All's Cool with DJax; Browns Talk to Heckert
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All's Cool with DJax; Browns Talk to Heckert
Daily News staff
UPDATED: DeSean Jackson said Tuesday he has discussed with Donovan McNabb what McNabb said after Snday's game, when McNabb was asked whether the Eagles showed their youth.
"Not necessarily," Jackson said, when asked if he'd been upset by McNabb's comments. "He made a comment, whatever his comment was about, I didn't hear the question that he was asked. But we talked, and you know, it's nothing big. We just have to keep it in-house and stick together as a team and don't let things like that break us up. We talked about it, cleared it up, and it's all right."
In other breaking Eagles news, a league source confirmed that Eagles general manager Tom Heckert is to travel to Cleveland tonight to interview for a similar position. The Browns just hired Mike Holmgren, Andy Reid's mentor, to run their operation. Hard to say how much personnel autonomy Heckert would have there; Reid said recently he thought the time had come for Heckert to get the chance to run his own shop, which he said was why the Birds have seemed less ardent about keeping Heckert than they were several years back when job openings would come up.
A source with knowledge of the situation said Heckert would only take the job if he had final say over personnel.
Earlier, McNabb attempted to clarify what he'd meant Sunday.
"It all starts with me. I have to raise my level of play, and everyone else has to, as well ... What I meant is, we have a young team, and a lot of things we were doing just were very uncharacteristic of what we did all throughout the year. I wasn’t blaming it on anyone, by any means. I said it was my fault on the snap, and I said that I need to elevate my game. I think at times, too many people focus on just little things, and not focus on what the whole question and the whole answer is. I’ve never attempted or even tried or will ever throw anyone under the bus. That’s just not me. I don’t do that. For these young guys, these young guys are part of the reason why we’re in the position we are. They’ve made a lot of plays for us, all throughout the year, and they will continue to make plays for us.
Later, he said, "I have never thrown anyone under the bus and never will ... That's not me."
McNabb said he has no issues with Jackson.
He said players need to make plays rather than worrying over whether someone is going to, and that they need to recapture the excitement and eagerness to make plays they exhibited during their six-game win streak.
As for his future, McNabb said he feels he "will be here for a lot of years," no matter what happens in the playoffs.
"Do I have to answer this every year?"
Jackson, by the way, said he practiced with no ill effects from the groin tweak he suffered in Sunday's game. He also was asked about his tweet promising the Eagles would "sting they (butt)" this time around. Jackson said he doubted Dallas really needed motivation.
EARLIER:
Anything Donovan McNabb says becomes fodder, whether correctly interpreted or not.
One of the young players seemingly in question is DeSean Jackson.
The wide receiver was asked last night on his radio show on 97.5 FM The Fanatic about McNabb’s comments and whether his message in the locker room is different than what it appeared he was trying to say during the news conference.
“He basically is saying just step it up,” Jackson said. “Everyone has to play their abilities. He takes responsibility for himself also. He kinda gives and takes. At the end of the day we have to be on our A game. For us to win and be where we need to be, everyone needs to play good. All that pointing fingers and saying it’s my fault. It’s not time for that right now. We have to play A ball.”
Co-host Harry Mayes followed the clip of McNabb’s news conference with this: “How about him making a play? He’s an 11-year veteran. He’s been to multiple Pro Bowls. Take some responsibility, put it on yourself and make a play.”
Jackson’s response: “Yes, sir … Understood … Definitely … Without a doubt.”
Jackson said the players remain insulated from the talk surrounding the team, but added, “ If you played that [sound bite] through the locker room, that’s not something nobody wants to hear.”
Asked if there would a be conversation between he and McNabb, Jackson said. “Ain’t no telling. We talk and have conversations and things. You never know.”
The other McNabb issue du jour concerns the numerous camera shots Sunday that showed McNabb grimacing and frustrated with what was happening for the Eagles’ offense.
“Him being the leader and the bulk of the offense you depend on him to do everything,” Jackson said. “It doesn’t look good. It’s hard to see our quarterback being mad, sometimes it’s understandable. You have to shake it off and become a part of everything that’s going on. The best thing I can say is try not to show those emotions or feelings on the field.”
Jackson said after miscommunications and other mishaps, all you can do when you get back to the huddle is “move on, man, move on.”
Jackson has struggled in the two games against the Cowboys, with a combined five catches for 76 yards.
