OPENING STATEMENT: "Alright, these are the injuries: Branden Albert and Justin Houston both practiced this whole week and we'll just see, I've got them down as questionable, but we'll see. It'll be a stretch for them to make it, but they are listed as questionable. Dexter McCluster practiced, did everything and we've got him listed as probable. He practiced, he did everything. Everybody else, if you have any questions on them, they all practiced and are ready to go. Listen, we look forward to the challenge of playing the Colts and giving them an opportunity to play in front of our fans. It's Fan Appreciation Day; I know our fans will be out of their minds, that's just how they roll. It will be nice and loud, great football weather. It will be a little bit cold and two good football teams, playing each other. Again, our guys had a good week of practice and prepared themselves right and they'll be ready to go."
Q: How do you think Justin Houston looked in practice this week?
REID: "He did some good things, yeah. He moved around well. Looked better than he did last week. You know, we'll just make a decision later here on it."
Q: How important is it to have a guy like Mike DeVito on the team?
REID: "You know, Mike (DeVito) played for Coach (Bob) Sutton at the Jets, so he's the most familiar with the defense of probably anybody just from experience alone. He's a smart kid on top of that. He takes a lot of pride in his job. He's got a great relationship with the rest of the room and they respect him for not only being a tough guy in how he plays, but also for what he knows."
Q: Does the label of unsung hero fit him?
REID: "Yeah. He's one of those guys that's just dirty tough and comes to work every day. I think all three of those guys are like that. That's just how they play. You're not going to get a lot of write ups, you know that coming in. You're probably not going to wake up on Monday feeling real good. You're going to be a little sore and then, they're banging, but they love doing it. They love doing their job. We're lucky to have them, all three of them."
Q: Do you think this team is playing their best football they've played all year?
REID: "Listen, I think we have room to improve here. That's what's unique about this time. I think really in all three phases and that's the way that the guys practice. We're not where we need to be yet. There are some good things and there are some things we need to work on, to answer your question."
Q: You practiced inside all week, even though the forecast is cold for Sunday.
REID: "That field out there is frozen and it didn't de-thaw with the warmer weather. I'm really not big on that either way. I spent a few years up in Green Bay and heck if it got below, 50, we were inside. I did it a little bit different at Philly. We won games, so I don't worry too much about all of that."
Q: What is your philosophy on bringing guys back from injuries?
REID: "I try to keep that as consistent throughout the year as possible. I've told the players just that, that John Dorsey, one of his responsibilities and a thing that he and his crew take a lot of pride in, is creating enough competition that if somebody goes down, the next person can come in, creating depth and quality depth. So, that way as a coach, it doesn't matter if it's now, or if it was five or six weeks ago, or if you're in the playoffs, it doesn't matter. The player gets healthy and when he's ready to come back with the doctors and their (advice), we take it all in. You're never forced into a position to say 'Hey, you have to play.' We don't even go there. We expect the next guy to come in and play."
Q: What does Anthony Fasano bring to the team?
REID: "He's got a lot of snaps under his belt. He is a good route runner, smart. He's a matchup that you can take advantage of in games."
