Head coach Brian Daboll

Q: With (running back) Cam (Skattebo) out, I'm just curious, what do you see in terms of your running back rotation? Obviously, you have (running back) Tyrone (Tracy), but do you expect to do anything in terms of (running back) Dante Miller and (running back) Devin Singletary mixing them in?

DABOLL: Yeah, well, Motor is on the roster, you'll definitely see Motor (Devin Singletary). And then Tracy, then we'll decide. We've got a week here to decide what we want to do.

Q: We know that Cam underwent surgery last night. What can you tell us about that surgery? What have you heard as far as, was it promising? Did it go well? And did it require an open dislocation to be addressed?

DABOLL: Yeah, I'm not going to get into the particulars, but all went well. He's recovering, and obviously he'll be missed, but on the road to recovery.

Q: When have the doctors told you that he'll be back around the team or in the building, out of the hospital?

DABOLL: Yeah, he might be out today, coming back, but again, he's got a road ahead of him.

Q: I'm just curious, just kind of with now, obviously, Cam and (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) out and understanding that football is obviously physical, we know this. Is there any just more thought as far as kind of like being more, I don't know if mindful is the word, but just do you manage (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart) any differently when it comes to how he runs and, you know, picking design runs and whatnot and being more judicious, if you will, with that?

DABOLL: No, I think Jaxson has done a good, really good job his first five games in a lot of areas. He's a good football player for us and we'll do the things we think that he can do well. And I think he's had a good start to his first five games. Obviously, like a few more wins, but he's done a nice job for us.

Q: Piggybacking off that, now that you've seen the tape, I guess, what did Jaxson really do well on Sunday? How would you assess what he did now that you've looked at the tape a little bit more?

DABOLL: Look, we're always talking about ball security. He does a good job of ball security, makes good loose plays and throws on time. Again, there's always little things that we can get better at. There was from this game. But he's improved every week that he's played.

Q: I know you said yesterday that there were multiple things that stood out to you with the run defense that you said need to be addressed. Now that you look back at this tape, what were some of those things that stood out to you, maybe not just yesterday but also these last two weeks where the run defense just hasn't been what you wanted it to be?

DABOLL: Yeah, similar to what I said yesterday, there's times where they have good calls and they have numbers. There's times where they do a good job of blocking and we got to do a better job of shedding. And there's times where we miss tackles. That's usually three of the main things in run defense. So, give them credit. You know, they had some good plays against some of the defenses that we had, whether we blitzed away from it, whatever it may be. We missed some tackles, and they took advantage of it.

Q: Does it concern you that eight weeks in, the run defense has given up 5.7 yards a carry. Does it concern you that the problem isn't getting solved quickly enough for you?

DAOLL: Yeah, we need to do a better job on our run defense, no question about it.

Q: With Cam going down, it's obviously two of your big weapons you've lost in the last couple weeks. Trade deadline is a week away. How in favor would you be to be aggressive to add someone in the next week?

DABOLL: Look, I leave that to (Senior Vice President, General Manager) Joe (Schoen) relative to looking at the league. If he has any discussions that he wants to have, he always brings them up. We have open dialogue. But my focus is the guys that we have on our football team right now and trying to improve them the best way that we can.

Q: We haven't spoken to you since the fine came out for the sideline incident in the first Eagles game. Did you think that penalty was justified?

DABOLL: Yeah, I've had conversations with the league, and that's the way they'll stay.

Q: Do you learn anything from that?

DABOLL: Yeah, I don't have any comment on that.

Q: One thing about maybe adding another player or not. I mean, this would be your jurisdiction if a new guy would come in. How quickly could, let's say, a wide receiver, do you think, acclimate to a brand-new system? It would be you. It would be by (wide receiver coach Mike) Groh. It would be by (assistant head coach, offensive coordinator Mike) Kafka. There's not a million trades. It's not like baseball where you just get a lefty reliever. How tenable is it to do that eight games into a season?

DABOLL: I think that happens all the time in this league relative to injuries or possible trades. I remember back when I was a receiver coach, and you get a new receiver on a Wednesday and they're playing on Sunday. So, guys that have played in this league, might be different systems, usually know how to study and pick up things. So, again, when you're a position coach and you're dealing with guys, you've got to make sure they're ready in a few days. So, I've done that. I'm sure most coaches have done that plenty of times.

