HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2022
(On concerns about the pass rush defense) “We can come up with some good answers for our players as
to why some of the things are happening, and that’s sort of what the bye is designed to do. Obviously,
it’s the coaches putting together a good pass rush plan, and then the players obviously have to go
execute that. Then again, you’re going up against good offensive linemen that do a nice job, and 15
[Patrick Mahomes] scrambles around a little bit, and that makes it a little harder as well.”
(On if OLB Josh Allen needs a fire lit under him or if teams are scheming against him) “It’s week to week
a little bit. He understands that he needs to get going. He knows that. Conversations that he’s had with
the staff, on defense, and knowing that he’s a big part of that rush. He’s talented, too talented not to
get there and just got to make sure that he stays focused in and locked in on the rush plan and sticking
to the technique that has made him a good pass rusher in this league.”
(On if he talks to the team about how to conduct themselves during a bye week) “Well, I’m not giving
them the whole week. I’m going to bring the guys in tomorrow and Wednesday and get some work in,
especially with our younger players. I think it will be good and beneficial to work with them and keep
their development and growth coming, but at the same time, our older players, the starters, it’s a time
to sort of rest and heal and get ready for this back half push. I will talk to them about how to handle
their business with the four days off that I have to give them, and it’s all about being a professional. We
do get time off during the bye, and coaches are the same way. How we handle it really can affect next
week for sure, but it can also set a standard for the rest of the year.”
(On if he gave some of his Eagles teams the whole week off) “I have in the past, yes. Yeah, kind of where
you (as a team) are and everything, and we’re relatively healthy, too. There’s not any significant injuries
right now where you feel like you can give the guys the whole week. We’re a young football team, too.
We’re still learning. It’s a great opportunity for us as a staff to continue to teach and coach and get
through the tape with our players the next couple days.”
(On if he thought they could challenge a fumble on a flag play that got called back) “I don’t believe there
was. I don’t think he necessarily had the full one, two, make a football move, had control of the ball
when the contact was made, so that part, I think, was okay.”
(On if LB Chad Muma is giving more consistency at the position relative to LB Devin Lloyd) “Consistency,
but I think, too, it helps, sometimes, in Devin’s case, too, just coming out of the game and seeing it from
the sidelines, seeing a little different perspective. Allowing Chad to get valuable reps, it’s a lot like Buster
(CB Montaric Brown) playing and getting valuable reps at corner and seeing where Chad is with
everything. Right now, as you guys know, he’s been kind of limited to special teams. He is a good
linebacker, and we want to get him on the field. It helps Devin from the standpoint of I think just seeing
things a bit differently, maybe with calmer eyes, from the sideline.”
(On if he will play LB Chad Muma more often going forward) “We’ll see. Maybe not to that degree, but
we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes here as we get ready for our next game.”
(On if that was one of QB Trevor Lawrence’s better games, despite the overall outcome) “Yeah. This is
two weeks in a row now he’s really put some good performances out there. We had some protection
issues kind of in that second quarter that kind of made him get rid of the ball a little bit sooner than
need be, but I thought after that, really just taking that out, he settled in and did some great things that
drive before half, again getting us down there after the turnover to having an opportunity to get us
another few yards closer on the turnover. He’s just kind of understanding now kind of what we’re asking
him to do, and he’s put two good performances here back-to-back.”
(On if he has seen a shift in QB Trevor Lawrence over the past couple weeks) “Not really. Trevor is
Trevor. He just kind of handles his business the way he does and prepares the same, studies the same,
and I think what you’re seeing is just him learning from mistakes that were made previously in the
season, opportunities that we’ve missed, and he’s just capitalizing that. That’s a good player that’s just
taking correction and coaching and understanding what we’re asking him to do. Just being better as a
player.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence is starting to “get it”) “Yeah, I think “get it” is part of it. I think he’s
understanding our system better. We’re recycling plays a little bit more, so the verbiage and everything
is sort of easier to spit out in the huddle than Week 1 or even in training camp. All of that really helps
him in his growth and really his development, and it’s all starting to come together for him.”
(On if missing so much of training camp factors into LB Devin Lloyd’s struggles) “I think it can. It’s a
young player, missed all of training camp. He missed all the live reps in training camp, and that’s hard
because those are all valuable reps, reps that Chad (LB Chad Muma) got and Shaq Quarterman got and
those guys, but we’ve played a lot of football now, too. He should be understanding what the scheme is,
understanding his technique and how to play within the defense a little bit. Again, this is that time of
year with young players that we’re coming out of Week 10 into a bye in Week 11. This is sort of that
rookie wall you talk about a little bit with some of these guys, and again, it’s a good time for a break.”
