After the game last night, Reid, McNabb, Westbrook, Dawkins and other Eagles talked about the loss. The Cowboys as you could imagine were very talkative as well. Here are the transcripts of all of those conversations.
Head Coach Andy Reid Press Conference
11-04-07
On injuries sustained during the game:
“[WR] Jason Avant did not play with a groin strain. [CB] Lito Sheppard hurt his knee – the same knee (that he injured previously) and he’ll have an MRI tomorrow. [SS] Sean Considine had a shoulder injury, and he didn’t play much in the second half.”
On the loss:
“Give compliments to the Dallas Cowboys. They did a nice job and they were the better football team tonight. They deserved to win the game. It’s my responsibility to get this team to play better, and that’s what we’ll do. We’ll get back on it tomorrow, find out the problems, and get them solved.”
On whether the players will report to the NovaCare Complex on Monday:
“The players will be in tomorrow.”
On whether the team’s intensity level was high going into the game:
“I thought it was going in. I thought the guys came out and played hard and aggressive early. Things just snow-balled on us.”
On the Eagles being in a tough spot in terms of the NFC East standings:
“The only thing you can do is keep battling. That’s the important thing. It will test your character, and we have character guys on this team who are tough and will play hard.”
On what can be done to spark a turnaround:
“We’ve got to continue to make plays when we have opportunities. As coaches, we have to make sure that we’re putting the guys in the right positions to make the plays. I don’t think anyone did a very good job, starting with me.”
On whether Hank Baskett was the primary receiver on the pass that was intercepted late in the first half:
“He was one of them. [QB Donovan McNabb] had a couple of different reads on that (play).”
On the trouble that Donovan McNabb ran into on the interception before the end of the first half:
“He had a couple of throws that he’d like to have back.”
On whether Dallas was able to get pressure on McNabb by rushing just four down linemen:
“I thought early, we did a pretty good job of protecting [QB] Donovan [McNabb]. When we got into the three pass situations, there were a couple of rushes there where they were able to pressure Donovan. We have to do a better job in those situations, but we have to take care of business before that so that we’re not in a position where we have to throw every down.”
On the performance of Dallas wide receiver Terrell Owens:
“He’s a heck of player. They did a good job of scheming him to where they had him in one-on-one situations. They did a little trips so that they could motion him to one side and get him on a safety inside. He had a big night.”
On whether Dallas did anything out of the ordinary to get Owens open:
“Our defensive line put good pressure on the quarterback, but I thought [QB] Tony [Romo] did a nice job of moving in the pocket and making plays. There were some plays where T.O. was the primary (receiver), and I thought initially we had him covered pretty good. The more Tony moved around in the pocket, the more open (Owens) got.”
On whether the Eagles are better than their current 3-5 record:
“I think we are. I know we are. We have to change it around and get a little momentum going, and then we’ll be fine. We have to back-to-back some games here and get some momentum going.”
On whether the Eagles have previously been in a position where they were not able to sustain momentum:
“A couple of years ago we were in that situation. We’ve had seasons where we started off slow and we were able to pick it up. Every season is different. There are different players, we have a couple of different coaches, and everybody has to pull it together. When we do that, we’re going to be fine. We have the potential to do it, and we have to stay healthy and make sure that those guys continue to get back into the swing of playing. Again, we have to put them in good positions to make plays. They’re going to try hard and keep battling, and come out of it on the long end of the stick.”
On the return of safety Brian Dawkins:
“It was good to get him back in. I’m sure there were a few snaps that he’d like to have back. There was one (play) where he slipped in the first half where he probably would have had an interception. He’ll get back into the swing of things here as we go along.”
Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Donovan McNabb Press Conference
11-5-07
On the lack of momentum for the Eagles tonight:
“You definitely have to go over the film and be very critical. I think what you have to do in this situation is see your mistake and understand why it happened and be able to correct it going into next week. The tough part about it was there were opportunities for us and in this situation there is no room for error. You tip your hat off to them because they capitalized on the mistakes and they did a wonderful job of eating the clock and sustaining drives. In our situation, there was no room for error. When you play a team like that, you have to capitalize on each opportunity and put yourself in position to put it in.”
