NFL: Philadelphia Eagles Team Transcript
GO EAGLES!
Philadelphia Eagles Conference Championship Transcripts
01/16/2009
Head Coach Andy Reid Press Conference
1-16-09
Opening statement:
"Alright, let’s talk about injuries real quick here. [T] Jon Runyan was really the only one that didn’t practice. [RB Brian] Westbrook was out there, he did three quarters of practice and so did the rest of the guys here. [G/T] Shawn Andrews continues to work in, worked in some scout team today. He is the player that is out, that’s listed as out for this game. We look forward to the challenge of playing the Cardinals. Out in Glendale, great atmosphere for a football game, beautiful new stadium, heck of a football team; both sides of the football, special teams. They have good players and they have good coaches and that’s what the NFC Championship is all about."
On whether this is the most athletic defensive line the team has played:
"It’s pretty close. I would say it has to be right up there at the top. All four guys and a couple guys that they bring in are tremendous football players."
On what it takes to be completely embraced by this town and how he and Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel are "text" buddies:
"Honestly, I don’t think about all that. That’s for you guys to take care of. Charlie’s [Manuel] a heck of a guy and a great manager and I just think he did a tremendous job. We were supporting him 110 percent, our football team, and their baseball team has been great. Our players are close and Charlie and I communicate and he did a great job. I’m not going to get into all the comparisons and embrace myself."
On whether he and Charlie Manuel talked this week:
"We were doing the old text messages."
On what the texts were about:
"He was giving me support and wishing me the best of luck and making sure that I coach as well as he did."
On whether Westbrook is feeling any better compared to previous weeks:
"I think he feels good. He’s really practiced well really down the stretch here. I think he’s feeling pretty good."
On the Arizona Cardinals being considered as the underdogs:
"I don’t think Arizona looks at themselves as underdogs at all and they shouldn’t. They are a tremendous football team and I think that’s what this game is all about – two good football teams playing each other. We knew when they came back here that was a tough thing for them to do, for any football team to do. We watched them dismantle two football teams the last two weeks in the playoffs. I don’t think either team is the underdog here, I think it’s two good football teams playing each other."
On the team’s reactions as the weeks go by:
"[The team] stayed the same. I don’t think they get caught up in all the outside things. I think they’re very focused on the team in which they play. I don’t see any difference from this week or the other two weeks. They’re very focused in, they have a lot of respect for the Cardinals and they’ve gone through the process of getting ready for them."
On the idea for the team not to get too overconfident as a result of the win over the Cardinals earlier in the season:
"I think they understand the situation that the Cardinals came back here. It’s a tough, tough situation. I know they realize that putting on the film that what kind of football team they are. Like I said, they just got off these last two weeks and played as good of football as anybody has this year. The film doesn’t lie to you."
On getting caught up in the playoff run:
"When you’re in the grind of this thing, you don’t and shouldn’t get caught up in that as a coach or a player. There’s not time for that. We finished up, I was proud of the guys and the way they played the Giants and then by the time we had the bus ride back here and got off of the bus, it was time to get ready for the Cardinals. We had four hours, or so, of enjoyment and then it’s on to the Cardinals. You are in the grind. We are trying to spend every minute we can watching film and gameplanning and practicing and doing those things."
On getting QB Donovan McNabb in an early rhythm:
"I’d be foolish to say that you don’t do that every week. That’s what I think every team tries to do with their offense and their quarterback; make sure that they get into rhythm. Their defensive coordinator is sitting there and he is trying to figure out how to keep you out of that rhythm. You try to do that week in and week out."
On the team being loose at this point in time:
"I think, up to this point here, the guys have gone out and had fun out there practicing and working hard and focused in. That’s kind of what their makeup is and it’s really been that way throughout the season. We’ll see on Sunday."
On what Arizona did to get WR Larry Fitzgerald so involved last week:
"[Arizona] had the right plays called against the right defense. Fitzgerald when he was covered, a couple times when he was double-covered, he just went up and got the ball. Other times there were great calls against the defenses that the defense played. He works his rates and he’s so sharp in and out of breaks. He can stop, he’s big, he can jump; he has a complete game."
On whether Westbrook re-injured his knee in the Giants game:
"I’m really not sure where that came from. He didn’t re-injure the knee."
On any past experience he can pass on to his team that might help them:
"Preparation is important. Do what got you there, don’t change. Don’t change your personality. Let your personality show, man."
