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Just thought I'd post McNabb's PC comments from today:

McNabb: We've Got To Pull Together

November 7, 2007 | Last Updated: 11/7/07 2:24 PM ET | Comments (0)
By: JUSTIN KUNKEL

Donovan McNabb didn't look defiant when he took the podium for his weekly press conference.

Frustrated, yes, but not defiant.

Nevertheless, he had an emphatic message for anyone calling for his head after the Eagles' rough first half of the season.

"It's easy to blame the quarterback when the team loses, but I'm definitely not the whole reason why we lost these games," McNabb said. "I can definitely help - yes I can - but I (shouldn't get the full) blame for everything that goes on around here."

McNabb's comments came two days after Eagles head coach Andy Reid was pressed repeatedly by reporters to discuss the status of his quarterback.

With the team off to its worst start since 1999, some wondered whether Reid planned on sticking with McNabb for the rest of the season.

"That's where I'm looking at things," Reid said Monday. "Again, nothing is guaranteed in things. That's how I'm looking at it, yes."

Wednesday, McNabb answered a question regarding Reid's remark. McNabb said that while he feels he receives an undue amount of criticism when the team plays poorly, he does not let outside criticism change the way he approaches his job.

"If people continue to talk about it, if they feel like it's helping them vent and get some stuff of their chest, that's great," he said. "But when I'm in this building, I'm prepared to be the guy who can go out there and help us win games."

In Sunday's 38-17 loss to the Cowboys, McNabb finished 27 of 46 for 264 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Numbers aside, much of the discontent with his performance centered around a pair of first half turnovers that the Cowboys converted into 14 points McNabb fumbled on the game's first play from scrimmage after he was hit from behind by Marcus Spears while stepping up in the pocket, and threw an interception to Dallas safety Ken Hamlin that gave the Cowboys the ball on the Philadelphia 14-yard line in the waning moments of the second quarter.

It was not the best performance of the McNabb's career, but his 86.3 quarterback rating this season still ranks a respectable 13th in the league, and compares favorably with his 85.3 rating for his career.

Nevertheless, McNabb has taken the lion's share of the blame for the struggles of Philadelphia's offense, a fact he said did not bother him.

"It doesn't bother me at all, in the situation that we are in, obviously the guy who gets criticized the most and the guy who may not get the most credit for what goes on is the quarterback," McNabb said. "But my job is to make sure that I'm prepared at all times to get ready to step out on the field and make plays."

"It's easy to blame the quarterback when the team loses, but I'm definitely not the whole reason why we lost these games," McNabb said. "I can definitely help - yes I can - but I (shouldn't get the full) blame for everything that goes on around here."

Hmm.

I wonder if he thinks the criticism will be different elsewhere. And EGADS, somebody get him an aloe plant for that thin skin.

I was just trying to imagine a Super Bowl winning QB saying:

I'm definitely not the whole reason why we lost these games,"

"I can definitely help - yes I can - but I shouldn't get the blame for everything that goes on around here."

He's just cracking.

Hence the need for an aloe plant.

It's just going to get NASTIER as the Eagles spiral downwards. Won't be surprised if he and Andy have a "rumored" blowup.

I wonder if McKnob goes to Reid's house every week to study game films and prepare the game plan for the coming week? That would explain a lot of things ...

Drug Emporium DID sell dog toys...

"It's not all my fault - the play calling blows, the WRs blow, the defense blows, the special teams blow, Kennedy shot." Yeah, we get it. Enjoy Minneapolis.

There's other people to blame too. Not exactly what a leader says.

I think the thing that always bothered me about McNabb's comments is that leaders don't generally go around proclaiming themselves leader. If you have to say "As leader of the team", or "I am the leader", then you probably aren't. Generally, when you are the leader, you indicate where the team should be going, and everybody listens and follows course.

And when you are talking to the media, you are generally cognizant of the fact that some things have to be left unsaid for the good of the team and the effectiveness of your plan to win.

i'm actually surprised there hasn't been more fallout from his comments; for a guy who is supposed to be the leader of a professional sports team, they are some of the weakest, most juvenile comments i have ever heard.

how hard it to say something like "we all need to step it up, and it starts with me" or something similar?

i think most of the reaction to this team from the fans and media have been pretty fair - mcnabb hasn't played well enough, due in large part to the fact that he hasn't fully healed, but the coaching and lack of playmaking talent is as much if not more to blame.

i've never heard a someone in his position so blatantly and unnecessarily defensive.

Oxford Eagle sums it up for me. Nuttin left t'add.

Another thing -

McNabb has known the writing on the wall for some time, and even though unpaid shills like Asskiss will tell you that the possibility exists for the end of next year, the relationship is just going to get worse from here on out.

This is the closest thing we will get (for now, anyway) to McNabb talking bad about the front office and either their inability (or their refusal) to surround him with enough quality talent to take one final run, since his days were numbered here as soon as he was carted out last year.

As the team slides more and more into middle-round drafting, he's going to reveal more and more - partially to hammer the front office, partially to show the league that he's not as bad as the rest of the team would indicate.