On what head coach Andy Reid said to him in the locker room:
“Just normal conversation, that’s all.”
On his interception at the end of the first half:
“They did a great job of dropping defenders. They dropped 8 to try and get the ends underneath our outside routes and their guys split out. I thought I had an open area with [WR] Hank [Baskett] in the middle. I got [S Ken] Hamlin and I also got [S] Roy Williams to split and they converged on it. It was a great job on their part just reading the coverage and I was trying to take what they gave me. They did an excellent job of reading eyes and coming underneath.”
On whether he saw it going to be intercepted after he threw it:
“No, when I threw it, I thought he was pretty open. He jumped in front. But again, you just try to make a play and in that situation, it didn’t work for us.”
On whether it’s tough to bounce back from a turnover like that:
“You have to put it behind you. When you get back to the sidelines, you have to communicate with the guys and get back out there. I think the offense did a great job of putting it behind us and getting into another drive to put us in position to score. We got close and then there was a sack that pushed us back and left us punting. For us, creating plays is not really the problem; it’s just the mistakes we have to eliminate.”
On whether the fumble on the 1st play from scrimmage was a result of the coverage downfield:
“Yes, it was a coverage sack. I just tried to find an open lane to run. I didn’t see him behind me. He did an excellent job of tomahawking it and knocking it out of my hand.”
On why this team will be able to turn it around after starting 0-3 in the division:
“We have done it before. The attitude of the guys in the locker room says we can get it done. That is where it all starts. I think that if you have a team that is willing to do what has to be done. I am confident that it will. You have to get a winning streak going. You just can’t win one and give the next away. You have to win one, take care of business the next week and the same goes for the following week. There is not room for error. We have to be able to come out with wins these next few weeks.”
On whether you still have to come through Philadelphia to win the division:
“Well, we are the defending NFC East champs, but in this situation, we have to do our job. We were not trying to motivate ourselves, it’s reality. We were the NFC East champs, but they came in here, played well and came out with a win today. But, we have to do our jobs in the next few weeks and get wins. We have to put ourselves back in position to compete again.”
On whether this team is as good as the teams that won the NFC East previously:
“That is hard to say. We have some guys coming off injuries and some young guys in new roles. So, guys may have to do extra, and in this situation, that’s what’s needed.”
On how far he feels this team is away from being a playoff contender:
“Well, in this situation, you have to do whatever you need to do in order to get in. Once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen. Really, our mindset can’t be about making the playoffs; it has to be about winning the next game. When you win the next game, you have that same mentality for the game following that. This is about doing what it takes in order to win.”
On whether they were able to get pressure only rushing 4 players:
“That’s their defense. They rush 4 and maybe bring a linebacker. They were not going to bring more than 6. They did an excellent job of covering downfield. A lot of times, I had to check down to [RB Brian] Westbrook or try to work the middle. I think [Cowboys head coach] Wade Phillips has those guys going and there is a reason why his defense in San Diego was so good. He trusts the fact that those front 4 will get pressure.”
On checking down:
“They were just soft on their coverage of the outside, as well as up the field. We got some throws on the outside to [WR] Kevin [Curtis] and [WR] Reggie [Brown] and what they did then, was play a shallow cover-2, blitz on the inside and have guys sitting on the outside. They are not small defensive tackles either. I believe they average across the board 6’5’’. A lot of times, I tried to throw the ball over the no se; they were able to get their hands on it. That is something you have to find lanes and try to get it to the check downs.”
On whether it’s fair to ask the team to win against the Giants, Patriots and Cowboys again, considering the team is five back:
“In this situation, it is not looking down the road; it’s about focusing in on whose next and winning that game. There is no reason for us to try and do any mathematical situation or what we need to do in order to get in. We have to win games and when you win games then you can find out what you have to do to get in. In this situation, we need to win next week.”
