DOUG PEDERSON: Morning.
Q. As you look for an identity for the offense this year with the way the offensive line played Sunday and you found that running game, do you think you can really lean on that now going forward?
DOUG PEDERSON: The short answer, yes. A little more elaborate answer is yes. Because I think that opens up more your play-action game. I think that opens up more or quarterback movement game. You know, and it just kind of -- the screen game comes off of that.
So obviously when you can have success running the football it provides more opportunities for the rest of your offense.
Q. To kind of follow up on that, you're not going to have Isaac for the foreseeable future. Is it going to be Matt on the left guard or going to look at some other guys?
DOUG PEDERSON: You talking about Isaac? You said Isaac?
Q. Yes.
DOUG PEDERSON: We cut out just a second.
Q. Yeah, Isaac.
DOUG PEDERSON: Obviously part of the plan there is possibly even Herbig possibly moving to left guard and Pryor going to right guard. We got Jack Driscoll. We got Sua Opeta who was elevated week or so go. He can also give us some valuable reps there at guard. And then Jamon Brown who we just acquired, but at the same time, catching him up to speed to see where he is.
So there are some options there. We just got to find the best five and the best fit this week coming out of practice.
Q. You were in 12 personnel about 80% of the snaps on Sunday. Is that a number you're comfortable with going forward? How do you get more production out of 12 personnel?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, I mean, we are comfortable in 12 personnel. We feel like we have some matchup advantages with our tight ends in situations like that.
But I think coming out of 12 personnel, you I think you got to use it more -- you know, obviously the running game can be a big part of that with the 12 personnel. Play-action passes which we alluded to.
There are some things we can do to get a little bit more production out of that personnel group. It helps you to maybe maximize the protection a little bit to allow the ball to go down the field.
So there are some opportunities there that we can take a look at.
Q. A little more on left guard. A, do you have a sense is Isaac on the lower end? You mentioned three weeks. Is he going to need surgery or do you expect him back in a few weeks? And B, you mentioned Driscoll. With Lane kind of healthy and he J.P. set at left tackle, will Driscoll now work more at guard as you try to get that going?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, with Isaac and how it pertains to his injury, he's going to miss probably a little more than three weeks. His is a little more significant, so I think he's going to be down for the foreseeable future here.
So, yeah, but Driscoll is a guy that we worked him at guard during training camp. Obviously he's done a good job for us at tackle. Yeah, he's definitely in this the mix to play the guard spot.
Q. When we had a chance to talk with you on Monday, you mentioned when it came to the messaging with Carson you were going to have him verbalize to you what he saw from the first two weeks and kind of go from there. Curious what his answer was and where you are moving forward this week?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, today obviously we're back out on the practice field, and for me and Carson and really for all the quarterbacks, it's just verbalizing what they see on particular plays during the game. Doesn't necessary have to be ever play, but even some of the good plays. What did they see coverage-wise, what did they see front-wise, were there any protection issues that he and Kelce might have communicated that he can verbalize to us.
So just keeping that dialog going. I think it's important that we stay on the same page that way, because it helps us as coaches when we game plan. And then it also helps us coach the quarterbacks, right? Helps us coach to see if we're all on the same page with seeing the same things.
You know, we're standing on the sideline as coaches and we see things probably a little bit -- obviously with calmer eyes because we're not the ones playing the game. We want to make sure we're all on the same page with that. That's why the communication is so important.
Q. When we spoke to Jim Schwartz yesterday he mentioned one of the things he was concerned about the defensive response to adversity on the sideline. Wondering if you had that same feeling from the team overall in these first two games, and if so, who are the guys and what do you want to see out of the locker room or on the sideline from the players when they do have that adversity? How should they overcome it?
DOUG PEDERSON: I think adversity, adversity hits in many different ways. In the first couple weeks it's hit us more so with turnovers, right? Offense has turned the ball over; defense has to go back out. First couple weeks it's been primarily on a short field. And being able to handle that adversity and really, you know, you don't -- I don't point the finger at one particular guy. I think it's the entire team. One, the offense has to do a better job obviously securing the football.
Look, when something like that happens it's no different than us punting the football to the Rams the other day. They fumble; offense is right back out. I mean, there is what we call a sudden change. It's going to happen in the football game. It's going to happen positively and they're going to happen negatively.
It's just a matter of how all the guys respond, how the coaches respond. And I think from a coaching standpoint, we've got to react positively to everything and get the guys going. You shrug off the play, learn from it obviously, and move on.
Yeah, I mean, it's something that we have to deal with during football games. Adversity will come, and we have to shrug it off and move forward.
Q. Who are the guys on the team that you think will step up and speak up when there is adversity?
DOUG PEDERSON: I mean, pick a guy. Jason Peters, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Rodney McLeod, Wentz, Ertz, Dallas. I could go down the list. They all play a part, have a hand in it. The coaches have a hand in it.
Again, it's not the picking out one or two guys. For me it's about rallying everybody and getting multiple guys to speak up and rally the troops.
Q. In terms of wide receiver personnel in week one, sort of rotated a bunch of guys through, and then in Game 2 stuck with DeSean Reagor for most the game. What goes into deciding who goes out there and what was the reason for the change?
