DABOLL: Just played these guys a couple weeks ago. So, you watch, obviously, the entire season, but you watch your game that you just played, and obviously the Minnesota game in which (Eagles quarterback) Jalen Hurts has a 158.3 quarterback rating. So, there goes that one, talking about him. Both receivers have 300 yards together. It’s an explosive offense. I said that the first time we played them, and it showed up in the Minnesota game against a really good defense. They have a perfect quarterback rating. Not many guys that can do that. Jalen certainly did. Defense had an interception for a touchdown. Good defense, a lot of good players. (Eagles defensive tackle) Jalen Carter will be back. He’s a problem to block. He wasn’t there the first game. It will be a challenge to go to their place and play them in another division game. In terms of our guys, these are the players that will not practice. They won’t practice today. We’ll see where they are on a day-to-day, if you will. (Outside linebacker Brian) Burns, (safety Jevón) Holland, (cornerback Paulson) Adebo, and (defensive lineman Chauncey) Golston. Then we will open up (kicker) Graham’s (Gano) window today.
Q: Is there any concern at all that any of those four that aren’t practicing are long-term things? Or more day-to-day, week-to-week, no IR for those guys?
Q: You didn’t say (wide receiver Darius) Slayton. Does that mean he’ll be practicing today?
Q: Where do you stand with the kicker position?
DABOLL: We’re opening up Graham’s window.
Q: Do you intend for him to be able to kick this week?
DABOLL: We’ll see. That’s why we’re opening up his window.
Q: That’s why I’m asking. Do you have an open competition?
DABOLL: If Graham’s ready to go, Graham will be the kicker.
Q: How hard is it to have faith in him? This is twice in the past two seasons where he’s gotten injured either during or before a game. How do you get yourself to feel comfortable that if you put him out there on Sunday, he’s going to be able to do the job?
DABOLL: I’d say we’ll go through the week here. If he looks good and hopefully he’ll be out there. But he’s done a good job for us. Couldn’t do anything about the injury that he had.
Q: But it’s his track record, isn’t it? He’s an older player. It’s not like he had a one-off.
DABOLL: If he’s ready to play and he goes through practice and he feels good, then he’ll be the kicker.
Q: If he’s healthy and active as your kicker, do you still have to have (kicker Younghoe) Koo on your roster for the game, based on what’s happened?
DABOLL: I’d say, let’s see how he does these next couple of days here. But he’s a kicker, he’s been working, we’re bringing him up for a reason. Hopefully he’s progressing in the right direction. He is progressing in the right direction. So we’ll see in a couple days here how it goes, and then make a decision, what we need to do.
Q: So if Graham is activated, not to put words in your mouth, it sounds like you’re leaning towards you would not be interested…
DABOLL: I’d say today is Wednesday. Let’s see how it looks on Friday after practice.
Q: What has Graham been able to do for the last couple weeks?
DABOLL: Working with the trainers.
Q: Has he been able to go outside and kick?
DABOLL: He does the stuff that he needs to do to be with the trainers. They think he’s ready to go, so it’ll be good to have him out here.
Q: Have you seen him kick a field goal yet?
DABOLL: I’ll see today. I mean, the trainers have been working with him. So again, I would say this is not like a defensive back or receiver. They’ve been working with him. They feel comfortable about what he’s been doing. That’s why we’re opening his window.
Q: You guys haven’t added a wide receiver since (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) went down. Just curious, why not bring anybody in?
DABOLL: Well, I think (wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey) LJ’s done a good job. We brought him up. We’ve asked (wide receiver) Wan’Dale (Robinson) to do a lot of different things, not just play where he’s played the last few years, more slot-related. He’s done a lot of different things and he’s really done a nice job for us. Those guys have done a good job and we’ve used more tight ends. We’ve probably used more tight ends than we have in the past few years and they’ve done a nice job for us. So, spreading the ball around, we’ll see what happens here.
Q: What have you seen with (Eagles running back) Saquon (Barkley)? His yards per carry is down considerably from a year ago.
DABOLL: I see him as one of the most talented backs in the league, explosive, dynamic. I think he’s a hell of a player.
Q: If Adebo can’t go, what’s your confidence level in (cornerback Deonte) Tae Banks?