On whether it is perplexing that this team is now healthy and still having problems:
“You know, you tip your hat to the Cowboys. They played great. They did what they need to do in order to score. In our situation again, there was no room for error. After the 1st turnover they scored. Then we drove down and scored. I think the momentum shifted our way and then they drove back down again.”
On the problems the team is having:
“My focus is just on getting ready for Washington and winning that game. So, it’s not anything like finding a word to describe it. We have to win. Next week is a must win.”
On head coach Andy Reid’s tone during his conversation:
“[Jokingly] He was yelling at me. It was a normal conversation. It’s a conversation that players and coaches have, that’s it”
On whether it is frustrating that the offense can’t get on a roll:
“Yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s not like we are playing bad, we are just not capitalizing on those opportunities we are given, whether it was in the red zone or eliminating mistakes. It’s just not coming together the way we want it to. You can’t go out and play well one week and then the next week you find yourself on the short end of it. We need to get a winning streak going and it has to happen now.”
Running Back Brian Westbrook Press Conference
11-04-07
On how big of a challenge it is to bounce back from a 0-3 divisional record:
“It’s a big challenge for us. We’re not playing very good football right now and being 0-3 in the division doesn’t really help at all. But we have to continue to fight, continue to going to work everyday and try to pull together some wins.”
On whether the climb back is more difficult than last year when the team was 5-6:
“I don’t know if it’s more difficult than last year, but we have to start doing some things good. We have to find a way, as far as the offense, to run the ball or throw the ball good. But right now, as an offense, we’re struggling to have an identity because we’re not doing either one the way that we want to and the way we should be doing it. We have to find a way to complete some ball and just run the ball down the field.”
On how close the team is to being where they need to be this season:
“I don’t know how close we are. We’re not where we need to be at. We continue to struggle doing some things. We have a lot of errors and mistakes, but we have to find a way to correct those things.”
On why the team is committing so many errors:
“In the course of the game, sometimes players make errors and mistakes, but when you’re not playing well, you’re not playing good caliber football that you want to play, those mistakes add up. When you’re playing a very good football team that’s not going to make any errors or any mistakes, those mistakes, those mistakes are going to cost you.”
On whether errors were a matter of the team making mental mistakes or the opposition physically taking the Eagles out of the game:
“When I look back on the game, I don’t think that it was so much them taking us out of the game. We had some turnovers in the game that kind of hurt us. We have to protect the ball; we have to protect [QB] Donovan [McNabb] a little bit better so he doesn’t have to rush. But they’re a good football team. I can’t take anything away form what they did. But we have to find a way to take care of our business and our business is taking care of the ball, moving the ball down the field, and scoring points and we’re not able to do that right now.”
On what else can be done to rectify the mistakes at this point in the season:
“Just keep doing the same thing that we’ve been doing. We have to find a way. Somebody can step up and make plays on offense, somebody can stop the ball on defense and we have guys that can do it. But we go into every game every week with the same group of guys saying the same things, and we have to make those plays. And at some point, somebody on the team has to make those plays.”
FS Brian Dawkins Press Conference
11/2/07
On how it felt to get back on the field:
“It felt good. It felt real good. Obviously, I wish the results were different. But, it felt good to at least get on the field with the guys.”
On what the Cowboys did this game that they didn’t do last year that made them so successful:
“They did a lot of quick passes, attacks, almost on down to the backfield when the coverage was good. They made plays. They capitalized on the mistakes that we made. Against a good football team you can’t make mistakes and we did that today. Almost every time we made a mistake they capitalized on it.”
On whether he had more playing time than he thought he would:
“Yes, which was good. I was hoping I was going to be able to stay in the whole time and I was able to.”
On whether they had the pressure and coverage that they wanted:
“We knew [Cowboys QB Tony Romo] could move around the pocket and that’s what I was talking about with the dump down to the backs. He just has to get the ball down to the backs out in the back field and [Cowboys RB Marion] Barber turns a three yard gain to a 10, 12, 15 yard gain. Those are the things that they were doing when we did have coverage or got pressure on them, which were good things for them.”
