Donovan wants to take charge

It wasn't Todd Pinkston.

Or Billy McMullen.

Or Greg Lewis.

Or even Freddie Mitchell.

Maybe Eagles coach Andy Reid put the media in a Terrell Owens frame of mind Tuesday evening, when Reid opened training camp by cautioning that regardless of how good the Eagles look on paper, "how we play together, how we check our egos at the door, and so on, all those things are important in making a good, solid football team. "

McNabb, in his first media session of his sixth professional camp, said he didn't think egos would be a problem. And he implied that if they were, he would have to step forward and take care of it.

"As a leader of the team, it's pressure on me, obviously, to be the guy to kind of . . . say things to people they may not like. But just being a part of the guys in all minicamps, and communicating with them all throughout the offseason, I don't think we'll have that problem," McNabb said. "It's good to have an ego and be confident in yourself. It's bad to have an ego in which you're trying to express it to all the guys around you. I don't think we have guys who want to stand up among all the guys and talk about how good they are and what they can do. We have guys who like to display that on the field, and show their teammates that if things aren't going the way we want them to, I'll be the guy to step up and make that big play. "

Owens, whose ego was perceived as a problem during his 8-year tenure with the San Francisco 49ers, isn't even here yet - T.O. and most of the veterans arrive tomorrow night. McNabb is here with the other quarterbacks, the rookies and some younger veterans who were injured last season, in sort of a noncontact lead-in to the real thing.

Before they convened in training camp, McNabb wanted to get together with Owens, to hone timing and just to learn more about the most significant weapon the Eagles have ever provided their QB. They convened last week in McNabb's offseason home state of Arizona, along with Pinkston and running back Brian Westbrook.

"The chemistry is flowing now," McNabb said, after cracking a joke about bonding over "drinks with umbrellas. "

"That was sort of my mind-set. You go through minicamps, you're throwing and catching, and things look great . . . It's a different kind of feeling when you're sitting around away from everyone," McNabb said. "You've got to get the chance to know him as a person, get to know him as an athlete, as a dreamer, so to speak. We all have dreams and aspirations of being Super Bowl champions. We all have dreams of being the best at what we do. "

McNabb said part of getting to know one another is getting a feel for how they will communicate when plays break down.

"He has a knack of finding a hole," McNabb said. "I mean, he's able to peel away from a defender. A defender might look back to see what I'm doing. [Owens] might run a 15-yard route, but he'll come back and get only a 6- or 7-yard reception. Not a lot of receivers have those instincts, as far as coming back to the ball and the quarterback not looking at them. Some guys may turn around and go deep. Some guys may try and run across the field. In some cases he'll come back to the ball, or in some cases he'll find the hole. "

When Owens and the other vets get here, they undoubtedly will face yet another round of questions about pressure, expectations and the atmosphere around a team that has been installed by oddsmakers as a Super Bowl favorite but has lost an astounding three successive NFC Championship Games.

"I don't feel any added pressure that I didn't already [feel]," McNabb said. "I don't think any of the other guys do [either] . . . I think we're kind of allergic, so to speak, to all the expectations and everything that has been said across the country as far as people saying we should win the Super Bowl and that we have the team and that there are no excuses. We have to realize that we are all 0-0. Everyone has made changes in the offseason to better their team. Everyone has an opportunity to make it to that point. "

Asked about people who say the Eagles' season starts with the Jan. 23 2005, NFC Championship Game, McNabb said: "Don't talk to us until Jan. 24th, then. Cut off your DirecTV packages and don't watch us on Sunday night or Monday night, wait and read about us in the newspaper the next day. If that's the way they feel about us, that's nothing we're going to get upset about. We're going to go out and give all we have on the field. It's great to know people feel we'll be back in the NFC Championship Game."