Compiled by Gene Wang
Washingtonpost.com Correspondent
Web Posted: Sunday, November 15, 1999; 6:56 p.m. EST

Coach Norv Turner
Opening statement
We knew the type of game we were going to have, a physical game. Philadelphia is a physical team. You’re not going to beat anybody when you turn the ball over the number of times we did and have the kind of penalties we had. Obviously, the turnovers are the big deal. It’s amazing we were in a game that was a seven-point game. We have a chance to stay in it.

Q: How did the defense play?
A: Defense played great through most of the game. The kickoff return gave them life. Then we just turned the football over, and you can’t have those kind of mistakes.

Q: Do you want to comment on the officiating?
A: There’s a lot of calls during the course of a game. A bunch of calls we can’t see, you can’t see. Obviously the big call in the game was the offsetting penalties on the interception. It was a big call.

Q: Why can’t you fix the special teams?
A: For the last month, we thought our kickoff return made great progress. In the past that had been one of our strengths. In our whole special teams, we’ve gotten the most consistency out of that. We worked hard this week because the Eagles have an outstanding kickoff return game. They had good returns against Carolina. We just didn’t get it done.

Q: Do you feel this team is snake-bit right now?
A: I don’t believe in snake-bit. You make your own breaks. When it’s going good, it’s because you’re making plays, and you’re handling the things you have to handle. When you don’t make plays and you don’t win, it’s because you don’t execute. Brad [Johnson], the ball slips out of Brad’s hand. He’s trying to throw a forward pass. You would not expect that to happen. I’ve never seen that happen to him before. That’s an unusual play.

Q: How do you figure you’re offense playing great on one drive and bogging down on the next?
A: They’re a gambling, blitzing, overload defense. You can run a play, and you hit it right, and it can be a big play, and you can hit it wrong, and it can be a no-gainer.

Q: Is this the worst this team has played this year?
A: It’s the best we played defensively, one of the three or four best efforts. That’s why we had a chance to stay in the game. How many times did they get the ball inside the 30 and missed a field goal or settle for a field goal? It’s certainly the worst we handled the football offensively. Who would think it? We probably had as many turnovers today as we’ve had through the last six games.

Q: What did you make of Philadelphia's pressure on the pass rush?
A: They hit us with a couple good things. They had good pressure. It’s amazing. A couple of their sacks came when they were in coverage. They did a good job in coverage, and we ended up having to hold the ball too long.

Q: With the Giants losing and Dallas hurting, is the loss that much worse considering you could have made headway in the division?
A: When you lose it hurts. I don’t know how much more we could be hurting than the feelings we have. Someone else made the comment to me about the Giants. You know, the issue is us. I really believe we can put it together. We played a lot better defense today. We were very, very physical. If we can put it together in all three phases, we can be as good as anyone.

Tre Johnson
Q: What happened to the offense today?
A: We played sloppy. There’s a whole list of things. We were sloppy in every phase, and you saw what happened. We were fighting in a game we should have done a lot better.

Q: Is this a case where the offense just came apart?
A: Definitely. Once they blew up on us, we just made a lot of mental errors. We weren’t as sharp as we’ve been in the past. We had too many turnovers. We could have executed a lot better throughout the game. When it came time, the defense played really great, stopping them when we kept turning it over. Everytime we messed up they saved us, and we couldn’t capitalize. We couldn’t get the ball down the field.

Q: Did you think the team was complacent?
A: I don’t think so. I think everybody knew what was going on out there. Sometimes it happens. [The other team] gets paid, too. I think they played their best game. When it was time to get it done, we didn’t get it done. It’s just that simple. There’s no mystery to it.

Brad Johnson
Q: Did you feel you had enough time to throw?
A: At times I felt like I could sit in the pocket and was fine. I did think at times I was pressured. I had a couple fumbles. Guys were in my face and hit a couple of throws. Overall that’s just kind of the way the game goes. I feel the line has been playing super. We rushed for 145 yards and threw for over 300. Today it just the turnovers that cost us.

Q: How bad was this loss?
A: You don’t have time to celebrate, and you don’t have time to get too low after a loss. The crazy thing about it, and you hate to say it in consolation, but we’re still tied for first place. You hate to rely on that. Our standards and expectations are higher than just settling for first place. We expect to play better.

Albert Connell
Q: What happened on that last interception between you and cornerback Al Harris?
A: I was fighting for it, and he got the ball.

Q: Did you have possession on that play?
A: I tried to get possession. I tried to stop him from picking it off. It wasn’t in my hands. I was trying to get hit out of his hands, that’s the bottom line. I tried to stop the interception.

Q: Did you feel you were inbounds on the play that was reviewed?
A: I thought I was in. If anything, I was forced out. I know to get my foot in. In a crucial situation, I know to get my foot down. That’s why we run those routes, to get out of bounds. Get your feet in, get out of bounds.

Q: How did you think things came apart?
A: We’re beating ourselves. It’s a letdown. Deep down inside, we’re way better than this.

Q: Do you feel this game was just an aberration, or is it a case of you guys just not playing well?
A: As a matter of fact, I think it is a question of us not playing well. I try to keep a positive attitude about it, but since the bye week, we haven’t executed like we started off the season doing.

Brian Mitchell
Q: How do you solve the kickoff coverage problems?
A: I didn’t see [Eagles returner Allen Rossum] make too many moves. He ran straight ahead. Perfect blocking. He didn’t have guys coming off the blocks. It’s just not happening.

Q: How big a step back was this loss?
A: A big step back. Everybody needs to go home and look at himself and bring a new attitude on Monday. As I said after the game, they can get mad at me all they want, but I’m going to bring what I can to the field. What we’ve got to do is take it personally and stop worrying about people’s feelings. I don’t care about anybody’s feelings but this team’s. We’re going to have go out there and handle it that way.