On whether there was a mistake on coverage when he blitzed:
“Yes, that was my mistake, period. I shouldn’t have blitzed.”
On whether a blitz was called on that play:
“It was a blitz call, but it wasn’t called for me to blitz. That was a miscommunication on my part.”
On what he is feeling now after the loss:
“I’m down. Obviously, when you lose a game at the house, give up as many points as we gave up, with everything that was on the line tonight, it hurts. But, as a professional player you have to be able to dissect, get rid of the bad and move onto the next week. You can’t allow this to fester. But, as of right now, it hurts.”
On whether he thinks they are still a playoff team:
“We’re trying to win games right now. We’re trying to put a couple wins in a row. Then, at the end of the season we’ll see what we are. But, right now we’re trying to win games.”
On whether this is more perplexing than the 2005 season being that they have all of their personnel on the field:
“Well, tonight spoke for itself. We made way too many mistakes as a team. Against a bad or a decent football team you can get away with that. But, against a good football team, which Dallas is, you’re not going to be able to get away with that all the time. We made too many mistakes. We helped them. They are a good team and we helped them out just to give them a little more.”
On whether this is a common pattern:
“It’s not a common pattern. Tonight was not a common pattern. We haven’t been doing it to this degree. This was a real battle.”
On where turnovers fit into this game:
“That goes back into the making mistakes that we made. But, as a defense, regardless of what happens, whoever gets the ball back we have to keep it out of the endzone and we did not do that tonight. We did not get off the field and we did not keep them out of the endzone. So, even if the offense does turn the ball over it’s our job to make them kick field goals. Instead of 21-7, it’s 9-7. As a defense that we have been playing at, we made too many mistakes and allowed them to capitalize on the mistakes that we made. When we make those mistakes, they’ll capitalize on them.”
On whether the intensity was there:
“The intensity was there. Everything was where it needs to be going into the game. Like I said, we did not do what we needed to do defensively. Against a good football team, that’s never good against any team, but especially against a good football team.”
On how close they are to where they need be:
“We’re definitely close. But, I’m probably like you guys, I’m sick of being close. I want to be, I want to be there. I want us to do what we need to do on a consistent basis. Consistency is what we are lacking right now for whatever reason, how we’re not doing things on a consistent basis. Good football teams, that’s how you win, that’s how you get on a roll. That’s how you get swagger, is when you are consistent as a team. And, we’re not being that.”
On whether they need a catalyst somewhere:
“I don’t know if we need a catalyst. We might’ve had a catalyst tonight, [CB] Lito [Sheppard] got a good pick. That could’ve been a catalyst. We’re making plays. We’re just not making enough of them and we’re making too many mistakes. I don’t think there’s any one play that’s going to change the season around. It’s going to be consistent plays, time and time again. Driving the ball offensively, defense getting off the field when we need to get off the field, those are the things that change seasons around.”
On whether the team was uptight tonight:
“Tight tonight? No.”
On whether the team was uptight in general:
“No, we definitely weren’t tight in practice. We weren’t tight coming into this game. We weren’t tight on the sidelines, we weren’t tight. So, tightness had nothing to do with tonight. But, mistakes was the name of this game. I’ve said it a gazillion times already, we made too many of them.
Eagles Locker Room Quotes
11-04-07
S – Quintin Mikell
On why the Dallas Cowboys were able to so successful today:
“They are a good team. They did some different things today that they did not show before. Give it up to them. They played really well. They got the ball out really quick.”
On WR Terrell Owens game:
“He played good. It is hard for me to say without seeing film but I know a couple of those (big plays) we gave to him but he is a great player. You can’t take anything away from him, he played good.”
On what things they did differently that you did not see or read:
“They just got the ball out quick. We will see what happened more on film tomorrow.”
On where this team is right now:
“We are on the ropes right now. We have to come out fighting. Dallas is a good team. Give it up to them but we are a good team too. We just have to pull together. We are still in it, we are still going to fight so we will see what happens.”
