POSTED: Saturday August 18th 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HEAD COACH ANDY REID CAROLINA PANTERS
AUGUST 17, 2007
Injuries: ?For the game there was only one injury and that was [CB Rashad] Barksdale who had cramps right at the end. [DE] Jevon Kearse did not play in the game. His knee swelled up last night. We had to try to get the swelling out so we held him out of the game. He should be fine but he had the swelling. [G] Scott Young had to leave for personal reasons. He did not play in the game.?
Opening Comments:
?I thought all-in-all it was a better performance than the last game and I was happy about that. It was good to see [QB] Donovan [McNabb] get back in there. I thought he played very well for the time that he was in. [K] David Akers had a couple of great kicks. That was good to see. It was good to get [CB] Lito Sheppard back in the mix. I thought he did a nice job with the interception and with the rest of his play. I thought all-in-all it was just better tempo. That?s the kind of football we?re used to here and that we expect.?
On what he expected of QB Donovan McNabb and his performance:
?He was confident out there. It didn?t look like the leg bothered him. He wasn?t compensating or anything. He looked like he has in practice. He was very confident in there and I thought threw the ball very well.?
On what it meant to the team to have Donovan McNabb play:
?I think it?s great. Players tell you he?s the leader of the football team. When he?s out there it means a lot to those guys. They sure played well around him.?
On the ice packs on Donovan McNabb?s knees:
?That?s just precautionary?
On whether Donovan McNabb being ?on? gets the team away from running the ball:
?Well, and the four inches we were gaining per run. We have got to do a better job there. That?s one thing I wasn?t real happy about in the first half. We ran the ball, we just weren?t getting any yards.?
On the performance of the first team compared to the last game:
?I think they were embarrassed a little bit in Baltimore. Then they had a day to prepare. We didn?t do that the last game. We actually practiced versus Carolina, the one day of practice that we had. They were probably better prepared. It gave them an opportunity to play a little bit better.?
On how well TE?s Matt Schobel and Brent Celek played:
?They did [play well]. That?s a real positive thing. They both did a nice job.?
On what he had to see from Donovan McNabb:
?He did just what he was supposed to do. He was calm and cool in there. He wasn?t rushed or panicked. That?s the way he plays. That?s him right there.
I liked what I saw.?
On whether the sack had any influence on taking McNabb out of the game:
?No, it really didn?t. He got plenty of snaps in there for his first day back. I was kind of counting numbers.?
On whether [G] Shawn Andrews absence was effecting the ability to run:
?No, no because it?s not just that. We?ve got to do a better job when people are moving on us. We?ve got to do a better job with certain other things in there.?
On TE Brent Celek catching the ball over the middle:
?That was a good observation. He did a nice job, really did. I?m trying to help you out here. He did alright.?
On the punting of Sav Rocca:
?He was up and down there a little bit. Consistancy is going to be the main thing, getting good hang time on it and so on. Dirk (Johnson) on the other hand, looked like he did a pretty good job. It?s great competition right there.?
On how long the competition for punter would go on:
?Yeah, some where in the last week, I would think so.?
On what caused the swelling to DE Jevon Kearse?s left knee:
?Really we don?t know why he had some swelling there. I know in the game he felt like he turned it. It wasn?t a big deal and he practiced on it and it was fine. It?s going to happen with that type of thing. He pushed it out through training camp. We?ll get it settled down. We?ve got a few days here before we have to play again. We?ll get it settled down and I think it will be fine.?
On the role of RB Tony Hunt and if he could forsee this role for him coming out of college:
?We wanted to see first what he could do in pads. During training camp we put him in that situation ? goal-line and short yardage. We thought he did a pretty good job there so we?re giving him an opportunity now during the pre-season games to do it. I was impressed by how he got his pad level down. He?s naturally a high runner. He was able to drop his pads down and run with power.
If they expected Tony Hunt to perform as he has since they first saw him at the combine:
?When we saw his film I thought he could do it. He did it at the college level. He did it. In those situations, we expected that he would be able to do it here. You never know until you see him.?
On the lack of involvement of [WR] Reggie Brown in the offense:
?That?s the way it works. They?ll be games where he has four or five catches. It just works that way according to coverages and how they role to him. I think the more [WR] Kevin [Curtis] gets the ball things might equal out with the secondary and the way they?re rolling to him.?
