McNabb's Remark

[stalker]

Thanks!!


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[Rome]

Rich Hofmann | Give it a rest, Donovan
TRAINING IN ARIZONA NOW SEEMS ILL-ADVISED

IN YESTERDAY'S Daily News, Donovan McNabb was quoted as saying, "Barry Bonds said it best - the problem with people is that they feel they don't know much about you,

but the only thing [people need to] focus in on is my job. Am I

doing my job correctly, am I

doing the right things?''

Fair enough. McNabb's job now, a month-plus before the start of training camp, is to make sure he is as recovered

as he can be from the sports

hernia/groin injuries that would have ruined his 2005 season even if Terrell Owens had not done his thing.

Which makes you wonder:

After this endlessly voluntary minicamp ends next week, why is he going back to his home in Arizona to train some more?

You remember Arizona, the place where he first suffered

the sports hernia last summer.

Why not just rest up for camp?

"I'm a machine,'' McNabb said at a news conference yesterday, reaching for a laugh, which is what he does.

"Just like a little kid you tell he can't have any candy, he is still reaching in the candy jar,'' he said. "If you're training, you're working. You are not going to pull back because you hurt yourself before. I am going to work harder and try to avoid it and hopefully I will avoid that injury.

"When I am in the weight room I am not going to pull back on the weight, I'm not going to get out on the field and pull back on the running. I am going to

prepare myself to make sure I am in the best shape possible coming into camp. I think when you do that mentally it prepares you knowing that I'm ready to go. If anything, I am a competitor first and foremost.

"If we are walking to the bathroom, the cafeteria, I am going to try and beat you,'' McNabb said. "I am not going to slow down just because I hurt myself maybe the day before. Maybe

I'll just avoid the step where I got hurt and move forward.''

This all might just be talk.

McNabb might very well have

tailored his personal workouts so that whatever he did the last time to start the sports-hernia process, he won't do again. He

is not always the king of the straight answer. You do have

to wade through a little of his standup routine sometimes.

But this a very serious issue. Again, it is about the job. There is no psychology here, no sociology. We had Randall Cunningham on the couch here for a long time, and we don't need McNabb taking his place anymore. He is right, and this really is about the job. This is about getting healthy, and not doing anything risky now.

He stayed around Philadelphia this year to rehab following surgery, and that was good. It would be crazy for him to push it while he is off on his own, while he says he is feeling good.

Because this whole saga did

begin before training camp last summer. Right?

"It's tough to say when it comes to a sports-hernia injury,'' McNabb said. "It seems like we just heard about a sports-hernia injury once I got it. But there is really not an explanation for it. To say you get it from overwork, or overexerting yourself, or paying too much attention to core training. A lot of guys do that but they don't get hurt. Some guys do get hurt and it's not

going to stop me from doing it.

"But, again, it's the offseason. It's a perfect opportunity to work on your body a little bit. Pool parties are available so I want to be the one with my shirt off and have some ripped abs. Maybe get a cover shot for some magazine, you never know. You need to feel confident in your body. You don't want to be the guy with your shirt on by the pool, do you?''

Laugh, laugh. Again with the jokes. But you did get hurt before you came to camp last year, right?

"Well, I felt I tweaked it before camp,'' McNabb said, finally

acknowledging out loud what people have been muttering for months.

"I came into camp with a minor injury,'' he said. "We worked through it and instead of it getting better I think it got a little worse. I just continued to fight through and continued to focus on what I needed to do to help the team win and I guess the

Dallas game is when everything exploded. I tore my groin and

everything else fell right into place.

"Maybe the best thing was to have the surgery early, but I didn't think so. I wanted to play. I wanted to make sure I was on the field making plays for the team.''

This is not to second-guess the surgery decision, or the decision to play through the pain, or

anything - because that is all it would be, a second-hand second-guess. This is just a suggestion instead, strictly about the job:

Do your cardio. Do whatever maintenance work the Eagles' trainers suggest. And then do yourself a favor and put your feet up - because starting in late July, you're going to be

carrying a heavy enough weight as it is.

[Rome]

Ashley Fox | Donovan, hold back a wee bit in training
By Ashley Fox
Inquirer Columnist

    * Safeties give Birds benefit of the doubt
    * More on the Eagles

Donovan McNabb was being facetious, but his point was valid. With summer approaching, McNabb doesn't want to be that guy at the pool wearing a T-shirt because his gut is too big.

While he's training this off-season, rebuilding the strength and flexibility in his midsection that was damaged last fall by a sports hernia, McNabb should remember this: In a couple of months, he doesn't want to be that quarterback on the sideline in a T-shirt because he worked out too much.

Sound funny? Perhaps. But McNabb acknowledged yesterday that the genesis of the injury that dogged him throughout the 2005 season occurred during the off-season. He said he probably "tweaked" his midsection while going through a grueling workout regimen in Arizona. He tried to control the injury once he reported to the Eagles for training camp, but only aggravated it. Everything finally collapsed in that Nov. 14 debacle against Dallas.

So please, Donovan, do us all a favor and hold back just a little bit. Don't tweak the midsection again doing something pedestrian like bench pressing a little more than you should. Don't subject us to another struggling backup quarterback, be it Jeff Garcia or Koy Detmer. We've seen what happens with you out of the lineup, and it's uglier than a flabby belly hanging over a swimsuit.

"I'm a machine," McNabb said yesterday when asked whether he might pull back just a little bit from his training regimen this off-season. He delivered the line in a deep, hard voice and straight face, before laughing at the absurdity of the comment.