DE – Trent Cole
On whether the window on the season is starting to close at the halfway point and having a 3-5 record:
“We are going to get back in it. We are going to keep playing out the rest of this year, win some games and hope for the best. We are going to play for pride and respect. If you have to play for pride and respect, that is what we are going to do. We are not quitters and will fight to the end.”
On QB Tony Romo fighting off pressure and just flipping the ball off several times:
“It was just a great move by {QB Tony} Romo. He played a good game. He did what he had to do. He played smart. It seems like he plays with a little more experience than last year. He played like a top rated quarterback.”
On why it seemed like the team did not have any answers today:
“You can’t make mistakes. It has to be a team effort and it just did not fall together for us today.”
Eagles Locker Room Quotes
11-04-07
OL – Shawn Andrews
On what the most important thing to accomplish is tomorrow at practice:
“We have to sit down, talk, study film and get our minds together. We have to rally around each other right now and be there for each other because we know a lot of people are going to hound us like they have been in the past. We just have to stay focused.”
On why the momentum hasn’t been able to be sustained so far this season:
“It is so tough to call because in practice and meetings everything has been going well and it just doesn’t transfer over to the game and that is what we need to focus on.”
On whether the slow start and the defense not being able to stop the Cowboys put any added pressure on the offense to score a lot of points to stay in the game:
“In a sense, but from a personal standpoint I felt like coming into this game we were going to be solid and have a pretty good performance against the Cowboys and possibly win. It just did not happen that way. We just have to keep working.”
On the challenges of facing the Dallas Cowboys front seven today with all their movement up front:
“A lot of it us was just us shooting ourselves in the foot. It is never really what they do but what we do and how we execute. Obviously we did not execute that well tonight.”
CB – William James
On why WR Terrell Owens was able to have so much success today:
“We will have to watch the film and see. They were some coverages where he got open. Once he got open he ran with the ball. He’s a good receiver. We expected to play him better but obviously we didn’t. He had a good game, they won the game and our hats are off to them. We will see them out in Dallas and hopefully we can improve by that time and do better.”
On where this loss puts them as a team:
“We are at the bottom of the NFC East right now. The only place we can go is up. Everybody has to dig deep. It is not time to pout, quit or mope. We have to go back to the drawing board and get back in the (play) books and the practice field and get hungry for a win.”
On whether this is a point where you are just playing for pride:
“We are playing for pride but we are playing for a lot more too. We are playing because we are in the NFL and we are all players that get paid to do this job. Everybody in here feels terrible about this loss today. It is not something you can just shrug off and forget about. We have to live with this for the whole week and then we have to live with this for the rest of the season. When we get back in here tomorrow everybody is going to be looking at each other on film. We are going to be looking how we can improve and go out there next week with some fire.”
Wade Phillips Post Game Quotes- 11/04/07
Opening Remarks:
“Tonight was obviously a big win for us. On the road, it was a division game and now with half the season over, we’re 7-1 We played really well offensively, defensively and special teams. It was a team effort. When you start the game off with a sack where you knock the ball out and get a fumble on the first play, that’s a great start for you; especially on the road. It was a big step forward to win here. Tonight was the most points that Dallas has scored in Philadelphia since 1971. We knew tonight would be a tough game and our offense really controlled the ball well and made it very hard for the Eagles to get the ball. Our defense made plays like they have all year and our special teams played very sound. Overall I’m pleased with the game. The season is only half over, but we still have the second best record in the NFL.”
On Dallas’ defense controlling the game:
“I think we played well defensively. We were worried about this team. They’ve got a great quarterback, and they’ve had some big games. The player that we were most worried about was [RB Brian] Westbrook. I thought we held him down pretty well until late in the game when they got him the ball some on check-downs. We were trying to keep them from getting the ball to him on screens and check-downs because he’s so dangerous. We tried to put pressure on [QB Donovan] McNabb. We did sometimes, but they had pretty good protection. They did protect with a lot of people, though, so it didn’t leave too many people going out for them. We had seven people back sometimes and they only had three going out, which worked well for us. I think our defense is playing well.”