On the success of the Eagles offense without receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin:
"I think we have pretty good receivers. That’s another man’s judgment on the receivers, not mine. I think we’ve got guys that play and play in this offense very well. They execute. They can catch the football and execute."
QB Donovan McNabb Press Conference
1-16-09
On how much he enjoys doing a second press conference this week:
"(Jokingly) I was enjoying my lunch. This is exciting. It’s exciting."
On whether the team is loose this week:
"I think this group has been very loose and that’s the way we’ve approached things for weeks. I’ve been a part of a group that was tight, coming into this situation, and I’ve been a part of a team, obviously, where we didn’t know what tight was. You know what? This team has continued to treat it as if it’s just a normal game and just go out to practice and have a great time. Obviously, reading your keys and doing the right thing, but most importantly, making sure the guy next to you is enjoying it. We haven’t had any problems with guys being hesitant in any way or wondering the ‘what if?’ Guys just understanding that, if we go out and do what we’ve been doing the previous weeks and just try to improve on it, dreams can come true."
On whether he remembers what year it was that the team didn’t know what ‘tight’ was:
"I don’t remember. I don’t remember."
On how hard it is to play when tight:
"It’s tough to play under those conditions because, now, you’re trying to change the feeling that you had throughout the week and the attitude and now go back and try and get into your game mode. If you’re in that game mode and already going throughout the week and you’ve been executing your plays and doing everything, your confidence level, going into the game, is very high."
On how he shuts out the outside expectations for him:
"We have personal expectations of our own. I think those are the things that you work hard to get to and to achieve. Each individual person wants to be the best at what they do, but, most importantly, the thing that they want, when they play in any sport, is to win a championship. Obviously, there are things that you have to do in order to achieve that and this is a step which you have to be able to overcome and be able to put yourself in position to move on. I think, for me, being so close, and the rest of the guys, you still have that taste in your mouth. The only way to fulfill that taste is to win this game and then win the next. It’s a one-game season for us and we know that and have to continue to treat it as such and go out and take full advantage of the opportunity that’s there for us."
On what it will take for head coach Andy Reid to be fully embraced by Philadelphia:
"That’s a question that I need to ask you. If we had the answer, then it wouldn’t be a problem. But, you know what? The thing about it is winning cures everything. When you’re winning, nobody digs deeper into finding much of what’s going on. I can personally tell you that we don’t get affected by what people may say on the outside too much. You use whatever you want as motivation and you move on. You can’t impress everyone. Not everyone is going to like you, but you just go out and you do your job and you enjoy doing it. That’s something that I can definitely say that hasn’t wavered by any means from Andy and it trickles down to the rest of us. You can’t let what people may say on the outside become a distraction of what you do here at your job."
On Reid being famous for not revealing much about himself:
"He hasn’t changed either. That’s another thing, you have to be yourself and he’s continued to be himself. He’s never been a talkative person like that to you guys. Sometime you guys expect it and sometimes it pisses you guys off. Sometimes you have to deal with it. You guys come out of his press conferences not really knowing anything else. Don’t expect him to come up here and start blabbering and telling you everything. That’s not going to happen."
On whether the outcome of the game at Arizona is important for his legacy:
"Legacies are something that you look back on when you’re done. People fight over ‘What was his legacy?’ and ‘What he did great’ and ‘What didn’t he do great?’ When you’re playing, you don’t worry about your legacy, you just go out and enjoy what you’re doing; trying to do the right things. Whatever happens after that is great, I think, for all of us; not even worrying about the legacy. In this position, it’s an opportunity for us and we have to take full advantage of it and put ourselves in another position to achieve a goal."
On whether he feels as though he should have the upper hand in this game, being his 5th NFC Championship:
"There’s a percentage that say the experience factor plays a part, but you still have to get out onto the field and be able to execute. No matter how you look at it, you have a job to do and they have a job to do; whether it’s their first time or not. [Arizona QB] Kurt [Warner] has been to Super Bowls, he’s been to NFC Championships, but a lot of the guys on the team have never been to, really, a playoff, or even further than the second round, maybe. It doesn’t matter, we have to go out and do our job and do it well."
