On running back Stephen Davis: It is a quad strain. It is a pull. Typically, you start treating those and play it by ear. So he will be day-to-day.

On if Davis will practice on Wednesday: I don't know yet.

On how many games Davis would miss if this injury occurred during the regular season: Everybody is different. The degree of the pull. The particular player and how they handle injuries.

On other injuries: None. He (Jarrod Cooper) is scheduled to be back this week. He will be day-to-day also, but we look for that to be an improvement over last week.

On how the running game did not miss a beat when DeShaun Foster replaced Davis: The coaching staff and the players have had confidence in him all year long. When called upon, he has done an outstanding job. In a similar game against Indianapolis on the road, he stepped in and did a great job. We have a lot of confidence in him. People don't know that much about him because he has not had as much playing time, but we don't feel like we drop off with him in there at all.

On what kind of season Foster could have had if he had been healthy last season: It is hard to speculate. I really can't speak on that but I know I have a lot of confidence in his abilities, whether it was last year or this year.

On the similarities and differences in Davis and Foster: The similarities are that they are big, fast and strong runners. They can run outside and inside. I don't see a whole lot of differences.

On the perception that Foster is a different style runner: You would have to ask the opponents. I look at them the same.

On how the play selection changes with Foster in the backfield: None what so ever.

On Foster's maturation process: He has improved. He is very smart. He has a passion for the game. He works at it very hard, both on the field and off the field. He is an intelligent young guy that is not afraid to work. He has gotten better every time he has been in.

On what he learned from his NFC Championship game experience with the New York Giants: As I have explained to our team, the game gets bigger on the outside with all of the media because there are fewer teams playing. When it gets bigger on the outside, we try to stay the same on the inside. Our preparation and our focus are important factors the bigger the games get.

On Foster giving Davis credit for his success: Without a doubt. I think Rodney Pete has helped Jake Delhomme. I think any veteran player that has the character you are looking for does that with young players. That is why you hear about guys that are good in the locker room. That is all a part of it. Peer pressure, the peer influence of being a true professional. I think guys like Stephen Davis and some of the veteran leadership we have in our locker room are paramount to being successful.

On the veteran leadership that defensive tackle Brentson Buckner provides: Brentson has been outstanding. We are young in the defensive line, very talented, but young. Brentson communicates a lot of things to those guys, both on and off the field, during games and before games. He would be another example of a key guy in a position that has been there many, many times and those young guys draw from that.

On Buckner's coaching aspirations: I think without a doubt. He does have a passion for it. He has always been a very sharp technical player. He understands schemes offensively and how to attack them and defend against them. I would say he would make an excellent coach.

On if Buckner's playing skills are often overlooked because of his intangible qualities: I don't think our opponents lose sight of him. You would have to ask them. I know he brings a lot to the table, and we are better with him in the line-up.

On rookie cornerback Ricky Manning, Jr.: He is around the ball a lot. He is a very tenacious player against both the run and the pass. He is not afraid to mix it up in the run game. He has excellent quickness and change of direction.

On if he expected Manning to start as a rookie when he was drafted: Whenever you draft a player in the top three rounds, that is the expectation. Sometimes it doesn't work out that way. He was a guy we liked very much, or we wouldn't have drafted him. A lot of the same things he is producing for us now, we saw that he had the potential for, and he has done a nice job with it.

On when he decide to insert Manning in the starting lineup: As most season's go on you don't know that much about a guy until he gets the opportunity. With some injuries, he began to get some opportunities and take advantage of them. He has a good feel for playing the ball, you know he has been around the ball quite a bit. He keeps making plays and when guys make plays, they get in the line up.

On Manning's interception in St. Louis: It was a huge play in the game, I think ultimately it determined the outcome of the game.

On the Eagles defense: I am not a big statistics guy as far as yards, because the game is measured by points. I think their defense has been tremendous over the years. Jim Johnson has done a phenomenal job. They fought through some injuries particularly in the secondary early in the season. Some people have weaknesses and people cover up things. Ultimately, you are just doing the best you can as a coach to put your guys in the best position to win. If that means giving up rush yardage or pass yardage to do so, you do it. I think they have done an outstanding job just looking at their record.

On putting the team together with draft picks: When I accepted this job, I knew it was going to take a lot of good people working very hard. Our coaches and scouts, both college and pro personnel, put in a lot of tireless hours in researching these young men. We're trying to locate the best human talent available just like the other 31 teams in the NFL. It's our lifeblood. It's been a lot of hard work and we have been fortunate.

On player personnel: It's pretty much doing as much as you can 'right' to give yourself a chance to win. So many times people do things that hurt their opportunities to win a game. Selection of personnel is part of it. There are a whole lot of things. Being on the same page as an organization, between personnel and coaching. There is a lot that goes into it. The more things you do right, the better opportunity you have to win.

