Donovan and DeSean "cleared it up"
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Donovan and DeSean "cleared it up"
Jeff McLane
Donovan McNabb and DeSean Jackson apparently cleared the air over McNabb's "youth" comment and Jackson's response to that comment on his radio show Monday night.
"Whatever his comment was about, I didn't hear the question he was asked," Jackson said today. "We talked and, you know, it's nothing big. We just got to keep it in-house and stick together as a team. Don't let things like that break us up. We talked about it, cleared it up and it's alright."
FROM EARLIER
There's been a lot of talk about Donovan McNabb's post-game comments in which he supposedly blamed an entire generation for the Eagles' loss to Dallas. Let's label it Gen X (McNabb) vs. Gen Y (Jackson, Maclin, et al).
"We showed our youth," McNabb said when he was asked about, well, the Eagles' relative youth.
Some have pointed to the Eagles quarterback's comments as another example of his unwillingness to lead, or perhaps his inability to lead. I'm not so sure about that. Perhaps. If McNabb rebounds on Saturday and leads the Eagles to a victory I'm fairly sure that kind of criticism will be silenced -- at least for one more week.
McNabb clarified his comments today.
"It all starts with me," McNabb said. "I have to raise my level of play and everyone has to, as well. In playoff play there is no looking back and saying, 'I could have, should have, would have,' and you have to come in with that attitude and be able to make plays when the plays are there to be made."
McNabb, by the way, is 6-0 in the first round of the playoffs. His counterpart, Tony Romo, is 0-2. Of course, that is past history. What people care about is the now and what radio show talk hosts care about is drumming up controversy. McNabb was asked if he was blaming the kiddies.
"No, not at all," he said. "What I meant is we have a young team and a lot of things that we were doing just looked very uncharacteristic of what we did all throughout the year. I wasn't blaming it on anyone, by any means. I said that it was my fault on the [fumbled] snap, and I said that I need to elevate my game. I think at times too many people focus on just little things and they aren't focusing on the whole question or the whole answer."
DeSean Jackson was asked about McNabb's comments on his radio show Monday night and the wide receiver said that if the sound bite was played in the locker room it's "not something nobody wants to hear." Jackson said that he would talk with McNabb about the statement and about the quarterback's visible frustration during the game. McNabb said today that the two had yet to talk.
"We've communicated as a team after the game, and we're communicating all throughout this week," McNabb said. "I think the most important thing for everyone is to not put that pressure on your shoulders now because of what happened, recognize what happened in the game, and be able to know what you're seeing and let's just go out and have fun."
Brian Westbrook said that he did not interpret McNabb's comments as negative. The running back apparently stood up and addressed the team following the loss.
"I'm one of the older guys on the team and it needed to be said that we didn't play our football game this past week," Westbrook said. "We didn't do what we set out to do."
Comment removed.
whats up with maclin pullin a ricky watters on the last play come on show some heart!— first down- Maybe what Don was trying to say was the "we showed our youth in how many passes I missed. These are guys are just too fast. I throw behind them all of the time. Then some other times I misjudge their speed and throw it too far. If they were older guys, I'd be a whole heck of a lot more accurate. Look how many passes my TE has this year, he runs at the perfect speed". Maybe? No? Ok, I tried...— sima_down_nah
- Did you just say THE LAST PLAY? I'm fine with it... Playoffs are the following week, c'mon man!— sima_down_nah
- This column, and Les' column (and anyone who listened to McNabb's original post-game comments) should be enough to get silence, and even get apologies, from everyone jumping all over McNabb's comments. Give him credit for clarifying, which shouldn't even have been necessary, but for the kneejerk, slanted, lazy, dishonest sh_t that serves for journalism around here - print and electronic. Now, let's focus on football. And yes, "5" and everybody (even the praised Celek, who dropped a gimme on 3rd and 2 before the ill-advised 53-yard attempt)need to play a whole lot better. We are underdogs, though, and given Dallas' advantage on both lines, overall D and running game, it will be a tall order to upset them.— MG44
- another talk radio-driven controversy. on talk radio the QB and Coach have to either be idiots/geniuses or heroes/goats every week or there would be nothing to discuss, since apparently talking X's and O's doesn't get good ratings.— J E
- I'm surprised that McNabb shifted the blame. McNabb was a key part of the problem - just like virtually everybody on the team and coaching staff.— 4thand10
- McNabb has already been through enough drama from the fans and media to fill 20 years of active duty. Why are people trying to create a wedge between our 2 best offensive players? People, get a clue!!!— jdr527
- Mike Vick thinks dogs are cool now .— Anthony77
- Humanist you are a genius. With a possible first round bye and the NFC East on the line, you seriously think 'people' would have wanted to see Kevin Kolb start? After winning SIX STRAIGHT?! Yeah, these 'people' you speak of are his friends and family and a couple of idiots from Northeast Philly who hate McNabb. Anyone remember when the Giants won the Super Bowl a few years ago and who beat them twice in the regular season to go and blow it in the first round against the Ginas?! Anyone? Anyone? And how the Giants were NOT necessarily on top of their game offensively and had a couple of young defensive players step up? Well, the Eagles are on top of their offensive playing or at least were for 6 straight weeks and can easily get that back. And their defense needs some of these younger players to get that sh*t out of their system and play some football, if McDermott allows them. I've said it once yesterday and I'll say it again: the three bad losses this season came with ZERO blitzing in the first halves. They get to that punk early this Saturday night and we are seeing a much different ball game. GO BIRDS!!!!— dr.elektrika
- kl866, 24-14 doesnt win the game— johnnews
- JLJ: Don't make moronic comparison. Aikman won while Smith was the RB; as soon as Smith was done as most RB's done after few year due to physical contact, Aikman was done too. Aikman did not seat on the bench until the age of 27. Kolb is 3rd string QB, get used to that fact. Kolb could not beat out AJ for 3 years.— Seed
- I bet if Don asked to be traded the FO would make sure it happened. If I were him I would want out. Not because the team is bad or anything, just because of how he is treated by the "fans" and the media. It' be good to see him play somewhere were he would finally have some piece of mind. I say ship Don to the Raiders. The fans there show up for every game and they've stunk for years....I'm not a big fan of Don but he deserves better treatment. He's done a lot for our team.— sima_down_nah
- Lets hope Westbrook steps up the leadership in the playoffs. The Eagles could use some success on the ground and some confidence in the huddle.— SB_Express
- To all the mentally challenged idiots that kill #5. Clueless! If Kolb was better than McNabb he would be starting. This organization, like you pathetic fans, would have cast him away a long time ago. Just ask Brian Dawkins. The problem is that the defense has no heart.— antoine