On why Juqua Thomas started at [LDE] instead of Trent Cole and Darren Howard:
?[DE Juqua Thomas] J.T. is a good player so we had no problem putting him in there. [DE Darren] Howard does a good job too.?
On the play of TE Brent Celek:
?They [University of Cincinnati] ran an offense where the tight end was a factor. The thing you noticed and we?re just getting to see this now is his ability to run after the catch. He?s real strong in the core area and very tough to tackle. That?s the way it was in college and it?s transferring here.
On the players having a few days off:
?It?ll be good. The players have the day off tomorrow and they have the carnival on Sunday so there won?t be a practice on Sunday. So they get a couple of days here so they can get they?re legs back. We?ve got a lot of work to get done that next week. We?ve got a lot of things we need to still finish up from a camp standpoint.?
On the play of DT Brodrick Bunkley:
?Bunkley did a good job. He did a real nice job. He?s playing with emotion. He had a few snaps there that were just okay and he had a handful that I thought were really good.?
DONOVAN McNABB POSTGAME—8/17/07
On whether he had any doubts about his ability following his injury : ?You have to remember that it?s still our first game. Every time that we step out to practice when we?re competing against our one?s and two?s we try to approach it just like the game. That?s always been my mental approach after this injury. I?m just trying to gauge to see what we can actually do back in this offense. What we?ve shown in my first game here is that we can get back to the form where we were before I went out, continue to spread the ball around and get everyone involved and pick up yards. We just have to capitalize and get touchdowns in the end zone instead of coming out with field goals.?
On how it felt to return to the field following his injury: ?It felt great. I was just trying to be calm and just go out and get back to having fun again. It was good to see the guys in the huddle fired up and just ready to make that big play. I think after that first pass, guys kind of loosened up and it was just an Eagles football game.?
On how his knee felt after the game in light of being spotted with ice bags on the sideline: ?It?s important that we all ice up. I wasn?t the only one with ice bags. In a situation like that when you?re not in [the game] you want to ice up and eliminate swelling if that was to happen. When the time was up, just take them off and continue to watch the game.?
On the amount of time that he applied ice bags after coming out of the game: ?Twenty minutes.?
On whether he thinks about his knee brace while playing: ?No, I don?t think about it at all, and no it doesn?t limit the things that I can do. That?s kind of the way that I?ve been told to approach this thing. If you?re going to wear the brace or not, try not to focus on the knee at all. That?s what I tried to do ? sit in the pocket looking down field and try to get it to the guys, get out of the pocket if there?s an opportunity, just to be able to get your legs up and pick up yards when you can.?
On being hit and getting sacked for the first time since his injury: ?I?ve been hit before, so it?s not like somebody has to hit me to remind me that I?m playing football. It was a good clean hit, and my helmet flew off. You pick your helmet up and go off to the sideline on fourth down. Offensively, we were able to do some good things. A lot of things we were able to capitalize on. For a lot of us, we?re a long way away from where we want to be for the first [regular season] game, but it?s a big step and we look forward to taking another step against Pittsburgh.?
On whether he felt relieved to be back on the playing field: ?I?ve been relieved ever since I?ve been able to get back to running and cutting and things of that nature. It?s wasn?t a test for me at all to get out and wear a brace and play. I knew I could play this game. It was just going out and being able to show you guys [the media]. I don?t have to pass the test for myself. I already know that I can play this game and play it at a high level. It?s just getting the team back and getting the chemistry and timing back to where we were before. We did that today, but we still have a long way to go.?
On whether he felt he should have scrambled more in the game: ?No, I?d rather just sit in the pocket and continue to have you guys [the media] say that I don?t run anymore. It doesn?t bother me ? running or sitting in the pocket. I try to do whatever it takes in order for us to be successful in the offense, and that entails for us to score points. If that means for me to get out of the pocket and do that, that?s what I?ll do. But if I don?t have to and I can just check it down to [Brian] Westbrook or [Thomas] Tapeh or get the tight ends involved, that?s what I?ll do as well.?
CONTINUED??.
On whether he ever thinks about his surgery while on the field: ?I don?t even think about it. There are certain things that remind you that you had the surgery, but the main focus is just to continue to get out there and play football understanding that you?re stronger, that you continue to relax and continue to go out and play football. Then you gain confidence each play that it?s healed and you can just go out and do everything that you did before you got hurt.?