(On if he is going to open up the kicking situation for K James McCourt to compete with K Riley
Patterson) “Not yet. During the week of practice on Wednesdays and Thursdays we let both guys kick, so
there’s a little bit of competition there. It’s unfortunate, again as I talked after the game, those are
missed opportunities that we’ve just got to have, especially against good teams. You’ve got to hit those
balls through the uprights. He knows that. He understands that, but no competition right now.”
(On if K James McCourt has continued to kick as well in practices as the season has gone on as he did in
the preseason) “He’s another one that’s kind of feeling where we are with the season. I’ll say that it’s
not one hundred percent, let me put it that way.”
(On if the bye week can help the rookies clear up a lot that is going on in their heads) “Yeah, I think it
can. Again, it goes back to how they utilize this break, and again, it’s the reason why I want to bring the
guys in the next couple of days. We’re not game planning anything but go back and really go through
sort of this first part of the season and just kind of re-teach and re-learn and show them. You’re a little
bit calmer this time during the bye than you would be during a game plan week. It’s a great opportunity
with these guys to continue to learn.”
(On coaching the offensive line when they get called for being illegally downfield, especially when some
of the plays are RPOs) “It’s hard because sometimes, too, we argue the fact that they’re engaged on a
block, which is okay as long as they stay engaged. The couple yesterday, the one on Jawaan (OL Jawaan
Taylor) and the one on Cam (OL Cam Robinson), I think were the right decision. That, to me, doesn’t
necessarily fall on them because they’re doing what they’ve been asked to do, so that’s a coaching thing
that we can fix. We talked about it as a staff today, and we have ways of correcting that and making sure
they’re not downfield next time.”
(On if he is basing playing time for some players on practice performance or that they are the future of
the team and need snaps) “If we were 7-3, maybe it’s a different story, but we’re 3-7, and we’re still
trying to figure out some pieces and who can play and all that, and this is a great opportunity for those
guys to get time. We want them to play, and we want them to get reps out there, and every time and
any time they can. I think what you’re seeing now with Buster (CB Montaric Brown) now that he’s out
there more, he’s beginning to get a little more comfortable in that environment, and that’s all you want.
You just want them to be, the eyes aren’t big, they’re more focused, focused on their job, focused on
the tasks they’re asked to do on a particular play, and that’s all you want from these guys, especially the
young players when they get opportunities to play.”
(On what some of those younger players need to do to get more game reps) “I just got to put them in.
As a play caller, I’ve just got to put them in. Really, on offense because I control the calls and everything,
it’s just a matter of getting them in the game.”
(On the touchdown play where WR Kadarius Toney was wide open down the side) “We got caught,
actually, about two plays in a row there our defensive headset went down, and so we had to make a call
on the fly, and communication was two different calls on the field, so there was a missed assignment.
You try to hand signal it, which we try to do, but with the time running and breaking the huddle, Foye
(LB Foye Oluokun) does a nice job of getting the guys lined up anyway, and being in that environment, it
was just a little bit loud and couldn’t hear all the calls. It’s unfortunate. It’s the same way on offense. If
the headset goes down, Trevor (QB Trevor Lawrence) has a handful of plays he can get to right away.
We’ve got to make sure that when that happens that the guys are prepared.”
(On if that happened with the headsets often yesterday) “No, just about two plays in a row on defense.
Offense was fine. It just happened in the red zone.”
(On if he would be surprised if the Eagles and the Chiefs were playing in the Super Bowl in February)
“They’re both good. They’re both really good. It probably wouldn’t surprise me. I think there’s some
good teams in the NFL right now that are playing, but I think both those teams are playing really good
football. They’re playing consistent. They’re making the most of the opportunities, and that’s what it
takes, especially now down the stretch, we’ll see with this last month and a half of the season just where
teams start to go.”
(On if there were any injuries in the game yesterday) “No. Jamal (WR Jamal Agnew) came out of the
game, was fine, re-entered. Evan (TE Evan Engram) took a shot in the game, also re-entered. Both were
fine.”
(On how tough it is to walk out of the game with a loss despite having a successful onside kick and
getting three turnovers) “I think we only got seven points off of all that, and those are the opportunities
that I talk about. Defense did a great job, and special teams, to create turnovers, create the takeaways.
Offense, for the most part did a nice job of protecting the football. Then you only get seven points.
We’ve got to do better as an offense. We’ve got to do better when given the opportunity, whether it’s
three or seven. One thing I will say is even with 40 or 50 seconds at the end of the half to go down and
get the touchdown was big. Then to right away get the turnover again with seven seconds, it was
unfortunate. Again, those were opportunities that we missed, and when you’re playing teams like the
Chiefs, you can’t miss those opportunities.”
