The questions were mainly focused on the play of Donovan McNabb and A.J. Feeley at the quarterback position. Andy, Donovan, and Brian were peppered with question after question about why the offense looked in sync under the direction of A.J.
Head Coach Andy Reid Press Conference
11/28/07
Injuries:
“People that won’t practice today, [QB] Donovan [McNabb] will not practice. He will continue to rehab his ankle. Right now, his ankle is a bit more sore than the thumb. He’s working like crazy to get this thing back. I just want to put some things to rest real quick here, I thought I was pretty clear with it after the game. When Donovan’s ready to come back physically then he’ll be the starting quarterback. Let’s not confuse words here. I’ll try to repeat that for you every day that I talk to you, so there’s no confusion. Then, [DT] Brodrick Bunkley will not practice. He has a hamstring spasm and his knee’s, he’s got a slight sprain in his MCL. Again, that’s day to day, as is Donovan’s [injury]. [S] Quintin Mikell is in the same position Donovan’s in, he’s making progress with the MCL sprain. He’s working like crazy to get back out here. It’s just a day-to-day thing here and we’ll just see how they do. They’re fighting like crazy to get back out there and to get back playing. Then, [RB] Brian Westbrook had a knee contusion in the game and a little bit of swelling there, so he will not practice today. Again, these are all day to day and we’ll just see how things progress as we go through the week. And then, [FS] Brian Dawkins has just got a tight lower back. So, we’ll see how he [does]. I hope he works out today. He went through the walkthrough and did everything, but we’ll see how he makes out this afternoon.”
Opening Remarks:
“We look forward to the challenge of playing the Seahawks. They’re a good football team. Obviously, they’ve won the last four out of five games that they’ve played, they’ve won the last three. They’ve got an explosive offense. Their quarterback is special, he’s a Pro Bowl caliber player. Then, their defense, they fly around and they come from everywhere.[Seahawks defensive coordinator] John Marshall does a great job with that defense as [Seahawks special projects/defense] Ray [Rhodes] did before John. So, they’re very creative in their packages and you’ve really got to be sharp to pick everything up that they throw at you. Then special teams, they’ve got an explosive special teams group with the number of touchdowns that they’ve had off of their special teams.”
On how McNabb is progressing:
“He’s getting better. He had a tough workout yesterday, a little bit longer workout, throwing and cutting off the ankle. It’s a bit tender today, and a little bit puffy. Again, he’s living in the training room trying to get it right. It’s frustrating the heck out of him because he wants to play. We’ve just got to make sure that we get it where he can push off and function with it.”
On how much practice he needs to see from McNabb before he makes a decision on whether he’ll play on Sunday:
“It’s really the same situation as last week as far that goes. Today, I’m going to keep him in and just try to get some of the swelling and soreness [down]. We’ll see tomorrow how it goes. We’ll see how it works out. He’ll do some more rehab with it. He’ll do some more football-related exercises today, as much as [head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder] feels that he can.”
On whether it is likely that McNabb will practice this week:
“I think it’s a little bit better this week. Again, we’ve got to be able to get the swelling out of it and get the soreness out of it, where he can cut. Right now, he’s okay doing the straight drop. It’s just when he has to move laterally, it’s a little bit painful. Again, I’d tell you the same thing with [safety Quintin Mikell], he’s got the same situation, except with his knee. He just can’t push off the same right now.”
On whether McNabb’s thumb is okay:
“The thumb feels pretty good, it’s not all the way back. He can squeeze the ball better and control it a little bit better. Right now, it’s more cutting off the ankle.”
On whether the report that McNabb has arthritis and tendonitis in his ankle is true and contributing to his injury:
“I think they all do, all the athletes do. That’s not the problem right now. He’s got a sprained ankle and that’s pretty simple. It’s just one of those things where you just can’t push off and move laterally.”
