OPENING STATEMENT:"Alright, as far as the injuries go, Anthony Fasano will not practice today with a knee contusion and Jamell Fleming has a hamstring strain. He's getting better but not quite ready. Demetrius Harris had his foot repaired surgically today. He's doing well but obviously is done. Anthony Sherman was the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Congratulations to him. Look forward to the challenge of playing the Seattle Seahawks. We know they're a good football team obviously, the reigning world champs. We need to have a good week of preparation which our guys will do, and it starts today. We had our walk through and we get to practice this afternoon and get ready for a good football team. Time's yours."
Q: Your defense overall has been very, very good this year. Why do you think that is?
REID: "Well, they're playing well. I think they probably have a better understanding of the defense than maybe what they had last year. Although, I thought they did some good things last year, too. They're playing well together as a unit, a team and Bob's (Sutton) doing a nice job as are the assisting coaches coaching."
Q: Your offense isn't ranked very high in the NFL. Are we starting to see that you don't have to be an explosive passing team to win in the NFL now?
REID: "Well, you'd like to add that to the mix. It would be a little bit better there, but I think efficiency is important there and there are other things that go into it. The turnover factor. We're doing a fairly good job there, but we need to keep getting better in those areas. We're not satisfied with that. We've got to continue to get better in all phases on both sides of the ball, but yes about the offense and the offensive side."
Q: Speaking of the passing game, Travis Kelce had only two catches on Sunday. What is the mix there with trying to get him the ball, but also trying to call plays that work? What are the different factors that go into how much a guy gets the ball each week?
REID: "Yeah, you go in and they're going to try and take certain guys away, then other guys have opportunities where he maybe didn't have an explosive play. You saw A.J. (Jenkins) step up and have an explosive play. That's how it goes. Every week's not going to be a big-catch week for receivers. They understand that, and we're lucky here that we have guys that really understand that and work through it. D (Dwayne) Bowe had a big day, so that took a little off of what Kelce had."
Q: Is that what happened in Buffalo when they were keying in on him a little bit or were you kind of using him as a decoy based on what you saw from the previous week?
REID: "Yeah, well the way they rolled their coverages, some of that gets involved in that. He was dialed up on a few of them and the coverage dictated the quarterback to go a different direction."
Q: Where is Kelce at right now as far as completely understanding the concepts of the offense? He's still a young guy, didn't get to play a lot last year. Can you do more with him as the season goes on and he grasps all the concepts?
REID: "He's got the whole thing down. It's just, he and Anthony (Fasano), they work. You saw him at the end of the game when Anthony was hurt, go in and do a nice job with a play that Anthony is normally in on. The beginning of the year we kind of kept the packages a little bit smaller and then we've added to it, and he's really caught up to speed with the whole deal right now."
Q: Is he a guy that is starting to get more attention from the defenses? Has that happened more in recent weeks or was that happening a month ago?
REID: "I'd probably tell you it was happening a month ago. He had a couple of big games there and when you do that, it gets people's attention."
Q: Why have the Seahawks had some bumps this season?
REID: "That happens in football. They're still a heck of a football team. They've had some injuries there, so they played some young guys, but those things happen. That happens."
Q: When you read their stat sheets, some things stand out. They ran for 350 yards. That has to grab your attention.
REID: "That's pretty impressive, very impressive. It wasn't just one guy doing it. They had one that did the majority of it, but the quarterback was also involved in that and then the other two runners were involved. So, I mean they had some guys that were putting up yards. You've got to be prepared for that."
Q: How do you prepare for that?
REID:"Well we will find out. I can't tell you or else they will know and they will get 300 yards. So I can't do that."
Q: Is that more heart and guts rather than schemes?
REID: Some of it is fundamentals; you've got to make sure you are fundamentally sound and that you tackle. These are gifted guys carrying the ball. Their runner, both of their two primary runners, are pretty strong guys so you've got to make sure that you play good physical football and wrap up when you have an opportunity to tackle."
Q: What about the tight end (Phillip Supernaw)? Do you anticipate getting him ready to play on Sunday?
REID:"Phillip will get some reps today, so we will get him in the mix and give him an opportunity here to go. Some of the things at the Ravens are similar to some of the things we do here. Terminology wise, he's got a little bit of a foundation there. It's not like learning French overnight necessarily, he's right in there."
Q: Do you see a lot of similarities between Seattle and you guys? Good running game, good defenses, mobile quarterback.
REID:"Yeah, I would say those are strengths of each team. Probably, from that standpoint, yeah."
Q: With third down in the red zone you guys have been pretty successful all year. Why is that?
REID:"Well the obvious is its efficiency and execution; we've done a nice job there. I think the coaches have done a nice job of scheming and the players have done a nice job of executing the plays that were called on both sides of the ball. It's a challenge; those are tough areas to be efficient at, things are quite a bit faster there, particularly the red zone. So you've got to make sure that you keep your eyes open. You can't blink down there."
Q: It's an every week topic that the wide receivers haven't caught a touchdown pass yet. But isn't that evidence that Alex Smith isn't going to force the ball and he's making the right reads on those passing plays?
REID:"Yeah, I'd say that, when I talk about efficiency that would fit into that area there. I think he's doing a nice job of spreading it around and then taking advantage of what's there. I don't get caught up, I don't think any of the guys really get caught up in any of that. I know that's been a topic, I got it, I understand. But I don't think the guys are worried about it. This is a unique group, they just go play. Ball comes to them then it comes, if it doesn't come to them then they are blocking, very unselfish guys."
Q: In nine games this season, the defense has given up just 28 points in the fourth quarter. Is that conditioning, in-game adjustments? What do you think the reason for that is?
REID:"Probably a combination of all the above. I think Bob (Sutton) and the coaches do a nice job with the adjustments. I think the players are strong, Barry (Rubin) has done a nice job with them in the conditioning area. And then there is a want to from the players, I think there is a certain attitude that they have and pride. That has been a positive for us thus far."
Q: How good is Phillip Supernaw at blocking?
REID:"He's super at that. We will find out. Off of the preseason stuff, he did a nice job. But we will see. This is kind of his first deal going here, with a chance to potentially have extended play."
Q: He has experience in zone blocking?
REID:"Yeah."
Q: How much has changed since the first game with those two injuries (Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito) on the defense? REID:"There's been a bit, but (Josh) Mauga knew the defense. That part has been a plus. Bob could continue to kind of do the things that you do with that being your primary transmitter to the front and the secondary. He hasn't had to pull off anything. There hasn't been a ton of difference, but at the same time you try to play to your player's strengths. So each guy that comes in you try to play to their strength so there might be a wrinkle here and there."
