McNabb's Remark

[PhillyPhreak54]

"I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to win ballgames"

What are your thoughts on this?

I loved it when I heard him say that. Everyone who has ripped Donovan has said that they just want to see him get on the field and win games and to shut up, right? Well he basically announced that is what he plans on doing. And he continued to say that he is still the same guy but that its time to get to work and put the other stuff in the past.

Well, I'm driving into work today, right? And I've got Macnow and Didinger on the radio. Three o'clock comes up and Rob "I hate everything Philadelphia" Charry and Johnny Marz are the next ones on.

Charry says "Oh, my. Donovan just said this" and then gives the quote and immediately starts bashing him for saying that. And then Ray and Glen are like "wow, thats not smart".

What the farg? I mean, isn't that what EVERYONE in the Philly media has said about him? That they want him to just win games and zip it? Well today he says essentially what the idiots have been calling for him to do and they rip him?

Donovan said that no one will ever like everyone they work with, which is true. And then said that he is still the same guy but just wants to move on and win. Yet he still gets blasted. Unreal.

[The BIGSTUD]

I heard Charry say the same thing. I almost didn't catch it because on weekends I only listen to WIP to hear Didinger, but Charry came right on and said it immediately.

These are the comments that followed his comment:

"The only way we'll be able to win ballgames is by playing together and playing well. My whole mindset coming back is to work out, train, get stronger, get faster, push each other, motivate each other and have fun."

I think it's a good thing as well. It's not a shot at his teammates. It shows he's focused and ready to go. WIP is a joke that overhypes to get ratings. They start unnecessay hate bandwagons.

[ice grillin you]

mini camp talk = less than nothing

lets see his mind state when he gets on the field and faces tough times and situations

[PhillyPhreak54]

From CBSSportsline.com;

PHILADELPHIA -- There's a message that Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb is broadcasting this year, and for those who didn't hear the quarterback when he repeated it Saturday at the opening of the team's minicamp, don't sweat it.

Just open your eyes. It was written across the T-shirt McNabb wore to his post-practice news conference.

"If you can't trust FAMILY," it read, "then who can you TRUST?"

Good question.

The Eagles trust Donovan McNabb. Or at least they say they do, and that's critical if they're to flex their muscles again in the NFC East.

A year ago, the club was sabotaged by a civil war between McNabb and wide receiver Terrell Owens -- with Owens lobbing grenades that McNabb failed to return as the club disintegrated and sank to its worst finish in six years.

Now, Owens is gone, and McNabb is back to answer questions about how or if he can lead a club he allegedly failed a year ago.

The perception is that, somehow, because McNabb didn't get down and dirty with Owens that he wasn't the team leader he was supposed to be. Or maybe it was because some of his teammates voiced support of Owens that there was supposed to be a rift.

Whatever it was, McNabb is on the hot seat now. But, please, someone, tell me where he failed. As McNabb said shortly after his first practice, go into the locker room, quiz his teammates and tell him who's not behind the guy.

OK, I did. And I'm still looking.

"Obviously, we all know what type of player Donovan is," said linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. "He had some injuries last year, but everybody struggled. Nobody had a good season. If he's just the Donovan McNabb he is, that will be enough."

At his first practice, McNabb looked like the Donovan McNabb he's supposed to be -- or was -- prior to bowing out with an abdominal injury that sidelined him after nine starts and required surgery.

On one play, he dropped back to throw, then rolled right when he found no one open. Drifting toward the sideline, he spotted Brian Westbrook crossing from left to right 25 yards downfield and threw a perfect spiral that the star running back cradled on his fingertips.

"I'm excited about getting back on the field and taking another step toward our goal," said McNabb. "Obviously, there's a change."

No kidding. Number 81 is back, but this time it's worn by rookie Jason Avant, not Owens. But all the baggage that accompanied Owens and that buried the club -- and McNabb along with it -- seems to be gone.

Which is why McNabb, as the survivor, is under the magnifying glass.