On changes made by the team since the first preseason game: ?Like I said a couple of days ago, during the first game we did some good things and we also did some bad things. That happens in the first preseason game. You?re playing against a team [Baltimore] that?s known for blitzing. When you go into a game where you don?t prepare where it?s a normal Sunday game and you go over a couple of protections, you?re going to go out and you?re not going to play like we did today. We were able to go over different blitzes, watch extra film, and talk about some different things, communicate more on the sideline a little bit more, which led to us playing well tonight. That is the approach that we?re going to take this whole preseason. Sometimes when you?re up at training camp, you?re going over different things, you?re installing, you?re talking about protections, and then time runs out when you?re spending time watching to see exactly what they?re going to do. I think from the first week, you just saw a team that was having its first opportunity to get out into a game situation. This time, you?ve seen some young guys and guys who we?ve brought over as free agents who understand a little bit more about Eagles football and how we approach things. They got a chance to show exactly what they can do.?
On his comfort level with wide receiver Kevin Curtis: ?I have confidence in all the guys. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work with him early in the offseason. He came out to Arizona and we were able to work in the offseason as well in the Arizona indoor training camp. I tried to spend a little bit more time than usual with those guys when the lights are on. With Kevin, he understands that if we run deeper routes I?ll get the ball out to him. He adjusts to the speed of the ball the way the ball may come. The same with Reggie [Brown], the same with Hank [Baskett], the same with Jason [Avant] and the same with Greg [Lewis]. We try to get a little extra time in every opportunity that we can so that when the time comes we?ll be ready to go.?
On whether he is surprised by how quickly rookie tight end Brent Celek has picked up the offense: ?Yes and no. When he first came in during the first mini-camp, we saw glimpses. It?s kind of hard to put a waiver or kind of put an answer on some of the things, especially when the rookies come in during that first mini-camp because they?re kind of nervous, they?re just learning the offense, and their legs are tired after a couple of reps, so they have to get adjusted to the practice style. The second mini-camp was a great opportunity to read the way he plays and the way he practices. He?s opened up a lot of eyes ever since then. He?s playing well, and it?s going to be exciting to get Celek in when L.J. [Smith?s] healthy, because we?re able to do a lot of different things with two tight ends. He?s very athletic, he can catch the ball and get up field.?
Eagles Locker Room Quotes
Mike Patterson
On having a couple of days off before getting ready for the Steelers:
?It?s gonna feel good. It?s gonna feel real good.?
On whether tonight?s performance by the defense was their way of telling the city of Philadelphia not worry about the first game:
?In a way it is but we knew had to come out there, we did not like how things went on Monday. We knew that wasn?t us. We felt like we could play better than that. We know we are better than that.?
Brodrick Bunkley
On whether he can see himself making progress game to game:
?I am trying to. I am doing what the defense asks. It was kind of tough today. They (the Panthers) were spreading a lot of runs outside. DeAngelo (Williams) is so fast. We are making progress. It?s still pre-season and we have a lot of things to work on but things are starting come around.?
On putting a lot of pressure on the QB:
?One thing coach talks about all the time is keeping the quarterback trapped. Luckily the defensive backs are back there covering pretty good and giving us a chance to put some pressure on the quarterback.?
On the statement the defense wanted to make after Monday night?s game in Baltimore:
?This is just a preview. Just a preview of something to come. A lot of the guys felt good tonight and we are just looking forward to repeating this performance.?
On his personal confidence after tonight?s game:
?Confidence is gonna be there. I just gotta work on my game every week. Luckily, we have these exhibition games to see where you?re at week-by-week before you get into the regular season?
Rashad Barksdale
On what changed from the defense since Monday?s game. Was it Coach (Jim) Johnson firing you up?:
?Yea Coach Johnson definitely had a lot to do with it and Coach Reid. This team is built off its defense from what I noticed from year?s past. Coach Johnson is telling us we have to set the tone. You gotta win at home. Our defense really took it to them today.?
On how good his interception felt:
?It felt great. A lot of the guys got on me about the hit. That was a late hit by the quarterback. He got me pretty good. That hit might be on ESPN. If that?s on ESPN, I?m happy. I?ll be honest.?
On how it makes him feel seeing how far he?s come since college:
?It makes me feel good. Day after day, game after game, I was just want to keep climbing up that ladder and getting better and better. Build off last game. Take everything in from coaches, to Lito (Sheppard) and Sheldon (Brown), who have been really good to me, telling me what I need to do. Little things that they look for themselves, they are telling me.?