On WR Terrell Owens being named a team captain for tonight’s game:
“He’s always said that he’s a co-captain anyway. Anytime a guy has played on another team, they really get motivated to play. Not for revenge, or anything like that, but just to show that he can play; that is why we made him a captain. It’s not just with Terrell, but with anybody. We made him a captain all week and let him talk to the team after every practice. He is a leader, and he showed his leadership.”
On using Owens a lot tonight and in different ways:
“He’s a great player. We moved him around some tonight. We switched him and [TE] Jason [Witten] on the touchdown. Jason switched positions with him so that we could try to get him the ball down the middle and, sure enough, he was open and it went all the way for a touchdown. The Eagles started out double-teaming Owens all the time, but we started moving him around a little bit. Also, when we started getting ahead, they had to come after us a little bit. The good thing about our offense is they know where to go with the ball. [QB] Tony [Romo] knows where to go with the ball when he’s pressured.”
On the big week that Tony Romo had:
“I thought he was outstanding. I know that he would like to have that one throw back, but we hardly ever punted and that’s because of the quarterback. Our running game got stronger as the game went on, which helped us, but I thought Tony had great command of the game. He played like he has been playing.”
On the importance of scoring on the 1st drive in the 2nd half:
“That’s what you say in the dressing room. ‘Let’s get the ball, take it in and take control of the game.’ We said that in the locker room, but, more importantly, we went out and did it.”
On this game being more of a complete performance than other wins:
“We’ve had some real good games throughout the year, but I read it here that this was the biggest game of the year for the Eagles. To come here and win, in a divisional game on the road, is a great start for us. We’re 4-0 on the road.”
On this Dallas team being a very physical football team:
“I think that we do have a very physical team. That bodes well for us in this division, because this division is really good. Philadelphia is last in the division right now, and when a team like Philadelphia is in last place it shows you that it’s a really strong division. They’ve got a good football team and they’ll bounce back. They’ll beat some people and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them there at the end.”
On the dominance of the offensive line:
“I think that we have a really good offensive line. Philadelphia stopped [RB Adrian] Peterson, they’ve had games where they’ve had a lot of sacks and I was worried about it, but I think our offensive line really did a good job for us.”
Dallas Cowboys Press Conference – Players
11-04-07
QB Tony Romo
On what changed in him as a quarterback to enable success against this defense, overcoming previous struggles:
“I just learned. One thing I feel like I can do okay is just the ability to adapt, and understand what people are trying to do against you. You process that information and you try and learn from it, and improve the next time, and just try not to throw it to as many Eagles.”
On the importance of this game, against the reigning division champions:
“It’s real important. It’s big just because you’ve got a little stretch here of NFC East games, and a lot of that will determine, in some ways, who comes out of the East as the division winner. This is not an easy place to play, on the road, this environment, this atmosphere. I think our guys are showing that we’re getting better each week. We’ve had some tough games in some tough environments already this year that we were able to come out on top. I think that showed tonight. Our experience in those games helped us play better tonight.
On how happy he is for WR Terrell Owens having such an outstanding performance:
“Well, I think he’s going to sleep well tonight, if he sleeps at all. He didn’t talk too much about it, but I know this one meant a lot to him. He really appreciated the people here in Philadelphia, and how they rooted him on. Now, obviously, he’s the kind of guy that they love to hate. But, if you know T.O., you know he’s passionate about this game, and against this team, and this whole division.”
On whether or not anything has changed for him after receiving the 6-year, $67.5 million contract extension:
“No. My side of it didn’t really do anything. It’s nice, but I’m still waiting for something to be different in my life. I want some really cute girl just to come up to me and be like, ‘You’re rich, let’s make out!’ But it hasn’t happened to me yet, so I’m still waiting for it.”