Inquiring minds want to know what he has to prove and when he intends to prove it. Pardon me, but didn't the guy make it to three successive conference championship games without T.O.? Oh, and one more thing: Didn't he make it to the Super Bowl without Owens in the lineup for NFC playoff games?

"I don't plan on being any different," he said. "I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to win ballgames. And the only way to win ballgames is to play together and play well."

Well, they did neither a year ago, which is where McNabb comes in. If he is healthy and back as the Eagles' leader, the question is this: Can he restore order to a club that once owned its division? He thinks he can -- saying, "I don't think it will be hard at all" -- but let's put that one on hold.

So far the signs are encouraging, and one of them is what happened to McNabb in the offseason. He spent more time than normal in Philadelphia working out at the club's NovaCare Complex ... and not because he had to but because he believed he needed to.

"I wanted to send a message to the guys that, with everything that happened, I'm still focused and looking forward to getting back on the field," said McNabb. "I wanted them to have that same attitude as well."

Trotter got the point. So did others. As safety Brian Dawkins said, "If there was mending to be done, it's been done. We're moving on." And they believe they will do that moving with McNabb at the head of the class. "Donovan's been working hard this offseason getting healthy and training here every day," said Trotter. "And that's what leaders do."

OK, I believe. But if others don't, McNabb isn't all that interested in arguing his case. It's his team and his teammates who deserve his attention, and they have it. Again. Anyone else ... well, they don't really matter, and that includes people who cringed when McNabb earlier this year referred to Owens' criticism of him as "black-on-black crime."

"What I said is what I said. It's over now," said McNabb. "If (people) don't understand what I said, then that's tough. Move on."

McNabb seems to have done that -- losing weight, cutting his hair and, yes, making peace with his teammates. As I said, that's important to the future of this team because the Philadelphia Eagles go only as far as Donovan McNabb. If he can't or won't lead them they're in trouble.

"There was never a point where I felt I was losing the team," McNabb said of last year, "but as a quarterback, you get all the credit; you get all the criticism. It's funny, but when you have a losing season everything gets magnified.

"I'm not going to change who I am. I'm always going to smile and crack jokes, and if people don't think it's funny, I'm still going to laugh. I'm going to entertain myself, I guess. I can't worry about what everyone else is doing. ... If you can't trust family, who can you trust?"

I got the message. More important, the Philadelphia Eagles do, too

[PhillyFan]

mini camp talk = less than nothing

lets see his mind state when he gets on the field and faces tough times and situations

Agreed.

[PhillyGirl]

Yet you continue to poison your brain by listening to it.

[Rome]

I winced when I heard McNabb say it because I knew it would lead every news story about the Eagles for a week.

[Diomedes]

McNabb the tough guy.

[Beermonkey]

Anyone who tries & spin that comment around is a whiny, little bitch who is just looking for an angle to bust McNabb's stones. The Eagles' goals aren't to sit around a campfire, make schmores, tell ghost stories and hopefully win a game or two. Their ultimate goal is to win it all, regardless of whether everyone on the team are BFF's.

Your boss at work isn't there be your friend, they are there to help guide a group of people to a mutual goal. Football is no different.

[hyjacker]

There's nothing McNabb can say that won't draw controversy including not saying anything.

[hunt]

good...he cut his hair.

[SD_Eagle5]

There's nothing McNabb can say that won't draw controversy including not saying anything.

Couldn't agree more, I'll never understand the scrutiny.

[Wingspan]

here's the whole quote for the nitpicking jackasses that just love to bash #5

"I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to win ballgames," said McNabb. "The only way we'll be able to win ballgames is by playing together and playing well. My whole mindset coming back is to work out, train, get stronger, get faster, push each other, motivate each other and have fun."

[Feva]

mini camp talk = less than nothing

lets see his mind state when he gets on the field and faces tough times and situations

Tell that to the dopes on WIP who love twisting every word the man says into a negative.

[Drunkmasterflex]

The people that scrutinize and hate on McNabb are idiots they are the same ass bags that wanted Ricky Williams and feel they need to pick apart McNabb to make up for their own stupidity.  McNabb is hands down the best QB in Eagles history.