"It's just like a little kid," McNabb continued, now not joking in the least. "You tell him he can't, he can't, and he's going to try to reach his hand in the candy jar. I mean, if you're training and you're working, you're not going to pull back just because you hurt yourself before. You know, I'm going to work harder, and try to avoid it, and hopefully I will avoid that injury.

"When I'm in the weight room, I'm not going to pull back on the weight. I'm not going to get out on the field and pull back on the running, I'm going to prepare myself so that I'm in the best shape possible coming into camp. I think when you do that, mentally it prepares you, knowing that I'm ready to go."

That is all well and good, but it is nerve-racking nonetheless. Without observing every exercise McNabb does, it's impossible to know whether he is doing too much. Only he knows how his body is responding, so only he can be the real judge.

But it would be a shame for McNabb's pride and ego to interfere with his judgment. Time will tell. Injuries don't lie.

In the good-news department, McNabb has spent the better part of this off-season in town, a departure from his normal routine of sweating out the spring and summer in Arizona. In addition to retooling his midsection, focusing more on flexibility and less on adding bulk, McNabb has spent more time than ever before working with his receivers. They have thrown two to three times a week even when the Eagles haven't had voluntary minicamps such as the one that started Monday.

The time together is good, given that the Eagles don't have a star in the receiver mix. Reggie Brown, who said he tries to pattern his game off the Rams' Torry Holt, admitted that he needs the work as he grows comfortable with his new "No. 1 receiver" tag. Coming off a major Achilles injury, Todd Pinkston needs the work to regain his timing. Greg Lewis needs it, too, although he wouldn't say so because he is "boycotting" the media for some reason right now.

McNabb has heard the criticism that the receivers won't be good enough to get the Eagles back to the Super Bowl. He doesn't buy it, and, really, he can't.

"Well, just sit back, relax and enjoy," McNabb said when asked about the receivers. "I've never been in a situation where I would sit and talk bad about my receivers... . People have been talking about my receivers ever since T.O. showed up, and they'll continue to do it now that he's gone.

"We kind of use that as a little motivation going into each year, each game, each practice, to make ourselves better. We have some guys who can make some big plays for us. We have some guys who are going to make big plays this year, and we look forward to that. I just want to give them the opportunity to do that."

Of course, McNabb has to be healthy for that to happen.

When the Eagles break camp late next week for the remainder of the off-season, McNabb finally will return to Arizona, where he said he feels most comfortable. He has invited several teammates - receivers, running backs and defensive backs among them - to join him, and expects several will.

And for better or worse, McNabb won't pull back. There is the pool to consider.

"I'm a competitor first and foremost," he said. "If it's walking to the bathroom or walking to the cafeteria, I'm going to try to beat you. I'm not going to slow down just because I hurt myself maybe the day before. Maybe I'll just avoid the step where I got hurt and move forward."

[Rome]

Both columns posted on the same day.

Brilliant!

[ice grillin you]

i understand the natural progression and i dont want him to scramble when he doesnt need to or get hurt but sometimes it seems like he hesitates when in the past he would have turned up and ran for a 10+yd gain on his own.

to his credit he did say yesterday that hes been looking at film and there were times last year that he should have run but "couldnt" because of the injury...while that may be true i would have liked him to have said "didnt".....still tho it was nice to hear him acknowledge that he needs to run

[Rome]

We've seen what happens with you out of the lineup, and it's uglier than a flabby belly hanging over a swimsuit.

Man, she's a total embarrassment as a sportswriter.

[BigEd76]

CSN video clip:  DMac explains what a running QB is

Thanks for the clarification.  We were all confused.

[reese125]

We've seen what happens with you out of the lineup, and it's uglier than a flabby belly hanging over a swimsuit.

Man, she's a total embarrassment as a sportswriter.

thats called a muffin top--hurry up....tell your friends

[reese125]

CSN video clip:  DMac explains what a running QB is

Thanks for the clarification.  We were all confused.

...and what the hell is he throwing out Jake Plummers name for as being anything "successful"?

[sallad selgae]

We've seen what happens with you out of the lineup, and it's uglier than a flabby belly hanging over a swimsuit.

Man, she's a total embarrassment as a sportswriter.

thats called a muffin top--hurry up....tell your friends

I thought that was called Dunlop disease?

[Feva]

to his credit he did say yesterday that hes been looking at film and there were times last year that he should have run but "couldnt" because of the injury...while that may be true i would have liked him to have said "didnt".....still tho it was nice to hear him acknowledge that he needs to run

Agreed.  It was good to hear him acknowledge that he needs to run more.  It'll be even better when we actually see him act upon it.

[Sgt PSN]

We've seen what happens with you out of the lineup, and it's uglier than a flabby belly hanging over a swimsuit.

Man, she's a total embarrassment as a sportswriter.

thats called a muffin top--hurry up....tell your friends

I thought that was called Dunlop disease?

No, it's actually called Dunlap disease. 

[shorebird]

I think the new latest term is " cupcaking".

[sallad selgae]

We've seen what happens with you out of the lineup, and it's uglier than a flabby belly hanging over a swimsuit.

Man, she's a total embarrassment as a sportswriter.

thats called a muffin top--hurry up....tell your friends

I thought that was called Dunlop disease?

No, it's actually called Dunlap disease.

[rjs246]

We've seen what happens with you out of the lineup, and it's uglier than a flabby belly hanging over a swimsuit.

Man, she's a total embarrassment as a sportswriter.

thats called a muffin top--hurry up....tell your friends

I thought that was called Dunlop disease?

No, it's actually called Dunlap disease.

quotie quote quote