On the factors that contribute to his loyalty to McNabb:
“I told you before, I think it’s a heck of a situation to have when you have two quarterbacks that can win football games for us. And, we think we have a third one. So, that’s a great situation and a strong position. Donovan’s the starter, he’s been the starter. He’s been the most successful quarterback in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles and one of the most successful in the NFL over the last nine years. He’s the starting quarterback, that’s what it is. There’s no controversy involved. And, that’s not taking anything away from [QB] A.J. [Feeley] because he’s a heck of a quarterback and we know that he can start also. That’s just the way it is.”
On whether he needs to see McNabb practice at least once before he makes the decision of who will start:
“I’m not going to say that. I’m going to handle it like I did last week. I just want to see how he progresses each day. I can’t reiterate to you, he wants to be in there. He wants to get out and play. It’s a matter of if he can move laterally and do those things. The best way to do that is to rehab and make sure you keep the swelling down and the soreness out as best you can, then let the healing process continue. At the same time, get some work in where you see where he’s at moving him sideways.”
On whether McNabb’s injury is a step backwards as far as getting the team healthy:
“I think if you take Q and Don out of the picture right now, I think the other guys are just nicked up from the game. I think they’ll be back out here. It’s not as serious as what the other guys have right now.”
On how he makes sure the team maintains the level of intensity they had playing the Patriots going into the Seahawks game:
“The players are very real. They know and we, as coaches are very real about the game. We did some good things, but we lost the game. A week or two down the road here nobody cares about the score, it goes down as a loss. You forget about that game. You take the good out of it, you run with it and you learn from the bad and you move on. That’s the way the guys approached it today. They’re not talking about that game, they’re talking about Seattle. Seattle does so many things well that if you spend any time looking back you’re going to miss what you’ve got coming forward here Sunday.”
On whether he reminds them of what happened last time they played Seattle:
“It wasn’t a very good game. They’ll see part of it because it’s on some of the footage. Obviously, it was a little different situation, probably for both teams. But, they got after us pretty good. There are enough guys that played in that game that are still here that remember it.”
On whether the team can take enough good out of the New England game to package that with their two wins prior to that game to continue to play well:
“I think they’re upbeat. I do think over the last few weeks we are getting healthier. The guys that were out for a period of time there are back in the swing now and playing a little bit better than what they were a few weeks ago. I’m not sitting up here predicting the future, but I feel good going into the Seattle game that our guys will practice hard this week and get everything done that they need to go in and play effectively.”
On what he sees in McNabb that shows he’s still better than other quarterbacks and should start when he is healthy:
“Well, I’ve got 51% of the vote. I really don’t care what anyone else thinks on that. I make that final decision. I’m not going to get into all the things I think he does well. We’ve all seen it over the nine years. When he’s been out there, he’s a good football player. He’s put his mark on this offense, the way he does it. He’ll continue to do that when he gets back healthy.”
On whether there is anything special about playing against Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren:
“We’ve had a chance to play each other before, so I’ve said this really every time since I was an assistant coach under him at Green Bay, I had a hard time believing anybody did it better than he did as a head coach in the National Football League, just the way he balanced everything out, the way he treated people and was still competitive, had a great offensive mind, and so on. I still feel that way. I think he just takes that and transferred it, which is very hard to do, transferred it up to another football team and made them one of the top teams in the National Football League. I have a lot of respect for him. Obviously, I owe him a little bit. I probably wouldn’t be sitting here in front of you if it wasn’t for him.”
On whether it is hard for him to believe that Holmgren has been at Seattle longer than he was at Green Bay:
“Now that you mention that, yeah I probably do. I guess you picture that first team that you’re with and since I was there with him that’s how I see him.”
QB Donovan McNabb Press Conference
11/28/07
On how frustrating his injury is:
“I think I’ve gotten to the point where you have to just let frustration go. You focus on getting yourself back healthy to get out there and function well. In a situation like this, obviously, with something new, it’s a grind and you have to go back to what you did to get yourself better with the knee. It’s an ankle [injury], and we’ve all sprained our ankles in so many situations. We’ll continue to stay on it, and when the time comes, get back out there and have fun.”
On how much closer he feels to being ready to go this week:
“A lot closer.”