“I’m going to do any and everything I can,” he said. “I can’t control other things out there. As long as I go out there and leave everything I got on the field and run my routes as fast as I can to get open. At the end of the day, that’s all I can do.”
Jackson tweaked his hamstring Sunday, but indicated he was not concerned.
“It was a freak accident,” he said. “It’s not too bad. With the treatment and things we can do to get it better, I’ll be ready.”
As for the game overall Sunday, Jackson said, “It was an embarrassing situation to be in a game like that and not be able to score no points at all. We’ve got another chance. Can’t worry about yesterday. It was what it as and it was not good. We have to move on.”
You can listen to the audio from Jackson's radio show below.
barefoot....are you 12 or just plain stupid....or both? That shot was taken with 1 minute to go, you moron. The game was over. Get a damn clue.— philly449
dmac35, you are correct and where is the controversy over Pman throwing his coach under the bus Sunday. This is the same Pman that threw his O line under the bus after a playoff loss. I guess St.Peyton can do no wrong. BTW, why no contraversy over Brett Farce throwing a TD pass on 4th down when his team was already up 34-0? Can't you hear it if DM had done that. Apparently if you are Farce you can pile on and go for stats and that's OK too. No double standard there. Yeah, right.— tpizza
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- tpizza...sorry the optimism did not work last week....but we're winning this game Saturday....there's still much to be optimistic about....that was not Bird football...not even close. Dallas will be in for a major fight this Sat.....Romo still has ZERO playoff victories....the pressure is on big-time for Romo....and he's due for a typical "Romo" performance. I'm not buying into this notion that he's turned the corner until he can actually win in the tournament...GO EAGLES!!!— philly449
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- Ahh, Philly talk radio up to its usual stuff stirring up negativity and so many people are buying into it.— jdr527
- So much of this is a TV creation with the tight shots & reaction shots & slo-mo. DeSean never saw Donovan's facial expression and vice-versa. And the fact is - IT DIDN'T MATTER. What did matter was the X's & O's and whether or not they were properly executed or the players were creative & innovative in responding to circumstances. Instead, like baseball, we never get a view of the field - just closeups of faces. It ain't a movie. I'd rather see the defensive scheme immediately after the play with coverage indicated or a shot of the blocking assignments & routes run, etc. instead of the soap opera drama about whose facial expression means what - but I guess that would require knowledge of the game & the ability to communicate beyond platitudes & cliches - not TV's strength. That's why going to the game is better.— Ed3
- all in all,I didn't think the Eagles played that bad of a game.Dallas played a better game due to the defenses threw at themin the first half.the Eagles blitz in the first half,it might have been a different outcome.Coulda,shoulda,woulda.......— kenr
- McNabb is as consistent as any other QB in the league, but other QB's had receivers to make up for there bad days. Kurt Warner threw almost as many int's as TD's with the greatest show on turf. Eli doesn't have a ring because he stepped up. He has a ring because Kevin Boss, Plaxico Burress and David Tyree stepped up. Kurt Warner has a ring because the defense stepped up on that last drive. And Tom Brady hasn't won a SB since "Spygate".— hodges8476
- drnnat....dude, enough about Dawk....he blew the NFC title game with his wiff....remember????!!! This is about coaching and execution....spare us with the leadership BS when it comes to McNabb....all of these players (Dmac included, obviously) need to make plays based on good playcalling from the coaches....that's how you win.— philly449
- I'll compare McNabb's waving and shaking his is arms to Hamel's waving and shaking his arms. They are both wrong. Your teammates are trying, sometimes things don't work out like you want them to. How many more days until spring training?— phillyart
- If I was a Quarterback of the caliber McNabb claims to be and get shut down, I would be feeling miserable and would be blaming myself considering myself incompetent. Oh Well, I'm not a QB of that caliber, but yet again I am a hard core fan and feel ashamed to be beaten that bad by the Cowgirls. As other bloggers have posted, D-Mac is not a big game QB. He constantly chokes and pukes whenever he needs to bring his A game. He missed a ton of passes he should have made, so the fault is not entirely on the rest of the offense. He should be held accountable as well for this loss and he should be the first one to admit it. There is no brilliance on his ability to raise above level when things don't go as expected. That's what make the Bradys, Montanas, and Aikmans true WINNERS.— CapitanesFua
- In all of this McNabb hating, I haven't heard anybody talking about Sean McDermott's gutless defensive scheme that let the cowboys hold the ball for 41 minutes. How can McNabb get in a rythem when he gets the ball 2 times a quarter?— hodges8476