And we haven't even gotten into the whole "throwing his teammates under a bus" stuff that's going to continue to swell, while McNabb looks on, wondering what he said that made this firestorm.

This is just the opening salvo.

I lied, from Philly.com:

"Obviously, it doesn't help that we drafted" a quarterback, McNabb said of the speculation. "Now, it's easy to sit and say, 'It's time for change.' But my job is to make sure I'm prepared at all times. If people continue to talk about it, hey, if they feel it's helping them vent and get some stuff off their chest, that's great. But when I'm in this building, I'm prepared to be the guy and go out there and help us win games."

McNabb made it crystal clear that he would not support a decision to insert Kolb as the starter.

"No, that's my job," he said. "Why would I want to give my job up?"

i think most of the reaction to this team from the fans and media have been pretty fair - mcnabb hasn't played well enough, due in large part to the fact that he hasn't fully healed, but the coaching and lack of playmaking talent is as much if not more to blame.

I don't know if I completely agree. To me, and it could be just me, it feels like McNabb has taken more heat in the past than he is now.

Now, there is a lot of blame to spread around and I think he's getting a bit of a pass because of the knee injury.

The only real difference I can feel is there is a true sense, for the first time, that this might be it for him (terrible season, subpar play, replacement already in-house).

I don't know that the venom from the fans is any worse now than it was before...seems like there's just more pressure on him because he knows it's all coming apart and there isn't a late season run or remaining athletic ability to put it back together himself.

"No, that's my job," he said. "Why would I want to give my job up?"

That's really all he should have said.

Everythign else he said was accurate, but would fall into the "keep it to yourself" category.

You got it.

Reason #178 why he isnt really a true leader.

From our pal Les:

"McNabb and Westbrook both seemed to say they expected an early-season offense more like what the Eagles ran down the stretch last year behind Jeff Garcia, with a running focus and less pressure on the QB. Neither Reid nor offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, whose playcalling won Reid's endorsement yesterday, has explained exactly why that hasn't happened.

"Going into the season, I felt as though we'd have to help him,'' Westbrook said. "I think this team is more efficient when we do have a running game, when we do spread the ball out, when we do have a lot of people involved. That's no matter if he was healthy or not. When you're coming off an injury, you're not expected to do all the same things that you were capable of doing before. I thought we would have to help him. I think we still need to do a better job of helping him back there.''

McNabb said: "I just run the offense that's called . . . whatever offense they ran last year, I wasn't in it. Things have changed from last year, and I know that - everybody knows that. It's not for me to say, 'Well, if I ran that offense [from] last year, we would have success now.' It's a different offense, it's different personnel, some of the same people, but it's a different year.''

Specifically, "they ran the ball more,'' McNabb said, and wideout Kevin Curtis replaced free agent Donté Stallworth.

Reid asserted yesterday that the Eagles are "running the ball more now than we ever have,'' and seemed to dismiss the idea that handing off more would help McNabb or his offense.

So far, there have been 287 passes from the Birds and 204 runs (and that's without going through and winnowing out the quarterback scrambles that weren't called runs). That's roughly 58.5 percent passing and 41.5 percent running. Last season, during their five-game win streak down the stretch, the Eagles ran 138 times and passed 149. That's roughly 52 percent passing, 48 percent running. "

Hmmmm....maybe Reid's binder was stolen, but that looks like less running to me. I remember in one game that I counted at least six "runs" that were scrambles. Do they count sacks as runs (for loss) or passes?

Wow...with the context of Westbrook's quotes, that makes McNabb's a lot more palatable.

Sounds like the team as a whole can't figure out what the fuck the fat man and Morningwood are doing over there.

Do they count sacks as runs (for loss) or passes?

Passes.

McNabb hasn't run that much this year, so the difference scrambles make would be negligible on either side, not enough to make a counter-argument. You can't even preface it by saying the #s are skewered because they've been behind a lot - most time when they've been behind, it shouldn't have been enough to not attempt to keep a balanced offense going. Not like the 2nd half against Dallas.

I find it telling that Reid believes running the football WON'T help. That by itself is more telling of his mental state.

I find it telling that they didn't even offer Softserve any kind of contract, they didn't even low ball him...they no-balled him.

Reid is out of his mind. I hope he steps down for his/family's sake.

I'd love for one of the reporters to put those percentages in FB's face and say, "No Andy, you're incorrect. You actually ran 48% of the time when Garcia was the starter last year, as opposed to 42% this year. Do you have any response?"

I think his head would explode.

"I don't know that the venom from the fans is any worse now than it was before"

Maybe not worse, but different. Seems to be more of a "get him out of town" mentality now, not just "get him off the field."

But yeah, a big dose of shutthefuckup would have helped him.

I don't know if I completely agree. To me, and it could be just me, it feels like McNabb has taken more heat in the past than he is now.

not sure what you don't agree with, f-d, that was my point. mcnabb, if anything, is taking less heat than he normally might, as calls for reid's head have been much louder than for mcnabbs.

that's why i said defensiveness at this point seemed especially unnecessary.

I think i just misinterpreted what you were trying to say...sounds like I basically reiterated what you already said.

yup, think we're clear now...

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