On what it’s like playing against a friend like Arizona DE Bertrand Berry:
"We’re great friends. We have a great time off the field, pushing each other while we’re playing and making sure everyone is healthy and our families are doing well. But, while we’re on the field, he’s trying to get at me and I’m trying to win the game. It’s a battle and it’s kind of like when you’re going against your brother and you want to get the upper hand and trash talk a little bit when it’s all over."
On whether he’s talked to the younger players about seizing the opportunity:
"Not yet, but the thing that excites me for this week is the fact that I haven’t seen anything to have to present that to them yet. These guys have treated it just like we have. I think the most important things for us, as veterans on this team, is to show them first. Show them how to prepare themselves, show them how to attack and approach practice, and show them that it’s not affecting us, by any means, the pressure of playing in a NFC Championship. I think this team has really seen that myself and a couple other guys have just come out loose and just being able to execute and reading our keys and having a great time in the process."
On what the daily routine is like for him when he’s training in Arizona during the offseason:
"Waking up about seven in the morning. Getting an excellent breakfast, because you have to start the day off with a great breakfast. Being at the training facility by eight. Start doing core, running, doing agilities, lifting. Getting a great lunch, because you have to have a great lunch. Resting. Maybe going back to the gym to do some extra work. Eating an excellent dinner and relaxing. Then, starting the whole thing over the next day. It’s important that you put the right things into your body. Vitamin Water is really nice."
On whether Arizona is like home to him:
"It is like home. I spend a lot of months there and train there. Obviously, I have my family there and my kids go to school there. It’s an excellent place, it’s growing and I enjoy being there."
On whether Bertrand Berry has ever sacked him:
"(Knock on wood) No."
On what he would say to Berry if he ever did sack him:
"Hopefully, I won’t have to say anything to him."
On whether it’s ever a burden that he hasn’t won a Super Bowl:
"It’s not a burden. It’s not a burden because I’m still playing. I think, when you’re done and you know that you’ve been close and you don’t have it, that’s when it may weigh on you a little bit. But, at this particular point, we have an opportunity to get close and we’re playing a tough Cardinals team and we have to do our job. When it’s all over, hopefully, we’ll be the one on top moving on."
FS Brian Dawkins Press Conference
1-16-09
On when the team got the "at-ease" feeling:
"I really don’t know the exact point that it happened but it happened and it’s still here. Everybody, I believe, is feeling the same thing. And that is a great feeling to have when your whole team is feeling the same way going into another tough game with this confidence."
On how he and QB Donovan McNabb play different leadership roles on this team:
"It’s all about just being who you are and not trying to step outside of what you do and what you’re comfortable doing. Don, that’s his personality, and he’s always been that way. I have a good time when I joke around the guys, but when it’s game time, it’s completely different; I’m a completely different person. My thoughts and my actions are completely different. We’re both leading and we’re leading in different ways but leading nonetheless."
On what he thinks about his legacy:
"No time for that. It’s about the here and now; legacy is afterwards. You sit down and talk about that with your kids after you are done. Right now, it’s about here and now, and anything outside of that will just distract you from doing what you’re supposed to do and that’s taking care of right now."
On whether he talks to younger players about seizing the opportunity:
"We don’t sit down and have huddles and ‘let’s talk.’ We don’t do that. Because whatever time you feel led to speak to guy about a situation, you talk to them. This situation is no different. For the most part, with your actions you show more than – more than anything you can say, some of your biggest sermons will be your actions and not your words. I try to lead by the things that I do on the field with them."
On how different it is to play when you are tight:
"It’s difficult to play when you are tight because you’re thinking a lot. That means you are not completely and totally comfortable with what you’re either asked to do, or the opponent and what they potentially can do. You’re thinking. You’re worrying. And anytime that you operate in the worrying spirit, you’re not going to be able to go out and go full speed, and so that just rocks on your heels a little bit. So, when you are loose, you know what you are supposed to do. You’re not thinking about where I’m supposed to be, then you can let your athleticism show and you can let your playmaking ability show."
On whether he can recall a time when he was tight:
"Not right off hand I can’t recall that."
On what he thinks it will take for head coach Andy Reid to be completely embraced by the city of Philadelphia:
"You have to understand where we are. Here in Philadelphia they love you to death but they are still going to criticize you. They are still going to get on you. They are still going to ask questions. You have to have thick skin to play here, to coach here. Everybody can’t coach, everybody can’t play here. So obviously Andy is doing something that a lot of coaches could not succeed in by having thick skin, holding fast to what he believes in, and continue to move on. They are still going to question you regardless of success. As soon as you have a string of failure they are still going to question you, so you understand that. You just go out and do what you do and that’s what Andy has done; he has stayed the course in what he believes."