Jeremiah Trotter
On whether he took to heart what Coach (Jim) Johnson said earlier in the week:
?Yea, we really wanted to go out and execute the defense. During the pre-season its not really about what the other team is doing, its about us executing and the defense going out and playing our game.?
On the emotional difference of playing at home as compared to Monday night (at Baltimore) playing on the road:
?Well you know anytime you play at home, you got the home crowd behind you. A guy like myself, I play off the cheers and emotion and feed off that. It was big for us to come out and get off to a fast start. It was great to see Donovan (McNabb) back out there running around and making big plays for us. They really just took the ball down the field and scored first.?
On the mental push they felt seeing (Donovan) McNabb out there completely healthy doing what he did before:
?It was big. We obviously knew he was healthy. Just seeing him out there in game situations and live fire. We are supposed to seeing him with the red jersey on. Tonight, he handled the pressure very well.?
TE Brett Celek
On his comfort level in the offense:
?I am getting more comfortable every week. The more reps you take, the more comfortable you get. I feel better every week.?
On the challenge of learning this offense:
?It?s a little complex. I had to come in and learn a lot of things off the bat. But now, they are building a little on that. I am trying to keep up with it and I think I am doing a decent job of that.?
On building trust with QB Donovan McNabb:
?You always have to do that with a quarterback. That comes with time. I have to get him to trust me by running the right routes and catching the ball. I am just trying to work hard at that every day I get out there.?
On whether getting open and finding seems has always been a strength of his:
?I think this offense does that. If you run clean routes, you will be in a position to be open and catch the ball. I think that is the thing that helps.?
RB Tony Hunt
On whether he is okay being a goal line specialist and sacrificing yards for touchdowns:
?That?s not a bad deal. Not at all.?
On getting the opportunity to play as a rookie, even if it is only on the goal line:
?That would be great. Being a rookie, anytime you get on the field, above special teams, is a great thing. If I can get out there on offense, I would be really happy.?
On how the running game has looked so far in the preseason and whether there are specific issues that are causing problems:
?I am not really sure; I have to check it out more on film. I am sure there is nothing too serious. It?s probably things that we can correct easily. We have to do a few more things here and there. I don?t think it?s a mess overall ? we can pick up a few more blitzes maybe. I am sure we will get it together.?
WR Kevin Curtis:
On working with QB Donovan McNabb in training camp and in game situations:
?He?s been great. He came into camp looking the way he did tonight. He played great.?
On how excited he is to play in this offense, as well as being a top option in the passing game:
?I am way excited about that, just to be on this team. It?s a great team and a great organization. All around, we are going to do great things this year. And to have an opportunity to be on the field more and have more opportunities to help the team, I am very much looking forward to that.?
CAROLINA PANTHERS HEAD COACH JOHN FOX ? 8/17/07
On whether he was concerned with his team?s effort: ?I don?t think the effort was bad. It just looked like we were playing in quicksand. We didn?t play very fast ? in particular in the passing game and pass defense.?
On whether he could put his finger on any particular reason for Carolina?s performance: ?No, we?re in camp. I just didn?t like how we looked.?
On whether his team?s performance gives him cause for concern: ?There?s no reason to panic. The team we played tonight [Philadelphia] lost 29-3 last week. Again, it?s preseason and you?re looking at guys and looking at situations. There are things you?re trying to practice, people you?re looking at. But overall, I don?t think we got better - I think we got worse.?
On changes to the personnel groupings used on the offensive line: ?That?s what the preseason is for. You?re looking at different people in different spots. We?re trying to evaluate where those guys are. That?s the advantage of preseason over regular season. We?re still learning about our team.?
On whether Carolina suffered injuries during the game:
?None that I know of right now.?
On positives he can take from his team?s performance:
?I thought our special teams got better.?
On his decision to use Nick Goings in the kick return game:
?At some point, Nick might be called on, so we wanted him to get the feel for it live. He did it for us last year.?
On whether Julius Peppers? illness prevented him from making the trip to Philadelphia:
?Right.?
CAROLINA PANTHERS LOCKEROOM QUOTES?
8/17/07
CHRIS JENKINS
On how the panthers played tonight:
?You know, it was football, and they played better than us. I don?t know what happened, but we need to step our level up.?
On how the team played poorly tonight after a good game last week:
?You know what, I?m going to be honest with you, I don?t like to lose, but I would rather it happen in the preseason. You know, I would rather it happen now. I think that?s the upside to it. It gives us a chance to look at those things and take care of them before we go into the regular season. I?m kind of confident about that aspect of it. We get to sit down and look at what we did wrong. We have a couple of weeks where we can correct those issues and do what we need to do to get those things done. Before we get to the regular season, we?ll be where we should be.?