On what he’s seen from Owens this year:
“I just think he’s an older guy who’s been through a lot. He’s trying to win a Super Bowl now. It’s not necessarily about what he’s trying to do at the wide receiver position. Obviously, he wants to get his touches and he wants to be a great player, and he is. I just think that it’s more about the team. He feels, with Coach [Wade] Phillips and some of the guys on the team, that he’s really a member of the team. It’s just not just about him, but we want him to be a part of it, and I think that’s meaningful to him.”
On the balance of the running game, split between RB Julius Jones and RB Marion Barber III:
“I have no idea what their touches were; I just know that they both played pretty well tonight. I was really excited about the fact that we were able to run the ball as well as we did. That makes, obviously, my job much easier. I think that might have been (the offensive line’s) best game of the year right there. We were able to run the football consistently, and we were able to protect consistently against some exotic looks. I’ll give it to Philadelphia, they actually came up with some very good stuff. We just had some good play calls up at the right time, and we had a couple guys make some plays that really hurt them. Obviously, there was a lot of great execution out there.”
On the breakdown of the scoring play to Owens:
“Well, (TE Jason Witten and Owens) both had dip cuts and breaking routes. It’s funny, because I’m looking at it out there: you’ve got about a 12-yard crossing route, and the guy that comes right, [FS] Brian Dawkins, I believe it was, the guy head up over him, and I’m just sitting there and I’m seeing Dawkins’ body language, and I’m like, ‘He’s coming.’ The funny thing is, we’re still going to be protected, in other words, a guy is going to block him. But I’m looking behind him, and I’m like, ‘If he comes, there’s absolutely no one on the field that can take T.O. [Owens].’ So, right after the snap, I start screaming T.O. [Owens]’ name. I’m just like, ‘T.O.! T.O.! T.O.! T.O.!’ And he heard me, so he kind of looks, and boom, I just threw him the ball, and it was right, there was no one there, and 50 yards later or whatever it was (he scored). It was really neat to see he caught the eye at the same time.”
On the success of the offense, with five different players scoring:
“Well, I just found out right now, so it’s instant gratification. We’ve got a lot of good players. I just get the ball in their hands and let them make me look good.”
WR Terrell Owens
On whether this was the most complete win of the Cowboys’ season:
“Yeah, I think we came out and executed. We did some of the things that we worked on in practice. I think that was our main focus this week, just get out there and try to execute.”
On his individual performance in his return to Philadelphia:
“I mean, it was gratifying, but the most important thing is we came here and we got a win. What we’re doing now is what we were capable of doing last year. We just put people in the right positions. [Offensive Coordinator] Jason’s [Garrett] calling the right plays. Tony’s [Romo] doing a great job, with the (offensive) line giving him the time to read through his progressions, he’s delivering the ball. As you saw tonight, I think about four or five guys got a touchdown, so we just did a great job.”
On the amount of trash talking that took place tonight:
“Just the majority of the game, there’s a lot of trash talking out there. Coming into this environment, it’s hostile. They’re trying to get a win, and we’re coming in here and we’ve got to win on the road, so it was a little feisty out there.”
On the lack of attention his touchdown celebration received from the fans:
“Well, you’re right. As I said earlier in the week, there’s a lot of love in those boos. So, I’m sorry I didn’t get that many boos.”
On being named a captain this week, and if that was coincidence:
“Well, we have our captains that the team chose at the beginning of the year. I wasn’t fortunate enough to be one of those, so I was a self-appointed captain. There are going to be ways that these guys look to me for guidance, and times they look to me to kind of create a spark here or there, and for whatever reason, Coach appointed me a captain this week. I was going to be motivated regardless. It meant a lot. I came here with a focus, to come in and win, to try to win a division game. I think that’s really the most important thing, is for us to kind of execute and establish ourselves, to try to separate ourselves so we can create homefield advantage for ourselves later in the season.”
On the importance of next week’s game for first place in the division versus the New York Giants:
“Yeah, they’re going to create a challenge for us. Obviously they’ve gotten better since week one and so have we. I think right now we’re starting to really define ourselves and really trying to work offensively, defensively, and special teams-wise, the whole team, so we can kind of solidify ourselves and separate ourselves to create homefield advantage at the end of the season.”