Q: As far as your wide receiver room, you didn't have (wide receiver Darius) Slayton last week. You had him this week. You have (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson). And you really are not getting any production from anyone else, for the most part, especially the last couple of games. So how difficult is that? I know you're incorporating the tight ends more, but you want to get wide receivers involved. How difficult is that? Is that a glaring hole right there?

DABOLL: Yeah, like I said, there are five eligible receivers on the field. So, a lot of times we've been using two tight ends and two receivers. So those receivers have been Wan'Dale and Slay or Wan'Dale when Slay wasn't out. We'll just see how it goes this week relative to who's up and what we think we need to do.

Q: You said you and Joe have these conversations daily, maybe multiple daily. Would you be the instigator of some of this? I mean, as far as instead of him coming to you and saying, what do you think, you're saying, look, is there anyone out there because we could use it?

DABOLL: Yeah, I'd say we have, again, a number of conversations every day, I mean a number of them. My focus is on the guys that we have on our roster and making sure that we're doing everything we can do to help them.

Q: I was just wondering, we know Jaxson and Cam are close. I was wondering how he's handling it. I mean, it seemed like last night that everything from the loss to losing Cam was weighing on him there.

DABOLL: Yeah, I think, again, that would be a good question for him. Certainly, they're close. I think, again, you're close with a lot of guys on the football team. Coaches are close with the players. Players are close with the players. And when you have injuries, which there's a lot of them. I was chatting back and forth with Skatt last night. For a guy that has come in and, say, sparked us with a lot of energy and toughness, but the personality that he has as well. But it's like all your other players that you're close with. These guys spend a lot of time together, meeting time, outside the building. And that's always a tough element to this game is when guys go down and get hurt. You hate to see it. Unfortunately, it's part of the business.

Q: When you say you were talking to him, you were FaceTiming with him, texting, chatting, calling?

DABOLL: No, we were texting. And he texted me pretty early today. He's just got an infectious personality. It was at 4:08 this morning I got a text from him. You know, so that's Skatt.

Q: How would you say his spirits are from your conversations?

DABOLL: Yeah, they're good. I mean, as good as can be through text. But you feel for your players when they go down like that.

Q: And obviously we asked you last night, the tush-push-fumble, that's one that's being talked about a lot today. I'm wondering if you have heard from the league on it or if you have reached out to the league about it.

DABOLL: No, haven't heard from the league about it.

Q: Have you reached out to the league about it?

DABOLL: Any of those penalties or officiating, I'm not going to comment on.

Q: You hate, as a coach, I think, when a guy loses his job, partially because of injury. How has Tyrone Tracy responded to what was Cam's rise to being the main running back? And now that it's Tyrone's turn again, how quickly do you expect him to be able to get back to what he was doing last year?

DABOLL: Well, he's a pro. So, again, I think...

Q: But we've seen pros sulk before and it doesn't seem like he did.

DABOLL: Yeah, I was going to say that, but you answered it for me.

Q: I'm curious what you think of (defensive lineman) Dexter Lawrence's play because one of your own legends, (former linebacker) Carl Banks, was pretty critical of Dexter this morning and his play so far and suggested that maybe he's not all the way back from his injury or a million other things. I know you've said that he gets double-teamed a lot, but he's always gotten double-teamed a lot. So why do you think you're not seeing the production from Dex this year that we've seen in the past?

DABOLL: Yeah, I have a lot of confidence in Dex on the field, as a leader for us. I'm glad we have him.

Defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches

Q: Obviously you guys have processed the (running back Cam) Skattebo news, but just kind of what does he mean inside that locker room? It's one thing for guys outside the locker room to talk about the aura and everything he brings, but what does he mean in that locker room for you guys?

NUÑEZ-ROCHES: Man, he means a lot. Just the energy he has, it's very affectionate. Just him being himself, it's so authentic. You see the guy. He gives everything that he has every play. And it's hard not to love a guy like that. When you're working so hard for something, you see a guy put in the work and get the results for what he's doing.