On whether he’s surprised that there is a debate about whether he should be the starting quarterback:
“No. I’ve been here nine years. I’ve been a part of a lot of different things. Nothing surprises me when new issues pop up.”
On whether he has a sense that he’ll be ready to play this weekend:
“There is a good possibility. Again, you don’t want to do anything to give you a setback. We’ve definitely been progressing. I’ve been staying on it and trying to do extra whenever I can. When the time comes, I’ll be ready to get out there and move around.”
On how much input he had on whether he was going to play last week:
“You always want to play. I told [head coach Andy Reid] that I wanted to play. He knew I wanted to play. You have to be smart with the whole situation. I didn’t really get a chance to practice as much as I wanted to. The ankle was just kind of breaking through, so I was able to do a couple of different things. Would it have been smart for me to get out there? No, it probably wouldn’t. I think it gave me the opportunity to feel the way I’m feeling now. You want to continue to stay on it and push it and see where it is.”
On whether he thinks he can play based on the way it feels right now:
“I would feel comfortable to play any time. You have to take into account that 60 or 70 plays of movement, and how it would respond to sudden movement. Would it get tired or fatigued, or hinder you from different things that you’re capable of doing? If it continues to progress during the week, then yes I will be ready to go.”
On what it means to him that Reid said he’s going to stick with him as the quarterback:
“In any situation that you’re a part of, sometimes all you need is some people to step up and tell you what the real deal is. As you can see, he’s let you guys know on so many occasions that I’m the starting quarterback. I’ve said that, he’s said that. Everybody is going to have their own opinion of things. You can’t get caught up in what’s been said on the outside, how somebody may feel about you or what they feel is the best decision. The only thing that really matters is what happens here inside this building. If it’s for me to go out and play, then that’s what it will be. [If it’s] for me to rehab, then that’s what it will be. He makes the decisions, and we go along with it. While we’re out there on that field, we want to make sure we execute and make as many plays as possible.”
On why he didn’t travel with the team to New England:
“[Reid] makes the decisions of guys traveling. His policy is that some hurt guys don’t travel. Again, you go along with it. Would I have wanted to be there? Yes, I would have. I wanted to be there to support my team, and I wanted to make sure that everybody was ready to go on the sideline, or whatever I had to do in order for us to try to win that game. But, I was here rehabbing and trying to get myself ready for this game.”
On QB A.J. Feeley’s performance in the New England game:
“I thought A.J. played well. I thought he played well. I watched it at home. I thought the team played well and it’s unfortunate that we lost the game.”
On what his main limitations are with his injury:
“It’s a mixture of a lot of things. I can do just about everything, but doing it to the fullest, to what I’m used to, that’s not there right now. It takes time. There’s a lot of fluid in the ankle and it’s just something that you have to continue to work at and get it drained and make sure that when the time comes, get out there and go full speed.”
On whether the “what have you done for me lately” attitude bothers him:
“One thing that you have to understand is that people have short-term memories. We’ve had a lot of success here. People are going to address their own opinions; they’re going to say whatever they feel needs to be expressed. I can’t get caught up in that. The whole [idea that] people don’t remember what I’ve done here or what I’ve been able to accomplish here, why would I waste my time on trying to bring that up? In this situation, it’s a no-win situation for me. If I play, I play. If I don’t, I don’t. I’ll be out there to compete and help my team win and give everything that I have when I’m out there. That’s all that my teammates ask and that’s all that I try to display.”
On his long-term future as the team’s quarterback:
“I can’t control what happens later. I can only control what happens right now, and that’s for me to get healthy and get back out on the field. What happens later, we’ll see. Again, that’s really none of my concern at this particular point. I think that’s something that I don’t think any of us need to focus in on.”
