Nelson Agholor was the main topic for his coach on Monday. Photo by Andy Lewis / footballstories.com

Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson Press Conference
11.21.16

DOUG PEDERSON: Good morning. Before I get started, I just wanted to make an announcement that we are going to go ahead and release [CB] Aaron Grymes, and we’re going to sign [WR] Paul Turner to the active [roster]. We’re going to make that move today. Actually, we already made that move. So we’re going to do that.

Then let me just update you on the injuries out of this football game. [RB] Ryan Mathews has a right knee and he is day-to-day. Leo [CB Leodis McKelvin] is in the concussion protocol. Big V [T Halapoulivaati Vaitai] has a Grade 2 MCL sprain, and again, his is more week-to-week. We’ll evaluate him later in the week, obviously.

And then [LB] Connor Barwin just has a bone bruise. He’ll be fine for the game, but we’re going to hold him out of our work on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

And then [S] Terrence Brooks will be good to go. Zach [TE Zach Ertz] is fine. [RB] Darren Sproles, just to update you on him real quick, his [rib injury] is a seventh — much like [TE] Brent Celek’s [rib injury] — his is a seventh rib fracture, but it’s more in a safe area, I guess. It sounds bad, but it’s more in a safer area than what Brent Celek’s is. We’ll hold [Sproles] from practice on Wednesday and Thursday, and just see where he’s at later in the week, but he should be fine for the game.

Q. So Sproles’ rib is non-displaced?
DOUG PEDERSON: It’s non-displaced, at all. It’s kind of funny where it’s at, but it’s actually in a safe area.

Q. So Sproles will be okay for the game?
DOUG PEDERSON: He’ll be okay for the game. Yeah, he should be fine for the game.

And then [S] Malcolm Jenkins just has a little knee bursitis. He’ll be fine. He came in this morning and was a little sore behind the knee, but he’ll be okay. And everybody else is good.

Q. So what is the plan at right tackle now that Vaitai is injured?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, moving forward, it looks like we’ll go back to our preseason thought: move Allen [G/T Allen Barbre] over there and give him the week of reps over at right tackle. Then you’ve got Wiz [G/C Stefen Wisniewski] and Isaac [G Isaac Seumalo] at the [left] guard spot and then keep [G/T Matt] Tobin available.

Q. Is the decision at left guard between Wisniewski or Seumalo, or is it going to be Wisniewski?
DOUG PEDERSON: It’ll be Wiz, but Isaac will get some reps, too.

Q. What’s the reason behind signing Paul Turner to the 53-man roster? Does it have anything to do with WR Nelson Agholor’s performance?
DOUG PEDERSON: No. Right now, with some of the injuries that we have at other spots, we’re constantly — and I’m constantly — evaluating the roster and just kind of seeing where we are there. We gave him some work last week in practice and just feel like this is a good opportunity now, not only for him, but for us to see where he’s at, see what he can do and give him an opportunity. So we’ll give him some work this week and then we’ll make a decision whether he’ll be up [for the Packers game] or not later in the week.

Q. After the game, Agholor admitted that the pressure is getting to him and that he’s losing confidence, and that he’s in his head. Do you have to take him now and step him back from playing much because of that?
DOUG PEDERSON: I will definitely have a conversation with Nelson, and I’ll address that as we get later into the week. But those are definitely concerns that I have, now that he’s obviously come out and said that publicly. My concern is for him as an individual, as a person, and I want to make sure that he’s in a good spot. Hey, listen, put football aside; we all know about that. But I want to make sure that he, as a person, is doing good, so we’ll have that conversation during the week.

Q. Have you had that before, either as a teammate of a guy or as a coach of a guy who’s been in his head this bad? If so, how did they get out of it?
DOUG PEDERSON: I can’t recall off the top of my head a situation or a scenario. You know, sometimes — and this is just me speaking — it’s not a decision by any means, but sometimes you have to take a step back in order to go forward. Sometimes that can help clear your head.

You know, I remember as a quarterback back in 1999 when Andy [former Eagles head coach Andy Reid] pulled me out and put Donovan [former Eagles QB Donovan McNabb] in, it was a step back to possibly go forward, and to see it differently.

In that way, too, you can begin to clear your head and see it where you don’t have the pressure of performing on you, all the time.

Q. Are you thinking about sitting Agholor or pulling back on him to give him that opportunity to step back?
DOUG PEDERSON: I’m going to wait until after I talk with Nelson. I’m going to wait and see where we’re at during the week and make that decision down later in the week because we’ve got a longer week. I just want to see where he’s at.

Q. So who takes first-team reps on Wednesday at wide receiver?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, we still have the four, and then we’ll interject PT — Paul Turner — and much like we did last week, we just kind of got everybody equal opportunity in there. So Nelson will be a part of that, and then, again, I’ll evaluate it later in the week.

Q. Why has it taken so long for Turner to get an opportunity?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, I just think when you’re shuffling — I say shuffling — when you’re having to get guys active for games, it’s all about numbers, to get guys deactivated and activated for games. A lot of times it comes down to injury, and just by sheer number, it just hasn’t been in the works to get him up.

Q. Do you think there are things with Agholor beyond just being in his head? Are there things beyond that, in your mind, that he’s struggled with?
DOUG PEDERSON: You mean away from football?

Q. Just the overall package of why he’s struggling. Is it all a mental thing, or are there things that he’s not doing that he needs to be doing?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, again, it’s all speculation, obviously, but I think sometimes as athletes, you put so much pressure on yourself to perform. Then when it maybe doesn’t quite work out in your favor, [the] outside influences, i.e., the media and fans, put more pressure on you to perform [because] you’re a top pick and you need to perform. All that pressure on a player is not good. So in Nelson’s case, sometimes like I mentioned, sometimes maybe you have to take a step back and maybe you have to see it differently and view it differently. These are all conversations that he and I will have this week. And again, the well being of the player and the person [is more important] to me than [his performance] as an athlete and receiver.