Q: You guys have talked about how stopping the run is such a priority. (Defensive lineman) Dexter (Lawrence) told us that last week. When you see teams constantly run on you guys, what does that do for y'all's defense to try to say, we got to get this right? What are those conversations like when a team like the Eagles runs on you the way that they did?

NUÑEZ-ROCHES: One, it's disheartening because how much we want to stop the run and how much of an emphasis it is. But I mean, the biggest thing is (defensive coordinator) Shane (Bowen) said it best, I would say, we got to do the simple things better. And that's what it comes down to. The fundamentals, the filling our gaps, getting off blocks, the simple things. And once you do those things, you can take care and eliminate those big runs or those explosive runs and things of that nature.

Q: To build on that for a second, I mean, I was just looking at some of the numbers, like overall running out wide left, like nine yards a carry, running over like the right tackle close to 10 yards to carry. A lot of this stuff seems to be coming to the outside, to the edges. What are the talking points for you guys to make sure that that doesn't happen?

NUÑEZ-ROCHES: The biggest thing is just fits. We have to know our fits throughout every personnel, 11, 12, 13, (inaudible) whatever it is. Know where you fit, know where your next guy is, so you know where to deploy. Because it's 11-man football, you're depending on somebody else to do your job. So, you can do your job well. So just everybody being where they need to be and then make the plays that come to you.

Q: How frustrating is that for you? Because you're in the middle most of the time, right? And they're kind of running it away from you guys and you're still having success. What's that like for you guys?

NUÑEZ-ROCHES: It's frustrating because you want to do as much as you can to help others and help guys. But I have to farm my ground first before I come over and overlap and help. So, it's one of those things, you just have to be more attentive to detail and just let guys know when they mess up, 'Hey, I need you right here in the spot. But we're going to shake that off and we're going to get it back.'

Q: Did you guys have any kind of issue with the tackle that led to Skattebo's injury? I know you play defense. You know how hard it is to do a tackle in the middle of the play. But people think that might have been a hip drop tackle.

NUÑEZ-ROCHES: Yeah, it's a controversial thing. I'm not going to get into that. My heart right now is with my guy, Skattebo. He's the one that took the biggest blow from the injury. Regardless of whether it was a hip drop or just a regular routine tackle, we lost somebody that's very near and dear to us. So, I mean, did he do it on purpose? We don't know. He was probably just trying to make the best tackle he could. Skattebo is a hard guy to tackle. And with all the rules going on right now, it makes it that much harder to tackle opponents like that of Skattebo's caliber. So, I'm not going to say it was a dirty play. I'm not going to say it was a hip drop. My heart is with Skattebo right now.

Q: What are you seeing from Dex (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II) this year? The numbers aren't there. Do you see him getting the same amount of attention from opponents, more attention from opponents? Everybody thought he was going to get less because they brought in (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter) along with (defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Sr.) Nacho and (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux) and (outside linebacker Brian) Burns and everybody. What are you seeing from Dex in terms of how teams are playing and when you line up next to him?

NUÑEZ-ROCHES: I will say one thing. Don't let the numbers lie to you. Because even though some things may not pop up statistically or on the stat sheet, guys are still worried about Dex. The way they block Dex is different from how they'll block us or other D-linemen. When they see him out there, he's still a threat. They still know they have to keep him covered up. They still know they have to double, triple or seal him off for certain things. So, yes, he's still a weapon. There are a lot of things that Dex does well and very on a high level that helps other people become open or get free.

Q: What have you seen from him in terms of taking his game to the next level from last year to this year? Because he's already got 10 sacks. He can make a defensive player of the year argument, probably. What have you seen from Burns this year?

NUÑEZ-ROCHES: I'm not even going to lie to you. I've said it from the time we started in OTAs. I've complimented him every day. I love your approach on this year. I love your attention to detail. I love how much you're putting into your craft. You are seeing it in every rep. Every rep he wanted to win. Every rep he wanted to dominate. And it went into training camp, he was doing the same thing. It's just, it's all coming together. And to see a guy have multiple two sack games, it's lovely. And I always tell him, 'Hey, bro, you're trying to get that defense player of the year, huh? Come on now.' Let's get this all pro and get this pro ball and do what you need to do. So, it's nice. I'm not even going to lie to you.