DAVID CARR
On the play of the team when he was in the game:
?We scored once or twice, I mean a field goal and a touchdown, but we never really got into a rhythm out there. We have some decent drives, and then we just come out and play like we haven?t played in a while. Maybe we?ll put a drive together, but it was just hit and miss. It looked like we haven?t been practicing for a while, but I know that?s not the case.?
On the effect of the Eagles? emotions (from McNabb coming back) on the Panthers:
?It was a big wave here, I mean, every time the guy (McNabb) took a step it was either a cheer or a gasp. That?s expected, I mean that?s their guy and a lot was riding on this game, more than any other preseason game, and it should have been for us as well. They definitely played better than us today.?
On the impact that this game will have on the team in the next week:
?This is something you don?t forget. I remember preseason games like two or three years ago that you don?t play great in, but you remember those just like you do regular season games. Once you get in between the lines, I mean it may not standings-wise mean as much, but you still have to bounce back and you still have to take notice of what went on today.?
On playing with the reserves:
?I was proud of those guys. I was just trying to keep them pumped on the sidelines saying ?we?ll get our shot guys, go in there.? And we had some big eyes and stuff, but that?s to be expected in the preseason. They did good. I was glad they just held in there with me and kept going until we got to the end there.?
DT Maake Kemoeatu
On the play of Donovan McNabb in the game:
?I was not surprised by the play of McNabb because he is a Pro Bowl quarterback and one of the better quarterbacks in the league. They gave him the ball and he really came out and played a really good game.?
On the play of the Eagles on offense tonight:
?I thought that the Eagles offensive line really did a nice job in the game and gave McNabb time to make the plays. We tried to do some stunts and things to slow him down, but I think tonight the Eagles came out as the better team.?
On being two games into the preseason and his assessment of where they are on defense:
?I think tonight we saw that we need to improve on a lot of things. We have to put more pressure on the quarterbacks and we need to do a better job of stopping the run. Just be able to do the normal things. We have two more preseason games and we need to go back to Spartanburg and we need to keep working on things. We need to look at the things we made some mistakes and really improve on them.?
DT Kris Jenkins
On the play of Donovan [McNabb] coming off his knee surgery:
?I was not surprised by how McNabb played at all. McNabb is a Pro Bowl quarterback and he has had some injuries that have slowed him up a bit. I would know that myself with some of the things I have gone through. Sometimes in the NFL you do go through some adversity and he has had some as of late but he has really stepped up and done his part. I did not like losing to him tonight but he gets the notoriety he gets he comes back and plays the way that he does. As a fellow player I do salute him for the way he has come back.?
On whether if he gets frustrated in the preseason that a defense cannot do everything they will do in the regular season:
?Preseason is just a measuring stick and I think that with everything that happened tonight we see there are some things we have to improve on. We will regroup and look at the film and we may be critical of ourselves, but we will then see what we need to do to change.?
On some of the positives and the negatives of the defenses play in the game: ?I will have to look at the film and then I will really be able to assess all that we have to do to get better. Honestly I was not delighted tonight with the play of the defense tonight. The scoreboard tells the tale and regardless of what happen we did not put up enough points to win the game. We really need to sit down and take a hard look at what we need to do to get better.?
DT Michael Rucker
On the play of the defensive line tonight against Donovan [McNabb]: ?I think McNabb really played well tonight and I was impressed. McNabb seemed to make some nice passes underneath and he was able to plant well on his knee. I think he did a nice job with the reps that he had tonight.?
On whether he was amazed at Donovan?s performance after his injury:
?He is really incredible and I am kind of proud of him that he did get back out there. I think he got back out there quick after the injury and made some nice plays against us.?
On the up and down play of the whole team tonight: ?I think overall we had a rough night and did not play really well. I think we did not do as well on either side of the ball. Probably the special teams unit played the best of all. I am surprised that we had a little bit of a let down after just coming off a win in our last game. I would have thought that after last week we would have played better.?
On whether if the defense now needs to get mad before getting even: ?Thank God that tonight was only a preseason game. We really still have a lot of work to do and I really think that we will get it together and make it happen out there. Everyone is a little low after the game but we are going to get back to work and I have no doubt in my mind that we are going to get it fixed.?
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