to him being here at 5:30 in the morning on Wednesday, Thursday, last week and just starting to dive into the film and preparing himself that way. I think, too, you know, I look at Chase Daniel and what he did with [Chiefs QB] Alex Smith and how he was sort of that backbone for Alex, which he is for Carson, and they are studying together. And I think that’s important, because I know, I’ve been in Chase’s role before as a backup quarterback and I know what it means to be able to dive into the tape and have answers for the guy that’s playing. They prepared themselves last week for it and again, a credit, too, for the offensive line and [running] backs for picking up these blitzes and it’s something that we work on every day. So exposing your guys to it also helps.

Q. Will Dorenbos practice today?
COACH PEDERSON: Yes, he’s back in town. He’ll practice today.

Q. Is there anyone other than McKelvin and Ertz who won’t practice?
COACH PEDERSON: No, everybody else will go.

Q. What about practice squad quarterback Aaron Murray? Is there a plan to get him on the 53-man roster?
COACH PEDERSON: Yeah, right now, content with him on the practice roster. Of course I was with him the last couple years in Kansas City. Again, he’s a guy and a kid that knows our system. Obviously there this year, so he knows a lot of things that we’re doing. And again, he’s solid. Good kid. Good athlete. Again, he can make all the throws. He’s much like Chase in the sense that, you know, he’s going to help where he can. Be another coach out there on the football field and I’m excited to have him with us.

Q. How intrigued are you by WR Bryce Treggs’ speed and are you looking forward to seeing him out there?
COACH PEDERSON: Treggs? Yeah, again, this will be the first week to really get him out there. I’ve seen him on film a couple times and he’s got some great speed. Hopefully, as he learns the playbook a little bit, much like DGB [Eagles WR Dorial Green-Beckham], we can give him a few plays. Right now, as a fifth guy, it’s hard based on the numbers, but at the same time, we want to expose him and see where he can go.