Offensive lineman Greg Van Roten

Q: I'm sure you've seen a lot of pretty gruesome injuries in your time. How does a player get back to work after this, short-term and long-term?

VAN ROTEN: It's hard. To see one of your teammates go down like that, especially somebody like (running back Cam Skattebo) Skatt who brings a lot of energy to the offense and the team in general, a lot of production goes through him, you're going to miss him a lot. Then just for him personally, you feel really bad for the guy, because you know how much work he's put in to put himself in a position to make it in the NFL and establish himself as a starter. Then you just have one snap where you get hurt and you just know it's a long road to recovery and you feel for the guy. But then on the other side of that is you're in the middle of a game and you've got to keep playing. So, you just kind of have to put it to the side and then you'll focus on it later. I've talked to him a few times, FaceTimed him last night just to kind of check in on him, see how he's doing. It's sad and it's unfortunately a part of the business, but he's made of the right stuff and he's going to come back from this. It's just unfortunate.

Q: How is he? How is he doing in those conversations?

VAN ROTEN: I mean, he just had surgery, so, he's post-surgery if you know what I mean.

Q: Everyone's talking about what kind of personality Skattebo has, kind of how he's brightened up the NFL. But just in the locker room, we know what we see on the field and everything, but what has he meant to the locker room just being that young guy with so much energy?

VAN ROTEN: At first, when you have a young guy come in and they bring that sort of energy and they're vocal, as an older guy, you're kind of like, all right young guy, relax. But he was genuine, and you appreciate that. He works hard and it's contagious, so he won guys over quick just with his work ethic. How he approaches the game of football is refreshing in a way, where it doesn't have to be all scheme and this and that. Sometimes you just run somebody over and that's good enough. We're going to miss that, but he's not gone, he's just not playing, you know what I mean? He'll still be around when he's back and all that, so we're excited for him to get on the road to recovery and just be around the team again.

Q: Obviously last year we all saw what (running back Tyrone) Tracy (Jr.) can do. For you guys as a line, you guys already know what Tracy brings as far as running. What's that going to be like working with him, blocking for him again?

VAN ROTEN: Tracy and (running back Devin Singletary) Motor too. We have two really good backs to step up and kind of replicate what Skatt brought to our offense in tandem right there. Tracy is a really good football player. He kind of got sidelined with an injury earlier in the season, so we're just excited for him to get back to form and kind of build on what he did last year, because I think he's a better player this year than he was last year. He was a rookie last year, now he's a second-year guy. He's seen a lot of stuff. He's getting more comfortable in his role. It'll be good for him to get back out there. I think he's anxious to kind of show, like, he's still a good running back.

Q: Did you guys have any issue with the tackle (Eagles linebacker Zack) Baun made (on Skattebo)? I know there are some people who think that was a hip-drop tackle, which are illegal. Did you guys have any issue with that as a team?

VAN ROTEN: I honestly didn't notice it and it's not something you really want to look at in film. On the field, I don't know, I was more focused on - I saw what his foot looked like when he got up. I didn't really remember the tackle part of it.

Q: You guys are 2-6, which you've been last year here and you've been with the Jets. Does this feel any different maybe because of any reason? I don't want to put it all on the rookie quarterback, but that's the one I'm going to suggest, just because of his development and how quickly a young quarterback can turn things around. Or does it feel similar to other seasons where you guys are in this spot and have to dig yourselves out of it?

VAN ROTEN: I think with (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart), we're in every game. Yesterday with the Eagles, we just weren't really productive on first and second down. We were playing catch up a lot of the game, down and distance and then chasing the score a little bit. It never felt like it was over. It just, we were in it and then we weren't. Then going forward, we have tough opponents. Yeah, everybody's got tough opponents, it's the NFL. But Jaxson gives us a chance to win every game. That's why he was drafted where he was drafted when he was drafted and that's why he's starting right now in his rookie year. So, we believe in him, and we know no one's got an easy road and we've dug ourselves a hole, but this is the league. There's a lot of football left to be played. It's going to be a dogfight every week and that's kind of the culture, I think, that we've established here. It's like, we don't care. We'll score 30 points and try and win. We'll score 10 points and try to win. We're just trying to win, and he gives us the best opportunity to do that.

