DIDN'T KNOW DOC WAS ALSO A MECHANIC
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.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
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