On the idea that the offense had better rhythm with Feeley as the quarterback:
“We’ve had tempo while I was in. We had execution while I was in there. It really doesn’t matter who is in there, you just need to be able to execute the plays. We’ve had games in which we’ve driven the ball down the field consistently and scored points. It just so happened that on Sunday night, the team was making plays, guys were having a good time. They played that way. They played that way while I was in there. There’s no change. I think sometimes people dig deeper than it really is. It’s easy to sit and say, ‘When Donovan’s there, things are crisp and things happen better.’ We’ve had a lot of success in my years here. I guess things were really crisp while I was playing there too. I can’t really concern myself with that.”
On whether he is worried that his ankle injury has caused him to take a step back in his explosiveness:
“Not at all. It’s an ankle injury. We’ve sprained our ankles in pickup basketball; some of us have sprained it just from walking. You rehab it, and you get yourself back out there again. That’s the way I look at it.”
RB Brian Westbrook Press Conference
11/28/07
On whether the quarterback situation affects his approach this week:
“It doesn’t really change my approach to the game. I feel like I still have to go out there and play my game no matter who’s back there at quarterback; whether it’s [QB] Donovan [McNabb] or [QB] A.J. [Feeley].”
On the seemingly better rhythm the team had with A.J. Feeley:
“We did have a little rhythm there on Sunday. We’ve had rhythm during the season. When we’re on top of things, everybody brings their best game and we can play against the best. [The Patriots] are the best team in the NFL and we brought our A-game. We had a rhythm and it really showed in the game. We’ve had rhythm other times, but I think, more so in that game than in other games, we sustained it throughout the whole game.”
On keeping that offensive rhythm:
“Now we’ve seen what we can do. We did sustain the rhythm throughout the entire game, and I think during that game we got a little bit of a swagger. We have to try and continue that swagger throughout the rest of the season.”
On the playing differences between McNabb and Feeley:
“I think Donovan and A.J. are both very capable leaders. Obviously A.J. does a lot more passing inside the pocket, while Donovan is able to move around the pocket a little more with his athletic ability. The plays that we called, the guys making the plays, A.J. making a good throw, all contributed to us having a lot of success on the field.”
On whether he will play or not this week with his injury:
“Yes.”
On the new approach the Eagles had against New England:
“When we went into the game, we wanted to win the game. That was our goal, that’s what we set out to do. We did a lot of good things on offense that we should be able to carry over. We’re still disappointed with the loss, but we did some good things out there. If we carry over those things, then we can move forward in the right direction.”
On his thoughts on why there is a quarterback controversy:
“I think because A.J. came in and played well. He’s not the starting quarterback, and anytime a new quarterback comes in and plays well, you’re going to have a little bit of a controversy. Because A.J. came in and played well people want to back A.J. because he’s the second-string quarterback. Everybody seems to feel that the grass is always going to be greener on the other side. I still have confidence in Donovan, and I have confidence in A.J. that he’ll do a good job if he’s in there. For us as a team, we have to support whoever’s in there, and we still have to go to war with whoever’s in there.”
On whether or not the players are curious if A.J. will start:
“I don’t know about the curiosity part, but I do have the belief and faith and confidence in A.J. that, if he does get a second start, he will do a good job. I think that Donovan, if he gets the opportunity to get in there, I think that he’ll do a good job, too.”
On the Patriots defensive scheme against the Eagles and Westbrook:
“I got hit by a couple linemen here and there. The defense, they allowed us to throw some balls down the middle because they were trying to check me a little bit closer with their linebackers. With that, [WR] Greg Lewis is going to be open over the middle, [TE] L.J. [Smith] is going to be open and we were able to throw the ball. For us, it turned out well; we did some good things on offense. Of course we wish we had a couple plays back, but we did some good things and hopefully we can get back to being more productive.”
On his ability to block and pick up the blitz:
“We spend a lot of time on blitz pickup as running backs. For us, in our offense, at some point we’re not going to get the ball and we’re going to have to protect the quarterback. It’s very important for us to be able to block. In the game we have a lot of people to check from the strong-side linebacker to the back-side linebacker. It’s just one of those things that I’ve picked up over the years. [OL coach] Juan [Castillo] has done a good job of helping the linemen and helping me as well.”