On what he learned from playing Philadelphia in the first meeting: As far as what we learned, we had opportunities and we have to be able to take advantage of those. The first game, I'm not so sure that we did that in a number of different areas, without being too specific. There was a lot learned in that game by both sides. The bottom line is that whoever executes the best Sunday night is going to win. We're going to do everything in our power to do it. I'm sure their staff's going to do everything in their power as well. As far as down and distance, we do try to run the ball. It's not a mystery. We manage the game as such. We have run the ball on third-and-long and gotten first downs. It's something we try to do to dictate to the defense what they do. It open things up in the passing game. Regardless of down-and-distance, we self scout and scout our tendencies. We do prefer the shorter distances.

On conservative play-calling: I think it's the same all the time. When you lose, you get criticized. If they had thrown one up and it got picked off, they would have been criticized for not lining up and kicking it. It's just the nature of this chair. It gets highlighted when you lose.

On rushing versus passing when facing third and long: No. You just evaluate differently game to game. Every week is a customizing of your team versus their team. Every week brings on a new experience as far as their weaknesses, their strengths, or your strengths and how they match up. A lot of those are dictated as far as the decisions you make. Whether its fourth-and-one on the goal line, or if your quarterback has thrown a few picks, maybe with 38 seconds left you decide not to pass one more time. You go for the safe field goal. There's a lot that goes into each decision each week.

On Steve Smith's improvement: I think just experience. He's a young player who as a rookie was selected to the Pro Bowl as a return man. He has explosive abilities that way. You'd like to think that the more you do something the better you get. Last year was his first year as a starter. There were some growing pains there as there are with many young players in this League. This year he had that experience to draw from and I think he has just continued to get better every game this year. He's got the skills and talents, and now it's just developing the skills in the exactness that come with the job description of being a wide receiver. He's come a long way.

On Steve Smith learning off the field: Steve is a young man. With most young men, you live and learn. I think he's learned a whole lot. I think he's a better man for it today, and I'm proud of him.

On DeShaun Foster's comeback from injury: There's no question that DeShaun Foster is a very impressive young man. To come into the NFL and have a career-threatening injury your first year out of the blocks is a lot to deal with. I'm very proud of the way he has handled it and come back from it. He's had to work very hard to get where he is today.

On fan excitement in Charlotte: It's very exciting and I'm very proud for our fans. They've stuck with us through some rough times. We had lost eight straight games a year ago. I think they're overdue and I'm glad to see they are getting the opportunity to take charters on away games during the playoffs. They are deeply appreciated by the team and by the coaches. A lot of them were at the airport when we flew out of St. Louis. A lot of them were here at our stadium when we came back in our busses. There's no question that that motivates everyone in the organization.

On John Kasay: He struggled against Philadelphia. He'd be the first one to tell you. It's part of being a professional athlete. You're going to have struggles. He dealt with them and fixed them. I think he's been outstanding for us since and I expect him to be outstanding for us as we go forward.

On Kasay's kicking versus the Rams: I was pretty disappointed that the first one didn't count. It was dead down the middle so it wasn't his fault. That was something that we're working through now as far as the delay of game. But not too many kickers are 100 percent accurate. It's hard to go through a season and not miss one. It's like a quarterback. It's hard to go through a season without missing a pass. I wouldn't trade him for anybody else.

On the delay of game penalty: We felt like they should have reset the play clock. We went to kick the ball on second down and I don't think they were ready for it. We didn't have the K ball ready. I think at some point we should have got the clock rewound. The officials will judge that.

On how Kasay handled himself after the first Eagles game: He's a remarkable young man. He's as mature a guy as there is on our football team. He's very professional. He's been around the League for quite some time now. He handled himself like I expected him to, and that is as a champion. He brings a lot to the table for our football team.

On if Fox said anything to Kasay after the missed kicks: When a guy's down, you want to encourage him. I'm sure no one felt worse about it than he did at the time. He worked like crazy to get it righted and has been pretty good ever since.

On if Kasay will look at this game as a chance of redemption: You would have to ask him. I know he'll be ready professionally. Whether it's redemption or whatever word you want to put on it, you'll have to ask him.

On the players' attitudes: I think they're very excited, but when they saw the schedule for today, I'm not sure they were quite as excited. They need to refocus and get ready. They don't need to keep a warm and fuzzy feeling about this last one. They need to start getting on to this last one and I believe they will.

On Donovan McNabb: He's a remarkable quarterback. He can beat you a lot of different way, throwing and running. He's an exceptional competitor. I've been around him for quite some time now. He's kind of what makes them tick offensively. He poses a huge challenge for us.

On the Carolina secondary: I think in the playoff run in particular they have been outstanding. In the Dallas game, where the Cowboys had tremendously fast wideouts, I thought we matched up well. In that position, every game is a new experience. It takes a special guy to be out there. I've been pleased with the play of our corners to this point.