DABOLL: He’ll do everything he can to be as ready as he can be. Coaches will work with him. Again, all those decisions, who can go, who can’t go, I’m saying it on Wednesday, that’ll be decided on Friday. So, Tae is working hard, doing everything he can.
Q: Does he remain next in line at that spot if Paulson can’t play?
DABOLL: Again, we’ll see where Paulson is. We’ll see where Paulson is, but Tae’s got to be ready to play. They all do.
Q: You didn’t mention (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart). Obviously, it looked like he had a little bit of an ankle in the game on Sunday.
Q: What does it say about him that he’s had a couple injuries the last couple games and it seems like when Wednesday rolls around, he’s out here, you’re downplaying it, he’s downplaying it? Is there something that you can attribute it to?
DABOLL: He’s got a lot of good toughness. The good ones that I’ve been around are usually the toughest ones too, both mentally and physically, on the team. He’s a tough guy.
Q: It’s unusual to play a team twice in such a short period of time. He’s a rookie quarterback. How do you think he’ll handle that and do you think the Eagles will have a better understanding of him now?
DABOLL: I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for (Eagles defensive coordinator) Vic (Fangio). He’s done a great job in this league for a long time. I can’t answer what he would do or what he wouldn’t do. You watch your game, you see how they played you. (Jalen) Carter’s back. Does that make a difference relative to the scheme and what they want to do? I don’t know. I just know that Vic’s a challenging coordinator to game plan against. Again, Jaxson’s played a good amount of football in his career. These last four weeks, he’s got a routine down, and we do everything we can do to get him ready to play.
Q: You’re looked at as an offensive head coach. What’s your involvement in the defense during the week, during the games?
DABOLL: Well, I know what they’re calling. I know the plays. I listen to them. If I see something, I’ll give it to them, but I want to let those guys do their job. I have trust in (defensive coordinator) Shane (Bowen), the defensive staff. They work extremely hard to try to do the things we need to do. I thought there has been a lot of improvement the last few weeks. I see something, I watch tape with them after practice, go through the practice, meet with those guys on what they’re deciding to do, give them my two cents, but let them do their job.
Q: Is it fair to say you’re more hands-on in the offensive game planning, that process on Monday?
DABOLL: I meet with all three phases. Do I spend quite a bit of time with the offensive guys? Certainly. But then I go and spend time with the defense, and then I go and spend time with (special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial) Ghobi and watch all the games, tell them what I see, ask them what they see. I have good communication in that regard.
Q: With (linebacker) Abdul (Carter), obviously, the sack numbers are where they are, but he’s still getting pressure on the quarterback. Seven games in, how are you assessing what he’s brought on the field so far?
DABOLL: I’m just glad he’s on our football team. I’m not going to get into seven games. He’s a good football player for us. He’s productive in rushing the passer, he’s good at setting the edges. He’s a good player for us.
Q: Will Carter and (running back Cam) Skattebo be limited at all?
DABOLL: No, they’re going.
Q: I would imagine you would agree that you would say that you’re an aggressive head coach and you have an aggressive mindset. Is your defensive coordinator of the same ilk, do you think? Is it important for you to be in synergy with him as far as having aggressive mindsets?
DABOLL: Again, each week we sit down and these are the keys to this game. This is kind of how I see it, this is how you see it. I do the same thing with (assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka) Kaf. I do the same thing with Ghobi. Everybody’s involved in it, all the defensive coaches, all the offensive coaches. We try to work together and then come up with the best plan we can and go out there and play as good and coach as good as we can.
Q: There’s talk about how aggressive your defense was in the fourth quarter and the play calls. Do you think that had a bearing on giving up 33 points or was it more about what happened on the field with the players?
DABOLL: I would just say this, like I said the other day, everybody can be better. Not just one unit, not just one position, not just one good coach. Everybody can be better.
Q: During the game, how much are you able to give suggestions to him? The thing that a lot of people are saying is when you decide to go rush three and drop eight, is that your call? Are you giving your input there? How does that kind of work in the moment?
DABOLL: Well, I would say if you’re on a headset and you’re calling plays, it happens pretty quickly, and that was after we scored a touchdown. Those are conversations we’ve had after Dallas, which was a completely different defense. They actually ran the same play at the end of the half that we worked on, to be honest with you. So, we had two robbers there, they made a nice catch. I have confidence in Shane, I have confidence in the defensive staff. Moving on to Philadelphia.