On Sean Taylor’s passing:
“I was shocked, just like everybody else, and disappointed that someone’s life was really cut short. He was four or five years younger than me. Anybody who passes away in a tragic way like that is definitely something that you pray about for his family. I really didn’t know Sean very well at all, but whether I knew him or not, my heart goes out to his family; his daughter as well as his fiancé. It’s disappointing that the violence has gotten to this point where we’re having deaths of young people right now. Not just in the football community, but the worldwide. It’s gotten out of control. I think it’s time that we as players and we, as a community, say that enough is enough. It has to start now.”
On his experiences with Sean Taylor:
“I really can only speak about Sean as a player. He’s the type of guy that when he’s on the field, you have to account for his presence. When he’s out there, you always want to know where he is. He improved every year that he was in the league. When he was a rookie he was good and this past year, when he wasn’t injured, he was very good as well. He was a presence in the NFL and he probably would have been a Pro Bowler for the next five to ten years. It’s disappointing to see something like that happen to a guy who was doing so well at this point in his career.”
On talking with his brother Washington Redskins DB Byron Westbrook about Taylor:
“I talked to him briefly about it and the team is grieving a bit as can be expected.”
On violence in the African-American community:
“I feel as though everybody is vulnerable to a certain extent. You have to watch the company that you keep and you have to watch the situations that you put yourself in. I know that I have made a concerted effort to watch my company that I keep, my friends, as well as watch the things that they’re doing. You can’t be around people, and I don’t know Sean’s situation–I’m just speaking for myself–but you can’t put yourself in a situation where your friends are doing bad things and then you hang around those people. At some point karma catches up with you. You have to be so vigilante in watching everything and watching your surroundings. It’s hard for an athlete to go out and enjoy yourself a lot of times, because of the people that you have to watch and being worried about getting robbed. With Thanksgiving just passing, this situation really lets you know that you have to appreciate and cherish every moment that you have with your friends and family. I try to tell the running backs every week that you’re not going to be in the NFL for long. During the season you try to get out of practice early, or do other things, but you have to cherish every little moment that you have here. You never want to die, you never want someone to pass away or be a victim of a violent death. Hopefully he enjoyed his life and lived a prosperous life while he was here. Hopefully the guys in the NFL and the people in the community will understand that you have to enjoy every day that you have; almost like it’s your last.”
On the knee injury and any long-term effects:
“When you play a game, especially on turf, you try to get your body to recuperate to 100 percent by Sunday. If you keep pounding on your body every single day it’s hard to get your body back to where you want it to be on Sunday. In an effort to try and get my knee back to where I can compete at a high level on Sunday, [head] coach [Andy Reid] sometimes gives me an opportunity to get a little rest.”
On the effect of the new surface at Lincoln Financial Field:
“I don’t know what kind of stuff they put down, but hopefully it will be good for us.”
On replacing the old turf:
“It needed to be done.”
FS Brian Dawkins Press Conference
11-28-07
On the 42-0 loss against the Seahawks in 2005:
“(Jokingly) We loved it. It was so much fun, I wish we could do it again. It was about as bad as it gets. We had other things going on that season on top of that. As bad as it can get, pretty much.”
On whether the Patriots game can be a defining game for the team:
“I don’t know about a defining game. A defining game is one where we won the game and we go from there and continue to have success. That’s defining. To me, we were very capable of winning the game, but we did not. There are a lot of positives in that game, that we saw on film, that we can build upon. I don’t know if I would say defining, because to me, defining means that you won the game.”
On what the positives are that they can build off of:
“Offensively, I can say that those guys, in the face of adversity, as far as [the Patriots] being able to put up points when they did, we came right back down the field and put up points ourselves. In third-and-long situations, the offensive line gave [QB] A.J. [Feeley] a lot of time. Even when they didn’t, when they had an extra guy coming, he was still able to sit in the pocket and get the ball downfield. Defensively, we just scrapped all night. I love that challenge that [defensive coordinator] Jim [Johnson] gave to us—to go out and just man up, blitz a lot, and see if we can play aggressive. Hopefully, since everybody is getting healthy now, we’ll be able to continue that.”