On whether he thinks QB Donovan McNabb is the same quarterback as in years past:
“He’s coming off a knee injury. It’s going to be kind of tough to get back to that form of what he was before the injury. To get back to that time, they have to work with what they have on offense. They’re just trying to do the best that they can, and before the end of the season, they’ll get better.”
Philadelphia Eagles v. Dallas Cowboys
November 4, 2007
Dallas Cowboys Locker Room
Defense Part One
MILB Bradie James
On the performance of the Cowboys today:
“All we had to do was go out and play well as a unit, that’s what we were able to do. We played well all over the board offensively, defensively, and from a special team’s standpoint.”
On setting the tone of the game:
“We had to go out there and stop them. I think that first turnover and a few plays early we kind of set the tone defensively. We had to go out there first, we put it on ourselves to go out there and make plays early.”
SLB Greg Ellis
On the outcome of the game:
“It feels good like I said earlier, for [Tackle] Flozell [Adams] and myself to come up here and kind of put this game the way we wanted it to be put. I know we have to play them again and they’re going to play hard in the second game, but this is a good victory.”
On whether the road to the championship now goes through Dallas:
“Well you know what; we still got to deal with New York and Washington. We won’t deem ourselves anything. Once it’s all said and done whatever place it goes through, that’s the place it going to go through.”
On the performance of WR Terrell Owens:
“This truly shows the true [WR, Terrell Owens] T. O. operating. Not just his talent, everybody in the world knows he has talent, that he can catch and run footballs. But given the emotions he played with tonight. Not a bunch of yelling and screaming but just to see him go out there and play like that. He came in here {the locker room} and said “I thank all of you all.” he was really appreciative to the team; he got a game ball from [Head Coach] Wade [Phillips]. The thing he said was “I thank you guys, it means a lot to me, to come in here and have a good performance for our team.” We did it we came in here and had a good performance for our team.”
On winning in Philadelphia:
“It feels real good to be on the positive side of it. You have to go through it sometimes, we went through it and now [Eagles QB] Donovan [McNabb] and that bunch is going through it. My heart goes out to them I know the hurt they’re experiencing right now. But for us we’re just came in here and took care of business and contained the players the way we played tonight.”
On the defensive game plan of the Cowboys:
“You know Donovan. You have to contain him, not just try to rush him but you got to try to keep him in the pocket some way. The second thing is [RB, Brian] Westbrook. He has killed us several games. Not just one play, not just one game, but several games. Him getting those little dump off passes that he’s going to get in the course of a game. Guys tonight realized, okay he’s going to get some of those balls, he’s going to make the first guy miss, we wanted to get closer to him to minimize those balls.”
FS Ken Hamlin
On whether today’s game was a “message game:”
“Every game we play we try to go out and perform to the best of our abilities regardless of who thinks we have to go through there to play. Everybody makes a statement, everybody wants to be on top. We don’t look at those statements as anything but them wanting to win.”
On what it was like to silence 67,000 people:
“It got pretty empty in there, it got pretty empty. We have great fans and they stick with us through all the ups and downs. To have a quiet stadium when you’re on an away game, that’s pretty good.”
DE Marcus Spears
On the victory:
“It was fun. It reminded me of high school. We were a dominant team and you go in and the school will know it’s going to be over by the third quarter and the only people left in the stands are the families and the diehard fans.”
On whether the Cowboys were out to deliver a message today:
“No, we’re just trying to play the best football we can each time we step out on the field. I can’t say it wasn’t in the back of our mind what they did to us last year when they came to Dallas. We came out with a lot of fire; this is something we’re trying to create here. We’re trying to create, give ourselves opportunities to win football games and not have to be worried about it and biting our nails in the fourth quarter.”
On causing the fumble on the first play of the game:
“It’s a wonderful feeling. Especially here, in Philly, if you let them hang around they’re going to make plays and get themselves back in the game. For us to start off that way and then continue to keep on; offense putting the ball in the end zone, some key stops at times, it was a full team effort.”
