It seems that I was trying to do the extra and compensate for
the injury, but I just wanted to keep fighting and let my team know that if I’m
out here on this field, we’re going to win this game.”
On whether the injury is going to linger:
“I’ve heard that before. But, if that’s the case, then I’ll just continue to
work at trying to find ways around it. This is a type of game that when you talk
about the Philadelphia Eagles and the struggle of getting to our goal, which is
the Super Bowl, this would be a great story.”
On whether his injury is an abdominal strain:
“I’ve heard that. I’ve heard a lot of things. You want to make sure you get
the right answer. Not to knock any of our guys, they do a wonderful job. But,
this is my job and this is what I love to do. So if I can find a way to get
healthy and be out there at a hundred percent, that’s my goal.”
On whether he will seek more testing:
“I’ve been talking to our staff about that. I would like to be able to get
more answers.”
On whether he has other doctors:
“[Jokingly] Yeah, I’ve got about 9 or 10 doctors on the side; my staff.”
On whether the coaches decided to call more underneath routes to WR
Terrell Owens because of McNabb’s injury:
“No, not necessarily. It was kind of just going back to being patient. With
an injury that deals with your lower body, you have to use your legs. I tried to
use all upper body, reading it and trying to cut it in the hole where he can
catch it on the run. But, that didn’t work. It sailed high on me. Then I went
back to trying to use my legs, trying not to overpower the throw.”
On whether he had heard that Head Coach Andy Reid considered substituting
in QB Koy Detmer:
“No, I never heard of anything like that.”
On whether he saw Koy Detmer warming up:
“No.”
On how he will weigh the decision to play or not in upcoming games:
“It’s hard to weigh it. If it’s a possibility with being out there that I
can’t get any worse, then I’ll be out there on the field. If it’s out there that
I can damage it worse, you would have to think about your decision. But, I just
love the game. I love being out there with those guys. We’ve battled through
thick and thin. You just want to make sure you lead the team to where you want
to go.”
On whether he felt more comfortable in the second half:
“I kind of just re-evaluated everything. In the first half, I felt like I was
rushing things, trying to get the ball out quicker and using all upper body. At
times, I wasn’t using my legs at all. Some balls would sail inside, some balls
would die out on me. In the second half, I just re-evaluated everything and
realized I had to use my legs. I tried to use my legs as much as possible in the
second half.”
On whether he started stepping into his throws in the second half:
“I was trying to do it in the first half, but I did it a lot more in the
second.”
On RB Brian Westbrook:
“I’ve always said that Westbrook was the ultimate weapon. I think that he
showed that today. When you talk about our four-headed monster with (TE) L.J. Smith being effective; he got down on himself a little bit, but we continued to
get in his ear. Then with Westbrook and T.O. If we’re clicking on all cylinders,
we feel that there’s no one who can stop us.”
On how the team approached a final drive with an injured K David Akers:
“Get the ball in the endzone.”
On David Akers:
“I feel that David is the best kicker in the NFL. I think what he did today is
he solidified. The fact of being on one leg, that the team has full confidence
in him that he can make the big kick from anywhere. I tried to continue to talk
to him on the sidelines because it’s frustrating. Both of us were injured last
week and fighting through some pains. We were in the training room. For it to
happen on the first kickoff for David, as I was battling through mine, I just
wanted to be the first guy to tell him that all the guys are depending on us to
be effective in everything we do. Continue to hold your head high and realize
that what you’re doing here, everyone is watching. I think he just continued to
fight through the injury. What a better way to end the game than for Dave to go
out there and kick the game-winning field goal?”
On whether he had any injections during halftime:
“No, I don’t personally believe in shots. Not that I like needles anyway, but
if I have to chew on nails, or whatever. I think my teeth are strong enough
where I can chew through some nails.”
On whether he could sit out of practice all week and only play in games
the way Titans QB Steve McNair has done in the past:
“Well, I hope not. Steve is a good friend of mine. We kind of talked through
that whole sequence that he was going through. If that has to be the case, then
I’d just have to make sure that I’m ready on Sundays. But, I’m preparing this
thing like I’ll be out there at practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and
be ready to go on Sunday. I’m really not in a situation where I have that in my
mind that I’ll be missing the whole week and then get ready for gameday.”
On whether the Oakland Raiders played him differently because of his
injury:
“I had an idea that they would go with the “mush rush” technique and kind of
just stay in their gaps and try to eliminate me from running. I think when they
realized that I couldn’t get out of the pocket like I used to, then they started
going 3-man rush. They started going 4 and 5-man rush. Guys were just sitting in
the zone or playing man. In the first half, you would’ve thought that was the
greatest plan ever. There were opportunities to make plays in the first half, a
lot of opportunities. It’s just when the ball is in my hands, I have to be able
to click on all cylinders with all the rest of the guys to have our chemistry
down. I just couldn’t get it to go where I wanted it to go. In the second half,
we were getting to go out and be effective by moving the ball, sustaining drives
and getting the big play when we needed it.”
On throwing better during practice than in today’s game:
“I guess practice is a lot different from game tempo. In practice you’re reading
your keys, you’re dropping back and just delivering the ball. Plus, I think
you’re a little bit warmer going out to practice. Whatever I have to do to get
to that mode like practice was and get out there and at least be in the
percentage where I can go out and be effective.”