Q: (Outside linebacker Brian) Burns, he's having a really good season. If I'm not mistaken, you were teammates with him in Carolina?

VAN ROTEN: Yeah.

Q: I feel like young players make the most jumps - first year to second year to third year. I feel like I don't often see guys in their seventh or eighth year become much better players, but it feels like maybe he's gone to another level this year. What have you seen in Burns' development, maybe just last year to this year, or even if you want to go back to Carolina?

VAN ROTEN: Yeah, I think it's fair to say that, in general, players make jumps first, second, third year, fourth year, contract year, stuff like that. He was in Carolina, he had a really good room of veterans around him to learn from, and I think he's taken to heart here, I want to be that guy for (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter) and these other guys. You practice what you preach. If you want somebody to work hard, he's going to be the hardest working guy. I also think Brian and everybody else benefits a lot from having (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence) Dex in the middle of our defense, who gets a lot of attention. Whereas maybe in the past, in Carolina, you're going to chip Brian and you're going to slide to Brian, but now it's like, okay, well, if you do that, then you leave Dex one-on-one with somebody inside. Dex might not have the stats to back up how dominant he is, but make no mistake about it, teams focus a lot on him and that frees up the guys around him to make plays. Football's not an individual sport. Our defense is a collective, so, if Brian's having a great year and it's because of the guys around him.

Q: Your job is to block, pass block, run block. Is blocking for a rookie quarterback different? I'm sure you've blocked for rookies, veterans, mid-level guys, stars. What is it like? Do you have to be more on point? Do you have to be more conscious of, you don't know where the heck he's going to be? Do you have to protect him more? I don't want to put words in your mouth. What is the difference?

VAN ROTEN: The difference between a rookie quarterback and a veteran quarterback is that veteran quarterbacks typically have seen a lot of stuff. So, they have a lot of experience with how a defense is structured or where pressures might come from. Rookies just don't have that experience. It's not their fault, that's why they're rookies. But for Jaxson, it's a lot of trying to keep his job as easy as possible. That's just where the o-line kind of tries to help him out during the week with like, 'hey, if you see this, we're thinking this.' It just puts more on the communication side of things where it's like, we're going to try and do this, not to get too specific. It's a little different, but I've been super impressed with Jaxson. From training camp to now, just the growth that he's made and the leader that he is. He's a rookie in title alone. He carries himself like a vet, he takes a lot on his shoulders. I think the future is bright for him and you want to make sure that he stays on that trajectory and you protect him for as long as you need to protect him. Whereas, veteran quarterbacks, sometimes they know, all right, I'm just going to throw this ball whether I have to or not. Sometimes it doesn't happen with younger quarterbacks. I played for (Bills quarterback) Josh Allen and you just know something is going to happen as long as you hold your block. Jaxson's got a little bit of that in him. It makes the game exciting and you're never out of a game; you're never out of a play with him back there. I hope that answers your question.

Q: He (Dart) gets up there after the game and says, 'I hate to lose.' He looks like he hates to lose. Now, I'm sure you hate to lose, right? A young rookie quarterback saying that, can he help change a mindset in a locker room? Because a lot of you guys have done some losing and he hasn't.

VAN ROTEN: I think everyone hates to lose. There are always those quotes, people hate losing more than they love winning. For him, I think it's important though to put that stuff out there and to vocalize that just so it's like, you hear it and maybe you don't get used to it. Because I think guys can become jaded where it's like, 'all right, we lost, I did my job, ho hum. We've got to turn around the next week and go forward.' But it's not okay and he's right, it isn't okay. We're paid to play football, and you want to win, and you want to be productive. Especially at an organization like this that has a storied history of being a successful franchise, you don't want to be the bad years of those teams. That's where he's coming from and you see it on his face, like you said. It's not that it changes anything for how I operate or how anybody else operates, but it definitely makes you maybe want to focus a little bit more on how you prepare for a game. Like what else can I do? How can I make sure that I'm part of the solution here and not part of the problem? We love having him, we love what he brings. It's passion, fire, energy. It's all positive stuff and you want to cultivate that and keep that flame alive basically.