Doug Pederson

Q. You’ve kind of figured out ways to win here without putting together a complete game, at least offensively. Do you think you can keep winning that way or are you going to have to figure it out and start getting this thing rolling a little bit better the second half of the season? (Nick Fierro)

COACH PEDERSON: We’re going to have to figure some things out. Obviously, we’re happy and excited with the win and all of that, but yeah, we’ve got some things we’ve got to figure out here in the next week.

Q. Obviously it’s a positive to go into the bye on a winning note. From your perspective as an offensive play caller, when you see that many turnovers, what does it do to you in this situation, even though you have that positive of a win, but you have those teaching moments, so to speak? (John McMullen)

COACH PEDERSON: Well, listen, we understand we can’t turn the ball over, bottom line. We can’t turn the ball [over]. We’re too good. We have got too much responsibility for everybody, me included, that we’ve just got to take ownership of it. We can’t do the things that we’re doing in order to really survive in this league.

We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to fix it. We’ve got to fix it in a hurry. We’ve got a chance to sit back and look at the first eight games and evaluate and try to come away with some ‘whys’. But we just can’t keep turning the ball over and shooting ourselves in the foot, things we’ve got to clean up in the second half of the season.

Q. Defensively, LB T.J. Edwards came up pretty big, and you got a lot of big turnovers and sacks and everything. How much did the defense have to help you out in order to pull this out tonight? (Martin Frank)

COACH PEDERSON: My hat’s off to the defense, they played extremely well. Held them to nine points, three field goals, and just really did an outstanding job. Scored on defense. Played tough. Got after the quarterback. Really a complete game, defensively. It was really exciting to see and something we’ve got to carry into the second half of the season.

Q. You guys went for it twice on fourth down in the second quarter there. Can you take us through the thought process? (Chris Franklin)

COACH PEDERSON: Well, the first one, just missed on the protection. Didn’t execute. Failed to execute there.

And then I think I punted on another one. So again, that’s an area that we’ll look at this week, study that and see how we can improve.

Q. QB Carson Wentz on the first interception threw into double coverage, obviously in the red zone. Why is this something that he keeps on doing? (Jeff McLane)

COACH PEDERSON: We can’t turn the ball over. We understand that. He knows that. We’re in a position to put points on the board and just can’t do that.

We’ve just got to keep working, right? Got to keep detailing our work and keep coaching and get it corrected.

Q. As a follow-up to that, what was the conversation with Carson on the sideline and was there ever consideration to pulling him after the fourth turnover? (Zach Berman)

COACH PEDERSON: The conversation was, again, explaining that just, hey, we can’t do that. We’re in a position to put points on the board and continue a drive if we just throw the ball away and that’s something that we’ve got to learn from.

And no, there was never any of that conversation to pull him.

Q. Other teams seem to have been able to attack this defense without making things as complicated as you guys seem to make them sometimes tonight. What did you see? Why were there so many trick plays and so many seemingly plays that took a long time to develop, a lot of times Carson back in the pocket, looking around? What was that all about in your view? (Les Bowen)

COACH PEDERSON: It was about trying to win the game. That’s what it was about.

Q. Do you think part of the issues with Carson is just putting too much pressure on himself at times where he’s thinking, I’ve got to do something here, I’ve got to make a play, I’ve got to create, I’ve got to be a playmaker? (Rob Maaddi)

COACH PEDERSON: I think there’s times he probably feels that way. Probably a better question for Carson.

But we also continue to coach and [say] hey, you’ve got to trust the guys around you. Just execute the offense and all that. But I do feel like at times there might be some opportunities where he feels like he’s got to take it upon himself. And that’s just who he is. That’s the aggressive nature and his demeanor and I love having the ball in his hands. He’s also a great playmaker for us, and I never want to pull that ball out of his hand.

Q. I’m sure fans are going to come away from watching that game happy with the win but concerned about some of the things we’ve already talked about tonight. How do you view it, generally? Can you enjoy it as much as any other win? (Dave Zangaro)

COACH PEDERSON: Yeah, I mean, a win in this league is a win, man. They are hard to come by. There’s never a pretty win. There’s never an ugly win. A win’s a win. We’ve got to start stacking them together.

Guys are excited in the locker room. We know we’ve got to play better. We’re also optimistic we can get some players back here in the second half of the season that can help us and try to get back to full strength.

But it was good to get the guys back tonight that were out there, and go into this bye, get healthy and see what happens.

Q. How do you think Carson played, and do you think he needs a bye? I mean, a compressed preseason, lots of hits, lots of responsibility, lots of injuries, do you think he could maybe use a break? (Marcus Hayes)

COACH PEDERSON: I think this is a good time for all of us, honestly. Where we are as the health of the football team, it’s a chance for the coaches to go back and study the first eight games and see where we can improve in all three areas. It’s a chance for the players to get rested and healthy. We got eight games left. Opportunity right in front of us still. Goals are still right in front of us.

As I said, we get some players back and try to get back to full strength and see what happens. Just take them one at a time. This is a good time for this team to take a bye, yes.

 

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