Q. Have you seen him pressing? The stuff he talked about after the game, have you seen that over the last several weeks?
DOUG PEDERSON: I’ve seen him trying to just do things a little out of character for him, and that’s obviously a sign that maybe things are not going well for him. As athletes, you’ve got to let the game sort of come to you, and I feel like he’s maybe pressing just a little bit and trying to do things – and he’s doing everything right. Listen, he’s working hard. He’s getting work after practice and doing everything right. We’re just going to continue to work.

Q. Why didn’t you like that situation to call a timeout?
DOUG PEDERSON: At the time, I guess in my mind at that point, it was third-and-6, and I guess the easiest thing might have been, yeah, to call a time-out. But a lot of times, as I mentioned after the game, receivers looked to the sideline to get the okay by the official, and the official was obviously waving his hand to move him up. Pre-snap as quarterbacks we’re wired in, our first wide vision is to make sure everybody is legal. At that time I just didn’t feel like, where we were at the time, [I wanted] to just save the timeout, so I just didn’t call it.

Q. Did you see it, or did you see Eagles WRs coach Greg Lewis, who was –
DOUG PEDERSON: No, we saw it. We saw it initially right away.

Q. Did you think QB Carson Wentz would get him up?
DOUG PEDERSON: A little bit on the quarterback, but of course he was focused in on the defense at the time, too. But there were two other receivers there, also, and again, it comes back to me. I’ve got to make sure that these guys are prepared in all those situations and just know … Sometimes receivers are displaced a lot, and they’re in those bunches and clusters, and just got to keep talking to them to make sure they’re on the ball.

Q. There was a time in the league when young receivers were expected to struggle, especially rookies. He’s not a rookie, but he’s a second-year guy. And then there was a period where some rookies had a lot of success. Has that changed the expectations for young receivers in this league do you think?
DOUG PEDERSON: It’s obviously a league where we ask guys to perform right away, and whether they’re drafted or undrafted, the pressure to play is right now.

Back when I played, it was more, let’s develop these players, and you’ve got time, where now it’s, okay, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality, and we expect a lot from these young players.

And it’s probably a disjustice (sic) on our part. Maybe we need to take a step back as coaches and say, hey, look, let’s keep developing these guys, let’s keep working and let’s try to figure out ways to use them, number one, and help them be successful on the football field, much like our young quarterback – how can we help him, how can I help him be successful.

Yeah, there is a fine line. We ask them to do a lot early, but we also know that in the long run, if there is success there, then that benefits not only them but the team down the road.

Q. Speaking of that young quarterback, what have you seen from him the last month-and-a-half or so? It seems like at least statistically his production has been kind of steadily going down. How much of that is him and how much of that is the people around him, and how do you get him kind of back on track?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, the way to get him back on track is I’ve got to do a better job with the run game. We’ve got to handle the run a little bit better and manage it like we did in the Atlanta game. That’s obviously for a young quarterback … I’ve said all along, you can’t put 45 pass attempts on a young quarterback in this league against that defense in that stadium. You’re doing him a disservice.

But we’ve got to do a better job as coaches. I said after the game: We’re all disappointed. But I look at myself hard at this one and make sure that I’m doing everything I can to make sure this team is, number one, ready to go, putting our players in the right positions. That’s all part of the evaluation process that I go through.

Q. Do you see frustration on his part? It seems like there’s times he’s forcing things, especially deep, that may not be there. Is that something he’s got to work on?
DOUG PEDERSON: There is a little bit of that, and those are all things that we work with, and those are game-management situations.

And again, with myself, who played in this league and [Eagles offensive coordinator] Frank Reich played in this league a long time, we keep constantly talking about those situations with him. I keep saying they’re learning experiences, and they are. Any time you go against a fine defense like Seattle, it’s okay sometimes to check the ball down, and we’ve just got to continue to talk and work through those situations with them.

Q. We haven’t seen Turner since training camp in the preseason. How has he done the last few months?
DOUG PEDERSON: He’s done well. You know, gosh, he’s made plays on service team, going against our defense. A lot of times when you’re going against starters in practice, you get a good look at your young players that way, and he’s done a nice job. Even last week in practice, we were able to kind of interject him into some of our offensive practice work and see where he’s at. He’s obviously a sharp kid and [we’re] looking forward to giving him some more time this week.

Q. As players have struggled, you’ve been very supportive publicly as opposed to putting pressure on them. Is that a philosophy of yours? And is it the same way behind the scenes?
DOUG PEDERSON: Look, there’s enough pressure to win and to perform in this game. It’s my job to encourage. It’s my job to teach and instruct and get our guys to game day. It’s hard enough to win a game. Carson [Wentz] is … We’ve talked about that. This is the most losses he’s had in his career, and we keep talking every week how hard it is to win games in this league. It’s all based on how well you prepare during the week.

I can individually talk to guys and pull guys aside, but at the same time, part of my job is to encourage them, too, and to support them and to get them better. We get paid to teach, because there’s a lot of negative out there. I want to make sure that they’ve got positive from me and from the staff.

Q. Do you think RB Wendell Smallwood has progressed enough to the point where if Ryan Mathews can’t go on Monday that he can kind of be –
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, I think so. I think so. Again, we’ll evaluate Ryan later in the week, but Wendell has done a nice job, and I think if need be, I think Wendell would be okay taking the brunt of the load.

Q. In addition to activating Turner, has there been any thought of bringing somebody in from the outside at that position?
DOUG PEDERSON: Not at this time. Yeah, not at this time.