On how Reid is famous for not revealing much information, and who he thinks the real Reid is that the rest of the world doesn’t see:
"It’s hard to tell you that. You have to experience [it]. You know, he’ll crack a joke every once in a while. We talk quite a bit on the phone from time to time. We have our conversations and we talk about different things, sometimes it’s not about football. So, it’s just one of those dynamics that he’s going to tell what he needs to tell to those people who he thinks needs to hear what he has to say, if that makes any sense. You know, when he gets in front of you guys, he’s going to tell you what he thinks you need to hear and that’s usually not a lot."
On whether it is special to have former Eagles RB Duce Staley as an honorary captain this Sunday:
"For the young guys, it’s another old guy coming back. For us who played with him and went through the wars with him, and knowing what Duce was to our offense, which at one point he was our offense, everything went through Duce. I know it means a lot to Duce to be in that position and it’s good to see him back in the house."
On whether it is harder to defend Arizona with RB Edgerrin James running more:
"We’re asked the same questions here, it’s no different. When we have a balanced attack here what do we say? It’s a lot more difficult to defend. It’s the same thing there. They have a more balanced attack that makes it that much more [difficult] to defend the passing attack. Our job is plain and simple; we have to not allow that run to get going, not allow a lot of big plays to happen, get turnovers, and keep the points down."
On whether having experience is overestimated or whether it is important:
"It can go both ways. You have seen teams that have no experience that went out and beat a team with experience, so it all comes down to execution in the end. Whatever team that goes out and executes the gameplan, doesn’t have turnovers, creates turnovers, doesn’t allow big plays; they are going to win the football game so it matters not. The only thing that experience can do sometimes is if you have played a lot of games in the past that have been down to the wire or very gritty games, sometimes that team will have a better understanding of how to pull out those close games. I think that there is something to that."
On whether he thinks the Eagles’ wide receivers are underrated:
"Yes. They are."
On what he thinks makes them underrated:
"First of all, the guy who is throwing them the ball, you know I’m kind of partial to ‘Five’ and knowing when he’s healthy and his mind, I believe, can be completely focused on this game, which I don’t believe it was before the babies were born, he’s one of the best quarterbacks in this game. And then each one, being the receivers I’m talking about now, brings different things to the table, and for Donovan to be able to spread the ball to each one to their strengths, it makes this offense a very tough one to defend, I believe anyway."
On whether this group needs the Super Bowl to validate the last eight years:
"I’m focusing on this year. To me that validation falls into that legacy question. We speak about those things after this is over with. When this over with we can have this same press conference and we’ll talk about some different things, but right now those things in the past are just that, past. This is the present and we have to concentrate on it."
RB Brian Westbrook Press Conference
1-16-09
On what it has been like to play through injuries this year:
"It has been tough. It’s been an up-and-down type of deal. Sometimes you feel good and, sometimes, you feel not so well, but I continue to fight in the training room. The trainers have definitely helped me out and worked with me. [Head] Coach [Andy] Reid has worked with me throughout my rehab process of trying to get back out to practices, and things like that. I continue to get better."
On how he feels right now:
"I feel great."
On whether today was the most he’s practiced all week:
"Yes."
On how the knee feels after practice:
"It feels good."
On whether it feels better than last week:
"Yes, I would say better."
On what has changed that his knee feels better:
"It just feels good. I don’t know what it is."
On whether it’s something about playing the Cardinals that makes his knee feel better:
"I don’t know if it’s the Cardinals, I just feel good right now."
On whether he’s had left-knee pain since high school:
"I tore my ACL in high school, so I’ve had it for a while."
On whether he worries about how long he can continue to play football:
"I don’t worry about it at all. I go out, I play the game that I love, rehab it like I’m supposed to, get with the trainers and talk to them and do everything that they ask me to do and I go from there."
On whether the reports that he tweaked his knee at New York are true:
"Yes."
On how badly he tweaked his knee:
"Not badly at all."