On whether it feels like the Eagles are a different team than they were three weeks ago:
“I would say so. For me, personally, I know that I’m finally getting completely healthy now. I can go out and do the things that I could do in the past. Same thing with [CB] Lito [Sheppard] with that knee. I don’t know if Jim is able to call that type of gameplan if he doesn’t have all of his weapons on defense to be able to do that. I do believe that the defensive line has been playing pretty consistent, as far as getting after people. We want to try to continue to build on what we’ve been doing, especially these past three weeks, of consistent play.”
On what things the defense can take from that Patriots game and carry over through the rest of the season:
“The thing we can carry into every game is that I think you saw a degree of determination on every player on that defensive ballclub. Of getting after the quarterback when the time called for it, of stopping the run when the time called for it. Every guy took it upon himself to be that [cog] in the defense, to make a big play. I think those are the things you can carry over. Scheme-wise, Jim is always going to change things around. I think the aggressive part of that gameplan will be something that I think Jim will build upon.”
On the defense being able to play well but still not being able to force turnovers:
“It can get to being a frustrating thing, but we just have to continue on. We had a couple of balls in our end that we could have made interceptions on. We just haven’t been coming up with them for whatever reason. We just have to continue to do what we do, and hopefully those things will start turning our way.”
On Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck:
“He’s a veteran guy, so you know he’s seen a lot, as far as defenses and disguises. He knows the offense inside and out, so he’s going to make the right checks most of the time, and get the protection where it needs to be and throw the ball where it needs to be. He has an arm to be able to get it to those places. He’s also a guy who can scramble and buy time for the receivers to get into the second part of their routes. He has everything that you need in a quarterback to be able to make that west coast offense run.”
On the death of Redskins S Sean Taylor:
“I couldn’t believe it. I really couldn’t believe it. He’s a young man, in the prime of his life, not just career, but the prime of his life. We don’t know all the details, and I don’t really care about all those details. The fact is that we lost a real good one in that young man.”
On whether he had many interactions with Taylor:
“No, not a lot.”
On whether he feels a kinship with Taylor because they play similarly:
“There are not a lot of people that have played this game, football, period. So, when you talk about a football player, it’s kind of like a fraternity, whatever you want to call it. There are only a few who have been blessed to play this game. Any time you lose someone it affects you, because, you know what that person goes through on a daily basis, as far as the aches and pains of the game and all that good stuff. So, to lose somebody like that, it always hits home.”
On whether he is concerned about his own safety when he goes out:
“I always think about that. Fans get kind of upset sometimes when I’m out and about and I don’t sign [autographs] when I’m with my family, but that’s the reason why. It’s not that I don’t respect or I don’t appreciate the notoriety that comes with it. When it comes to my family those are the times that I don’t sign, I don’t do those things, and that’s the reason why. I don’t know everybody, I don’t know the fans, I don’t know what they’re thinking. I’m always constantly thinking about that when I’m out and about with my family.”
On whether he is concerned more about his family than himself:
“I’m concerned about myself, but I’m more so concerned about my family when we’re out, to make sure that they’re fine and everything’s okay with them.”
On what the best way is to keep yourself from being a target:
“You’ve got to be aware of your surroundings when you’re out and about. I’m always watching and checking things out when I’m out and about. But, in his situation it was different. I don’t know all the details, but he was in his house so that’s completely different. You’ve got to do what you can around the house to make sure that you have what you need in the house to protect yourself.”
On whether he tries to steer young players in the right direction when they come into the league:
“To a certain extent. You try to help those who want to be helped, and you see that avenue to help. It doesn’t have to be a guy who’s in a trouble, just the fact of being in a position to be able to help guys along, whether it be financial questions, whether it be family questions, whether it be husband-and-wife type of questions. All those things play into being a professional football player and having your head clear, so that you can play the game on the field by taking care of things off the field. So, it’s just not problems.”
