Frank Reich: “You could feel the energy” in Lane Johnson’s return

Frank Reich gave his weekly press conference this morning. Despite the close loss to the Ravens, he was upbeat about the progression of the offense, in particular the offensive line, the team’s rookies, and the return of Lane Johnson from suspension.

On Lane Johnson’s return

Reich said that Johnson stopped in at the QB meeting and that his return was well received. “I know it sounds corny, but you could feel the energy ready to go.”

“We expect him to come back and set the bar very high for himself.”

Does he think about where the Eagles would be if Johnson hadn’t been suspended?

“It would be easy to go there but you're always so wrapped up in the next opponent that you don't have time.”

On the offensive line’s performance against the Ravens

“I felt from day one the offensive line was a strength of this team. I've never felt... I've been other places where the line was beat up before.... the goal this offseason was to beef up the line. I think it's an area of strength, Peters is a dominant player, now we have Lane back, it puts us in a good position going forward.”

“I think the line has been playing well all year, there's no quit.”

“I think the mental challenge of going up against the #1 run defense, I think Jason Peters really led the way.”

On rookies

Asked about the play of Isaac Seumalo, Reich went into a larger point of how all of the team’s rookies have done this season

“One of the real positives is all of our draft picks have looked good, played well and continued to get better.”

Reich noted Seumalo and Halapoulivaati Vaitai “gives us versatility, gives us options. They're really getting better all the time.”

When asked about Byron Marshall, Reich responded “we think he's a talented guy, and like those other guys you could tell that it was their first time but the longer they're in there the more comfortable they get.”

On leading the league in time of possession but having scoring problems

“I think some of it is the red zone, some of it is the lack of big plays. I just know this, among the negatives, leading the league after 14 weeks, there's something positive in that.”

Is Carson Wentz too amp at the beginning of games?

“I don't think that's the case. I've seen it happen with experienced quarterbacks.” Reich conceded “that's probably happened (to Wentz) once or twice” but doesn't think it’s a problem for him.

On Bryce Treggs’ playing time

Reich indicated that there were specific situations and plays they had planned for Treggs that did not materialize as the game went on but declined to elaborate on specifics.

On the 2 point attempt and Doug Pederson’s aggression

“We wanted to finish it off the right way. everyone on the sidelines. I don't think there was a doubt in anyone's mind we were going to get it.”

“[Doug Pederson]'s got no fear, he's steady, he's aggressive. he's fun to be with, he's open minded. He's fun to work with.”