On whether he gets tired of answering the same questions every week:
"It gets a little repetitive. I appreciate you bringing that up. It definitely gets a little repetitive, but my knee’s fine. I think, it hasn’t been said, but a lot of times, throughout games when you have injuries, you’re going to tweak your injury no matter what injury it is. This wasn’t the only game that I tweaked my knee, but it happens throughout football games."
On what it will take for head coach Andy Reid to be completely embraced by the city of Philadelphia:
"I think everybody knows that Coach is a good coach. He’s done a great job here and in his ten years I want to say he’s one of the top two or three winningest coaches in that tenure. He’s done a great job for this team, and I also feel that he’s been great to the players here as well. Different people are always going to have something negative to say, but I think his players respect him and the people that know football respect him around the NFL and as a coach. I think that’s all you really can ask for. I think the fans are going to go up and down sometimes with the wins and losses. But, the true mark is how do you follow up those losses, and he’s done a great job of bringing this team back this year and now we’re playing for the NFC Championship and a lot has to do because of him."
On whether playing in the NFC Championship five times in eight years takes away some of the butterflies:
"Well, when you have experience going into these types of games it definitely helps out. We’ve had a lot of guys that have been to the NFC Championship game, so that experience hopefully will help out and allow us to have some sort of edge against the Cardinals. But, it’s another football game for us, and we’re excited to be in it."
On whether he thinks they need to win a Super Bowl in order for his legacy to be sealed:
"I don’t think that you need to win a Super Bowl for your legacy to be remembered in that way. I think it definitely will go a long way for your legacy. We’re still a very good team to be in the NFC Championship game that many times, to win the NFC that many times. We are still going to be remembered as a very good team. I think when you win that Super Bowl you take that recognition to a whole different level."
On how some players go their whole career without a playoff appearance, and will his career feel incomplete without a Super Bowl win:
"It wouldn’t feel incomplete. You always want to win a Super Bowl. We haven’t even gotten to the position yet this season that we can play for the Super Bowl. I think, really, before I can answer any of those types of questions, we have to try to win this game this week, and it’s going to be a tough one."
On when he thinks this team loosened up:
"Coach tries to keep us loose where we play a lot better, and I think a lot of people have said that we play a lot better when we are playing loose, and that starts from the head coach down. And so we try to keep things loose around here. We try to let our personality show and do everything we can to go out there on the field and play loose."
On whether this team has a sense of urgency for this game:
"I think going into the game, really all season, we’ve never believed that we were playing with house money. We always felt that we should have been in this position all along. Now of course we hit some bumps in the road and we tied and lost some games that we felt we should have won, but that term ‘playing with house money’ is not really for us. We don’t think that, of course being a six seed and barely getting into the playoffs it’s tough to say that, but our mental state is not that we are playing with house money but that we deserve to be in this position. And we’ve worked hard to be here and we have the players to back that up. And so we would definitely be disappointed to lose, and we would definitely be disappointed to not go out there and play this game like we know we can."
On the fact that the final game of the regular season helped loosen this team up:
"I don’t know if it’s so much the way we got into the playoffs. I think now that we’re in the playoffs, whether you’re the sixth seed or the number one seed which we’ve been both, you have to go out there and put your best foot forward and we are better when we play loose. It’s just a matter of us trying to be ourselves."
On certain players who help keep the team loose:
"We have all types of characters on this team. You know, [QB] Donovan [McNabb], all types of guys. It would be hard to just name a few but we have a lot of guys who keep things light. A lot of these guys on this team don’t take themselves that serious so it helps out a little bit."
On whether games against Chicago and Cincinnati helped teach the team lessons on how to approach a game:
"I don’t know so much if we look at are we favored in the game or are we underdogs. I think for us we look at every team and we see the things that they’re doing and we look at a team like Arizona and we know that they have a very good defense. Athletics/players across the board and we’ve seen what their offense has been able to do in the playoffs as well. We have to be prepared to go against those types of players, that type of team, and we know they’re a very good team. We have to basically go into that game knowing that we have to bring our ‘A’ game to try to get a win."
On whether the running game has to be more effective this week:
"It hasn’t been effective in the playoffs and we have found a way to score points. Hopefully, for me and the offensive line and our offense, it will be more effective. I go into the game every week wanting it be the most effective part of our play. We’ve found a way to win without it these last couple weeks. My goal is the same thing as it was the previous week, to go out there and have a dominant performance and help this team win."
GO EAGLES!
SHOW NO EMOTION