DOUG PEDERSON: I mean, simple answer: Game plan. The game plan decides who goes where and how we want to utilize guys. We have plays designed for everybody. Everybody gets an opportunity.
It's just how the game plays out, right? We've talked about this before. So you can't put a number. I mean, yeah, you look at play time, but it's all predicated on personnel, too. Like how the game is playing out. We have plays designed for 12 personnel but they're also designed for is 11 personnel, and it's just how we -- as a play caller how I see the game going.
We keep them all coming.
Q. Carson had great protection all day; no sacks. Only knocked down once, I think. I know you were asked Monday why he's missing throws and it's an assortment of reasons, but some of the throws he's missing are sort of like layups. What could be the reason for some of those easier misses that he's missing?
DOUG PEDERSON: Have you played quarterback in the National Football League?
Q. I have not, Doug.
DOUG PEDERSON: Okay. They're not layups. There ain't a throw out here that's a layup. So some of it is just timing with young guys. Some of it is just Carson just being not accurate at that particular time. Could be that there is a defensive guy that flashed a hand where he's got to change his arm angle at the split second. There are all kinds of reasons for accuracy.
These are things that we continue to work on and will continue to work on the entire season.
Q. Right now is your offensive line stable enough to start having some more deep shots, and are you confident that that's going to come?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, yeah.
Q. Why?
DOUG PEDERSON: I mean, it's how these guys prepare. Our protection plan, how Stout builds the protection plan. You saw what we did from week one to week two. We're just going to build on that. I know we might have some moving parts this week again, but there is confidence there and we can build on that.
As coaches, we got to keep things simple from a game plan perspective. We're not maybe having a lot of moving parts and keep guys in positions where they can feel comfortable. I think that's something that we saw this past week that we can build on moving forward that gives us the best opportunity.
Q. You've talked a couple times about the issue of trying to see things the way Carson sees them and giving him your perspective. Are you getting in the games -- is he making adjustments that you want him to make? Are the plays that are being run the plays that you envisioned in the game plan when you, you know, decide how to attack a team?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, yes. You know, these are all the subtle -- I mean, these are a yes or no questions so I'm trying to elaborate here. The adjustments that we make in-game are obviously real time. We make adjustments at halftime. We come out and try to attack a certain way to start the game, and then as the game progresses, we may have to change gears and go a different direction.
But everything is within the structure of the game plan. That's why we game plan and put the plays together. Can I do a better job of putting our team in better position? Certainly. This is why I evaluate myself every Monday to see if I'm doing that and how can I help the team and really how can I help the quarterback? The ball runs through the quarterback every snap, so I've got to do a better job there.
At the same time, this is where the communication with Carson and Press and Rich during the games and really with the offensive line, with Stout, just to be able to make those necessary adjustments so we can progress as games go on.
Q. Along those lines, how much freedom and influence does Carson have in the offense? Take us a little bit behind the scenes on the collaboration process and how his voice has grown.
DOUG PEDERSON: So Mondays and Tuesdays the coaches have spent obviously putting a plan together. I do know that Press, when we put particularly the passing game together, and really kind of the beginning stages of the protection plan, we ask the quarterbacks to have input on that.
Even on some the plays that we're thinking about, because they've spent a couple days, too, watching the same film we are watch being, so we want to see what any thoughts or ideas that they might have.
So that's how the first couple of days are kind of spent. Really even today, like Wednesday we're still sort of massaging the game plan, if you will, with their input.
Once we get to Thursday, Friday, things are kind of more stamped, more permanent to the game plan. Everybody feels comfortable with the personnel groups, with the plays. We've got practice reps with these plays.
You know, and then once we get into in-game, it's just a matter of -- we can't -- I'm big on not calling a play that is not in the game plan, right? It's something that we haven't executed in practice. It's just hard to do at the spur of a moment.
But being able to make those in-game adjustments like that are all part of the conversation and the dialog that we have throughout the course of the week.
Q. And how has Carson's voice grown?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, I mean, gosh, he's a deep thinker; he's smart; very cerebral; he sees thinking extremely well. I mean, he sees it like a coach does, right?
So it's important that we listen obviously. You know the, suggestions that he has are all positive. Doesn't mean we have to put them in right or have to change something.
But at the same time, we definitely want to listen. He's grown over the years by just -- and this is the beauty of having a coaching staff that's kind of run the same offense for a couple years, where your core concepts remain the same.
Now it's just how can we enhance it or make it better? This is where his input has really made a difference for us.
Q. With that said, how much growth has Press shown in his role in games since he's gotten this promotion over the last two weeks?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, my first four years Press was in in the press box, and a lot of the input in-game with the quarterbacks, a lot of in-game information that I would receive came from Press. And now that he's on the sideline, which is great for the quarterbacks, right, because he's coaching that position and helping construct the game plans.
I mean, I put him and Carson in the same boat. They're a lot smarter than me, I know that. And I lean on both of those guys quite a bit and trust them both. I get a lot of the great information from Press during the week, a lot of great information from Press during the game, and that's just the way the communication works.
I'm not always back on the sidelines back with the quarterbacks all the time, so I can have conversation with Press that kind of picks me up and keeps me kind of up to speed with what they're thinking any particular time of the game.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports