Donovan McNabb got a lot of questions about the Eagles problems in the red zone. He also got a lot of questions about his recovery from his knee injury.
QB Donovan McNabb Press Conference
10-17-07
On why the offense has struggled in the red zone:
“In a situation like that, I think mistakes and miscues are magnified. They’re so big, if it’s a step or mistake on a block, a read, or whatever it may be. The time that’s down there happens fast and you have to make a decision quickly. In those situations in the previous games, it’s been that much, the fact that you have to be pretty much on-point with what’s going on. But, I look for it to change, and for things to move in a positive direction.”
On whether their red zone mistakes are correctable:
“It’s truly correctable; definitely correctable. When you watch the film, you can see it- if you’re just a step away, or whatever it may be. But, it’s definitely correctable, and it will be corrected.”
On whether a healthy TE L.J. Smith can make the red zone offense better:
“I think it would definitely help; the fact that we would have all our weapons, but we would have to involve them. I think we can involve all our tight ends in a situation like that. We may be able to run the ball more, quicker passes, or whatever it may be. But, it’s something in which we’ve all discussed and look forward to changing. Things will move in the right direction for us.”
On whether his mobility affects how he thinks in the red zone:
“No, not at all. I’m not a running back. If nothing’s there, I’ll try to pick up what I can. I think in those situations, it’s just getting it to the guys, and letting them get into the endzone.”
On whether he’s concerned that scouting reports say he’s not a threat to run:
“I hope they do, but I know that scouting reports don’t say that. Just because I’m not running 4.4 or 4.5 [second 40-yard dash], you pick up what you can. I’m probably still faster than most of the quarterbacks out there. It just so happens that maybe you guys don’t see me running as much. In a situation like that, if it’s us running the ball more, getting the ball out to the guys quicker, or whatever it may be, that’s what we plan on doing.”
On whether his knee feels better each week:
“I definitely feel that progression. I definitely feel that it’s getting better and better each week. We’re definitely paying more attention to it now in the weight room and training room, but I definitely feel the progression happening. Obviously, at this point, it’s not at 100%, but in due time it will be.”
On why he paying more attention to his knee now:
“Because it’s getting better, and you want to continue to stay on it. This isn’t an injury where, once you feel like everything is okay, you stop [working it out]. This is where you pick up the pace a little bit and pay more attention to it because you don’t want it to have a setback. So, we continue to stay on it, and I feel that it’s definitely helping out in so many ways.”
On whether it’s upsetting that he can’t break free from tacklers as well as before the injury:
“You can’t get frustrated; you can’t get upset at it, because it happens. In a situation like that, if that were to happen- if it’s a linebacker, defensive tackle, or defensive end, you’re just trying to make a play. You give credit to them. But, again, it’s nothing where you get upset because I don’t have the burst, or whatever. You’re just trying to make a play. There’s going to be a time where you’re going to make a play, you’re going to get away from those guys, and you’ve got to continue to have that confidence.”
On how much speed he thinks he’ll regain as his knee continues to improve:
“A lot of it is instinct and being able to react. It never was a speed deal for me. I used my strength for getting away from people, and I still have that. When that burst, that pop comes back- not that I’ll be running extremely fast when I come back- but [it will allow me to] buy a little bit of time and get it to the guys.”
On whether it’s difficult for him to buy time:
“I still try to do what I’ve been able to do. If it’s avoiding a rush and trying to go to two or three in the reads, and if I have time, to go back to one or two, I still can do that. The guys up front have given me the time to do that, and if nothing’s there, be able to pick up as many yards as I can. I picked up a first down during the game being able to run north and south. For any quarterback, running back, whatever it may be, when you’re going east and west, you’re not as fast as moving north to south. So, if there’s a hole up front, then I’ll take it, pick up what I can, and go to the next play.”
On whether he has ever given thought to playing for the Chicago Bears:
“No. My thought is just ending my career here. Every game I play, I try to play it to the best of my ability, [while] not really focusing on anything like that. I’m going to be a Philadelphia Eagle throughout my whole career, and I expect that. If anything changes, it’s out of my control; there’s nothing I can do about it. I look forward to ending my career here in Philadelphia.”
On whether playing in Chicago ever appealed to him:
“No.”
On whether he has to be aware of where Bears LB Brian Urlacher is before every snap:
“Well, obviously he’s the face of their defense. But, to get to Urlacher, you have to pay attention to [DT] Tommie Harris, [DT] Darwin Walker, [DE Mark] Anderson, and [DE Adewale] Ogunleye. Then, when you get to the linebacker position, [you have to pay attention to] Urlacher and [LB Lance] Briggs. In a lot of the things they like to do, they like to give him the opportunity to roam a little bit and be free. I think it’s important that we’re able to get a hat on him- get a guy to block him, maybe cut him, to pick up as many yards as you can. He’s a guy that is very talented, an All-Pro, and there’s a reason for that. He’s one of the best linebackers in the game. So, when you talk about the Bears defense, he’s the guy you start with because of his name and the things he’s been able to do, but he’ll tell you, his front four does a wonderful job for him to keep guys off of him.”
On how the Bears defense has changed since last season:
“I think it’s kind of like our red zone offense, it’s been mistakes or miscues. They’re still the same defense. They may have had some injuries, guys rotating in and out, but some mistakes have cost them- some miscues on the defensive side in certain games at the wrong time. That has been something that has really stood out when you watch the film, and something, as an offense, you want to continue to attack and wait for that big play to happen.”
On whether he has an idea of what his body can do physically at this point:
“You have an idea of what you can and cannot do. At this point, I feel like I can do everything. But, to the speed of it? Maybe not to where it was last year, but I know what I can do, and I can do just about everything. So, it’s just being able to go out and create first downs, move the chains, and possibly get the ball in the endzone instead of settling for field goals.”
On what attributed to him having more time in the pocket against the Jets than against the Giants:
“[T] Winston [Justice] was put in a tough situation, and it’s unfortunate what happened. For us, [LT William Thomas] Tra has been my backside tackle all throughout my career here, and he has that experience. Tra did a wonderful job coming back from injury and playing well against the Jets, and he’s continued to get better. When you have all your added weapons, all the guys you went through training camp with, you’ve played with over the years, we’re able to run our offense. I’m sure [RB Brian] Westbrook was excited by the fact that Tra and all of those guys were up there, being able to pick up yards in the run game. For us, [it’s important to] be able to spread the ball around, have L.J. back healthy when he’s able to do that, and get everybody involved.”
On his assessment of where the Eagles are now in the division:
“I think at this point, it’s hard to say where anybody is. You may start out 5-0, and then tail off. The Giants started out 6-2 last year, then they kind of fell off. Nobody ever remembers September and October; they always remember November, December, and January. I think one thing that people tend to forget, the NFC East Championship comes through Philadelphia. We have to protect our territory, and we have enough time to do that. We can’t worry about what other teams are doing; we can only focus on what we need to do here.”
On whether he thinks the Eagles can win the division:
“Yes.”
On when he knew Westbrook was healthy last week:
“I watched him a little bit in practice. Again, coming off of an injury, you’re not going to be at 100%, but to have an 80-85% Westbrook, that’s better than probably a handful [of other running backs in the league]. He’s in the top five, still, in running backs at what he’s able to do. To get the ball to Westbrook and see him go for five, six yards a pop, catch the ball out of the backfield and pick up yards for us, he does a wonderful job for us in the offense.”
On the job WR Kevin Curtis has done:
“Kevin has continued to work well with us. He’s a guy that [WR] Reggie [Brown] feeds off of, [and] he feeds off of Reggie. We’re able to do a lot of different things. It’s exciting to see the things we’re able to do with both of those guys out there, [including] bringing in [WR Jason] Avant, when we get L.J. back, [TE Brent] Celek, [TE Matt] Schobel, and those guys. The points we can possibly put up, the yards we can put up, the exciting, explosive plays that we can have. You just want to give those guys opportunities. Kevin has continued to improve week in and week out, being comfortable in this offense, being comfortable in the passing game, and we feel very confident in all of those guys to be able to do that for us.”
On whether a conscious effort was placed on making WR Reggie Brown a primary target against the Jets:
“In this offense, some plays make you a primary, some plays don’t. I think there was a conscious effort by all of us to get him more involved. I thought it was important, talking to [offensive coordinator] Marty [Mornhinweg] and those guys, that we were able to do that. What we were able to do against the Jets was involve him a little bit more when they would decide to play man or play zone [coverages], and we’re going to be able to do that as weeks continue on. But again, in this offense, one guy may have seven catches, another may have three, and then things may change the next week. I think sometimes people begin to see other teams with receivers that finish the season with 100 catches, 1,200 to 1,500 yards, [and] that hasn’t happened here. We spread the ball around enough to get everybody involved to help us win.”
On why the offense hasn’t been able to run longer routes:
“We’ve completed a lot of long routes. We had a 20-yard comeback that Curtis caught. We’ve really been involving our intermediate game, and in the deeper routes, defenders begin to drop underneath, you check it down.”
