Pro Bowl arrives
McNabb disputes sickness claims, while Brady still feels good KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) – Donovan McNabb has no apologies for his Super Bowl performance. He won’t allow his teammates to make excuses, either.
The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback set everyone straight after his first practice for the Pro Bowl on Wednesday. McNabb said he wasn’t ill during the fourth quarter of their loss to New England, as center Hank Fraley claimed earlier this week, and receiver Freddie Mitchell certainly didn’t call any plays for him.
The Eagles’ offensive struggles were caused only by the Patriots and the tension of a Super Bowl, not a phantom sickness.
“No, I wasn’t sick and no, I didn’t throw up,” McNabb said. “If people want to use that as an excuse for why we lost, that’s not the way it was, but I’ll put it on my shoulders. I’ll take the blame. … When you’re trying to make every play possible, you have to dig deep. We were just trying to give it all we had.”
McNabb raised the subject two days after Fraley told a Philadelphia TV station that his quarterback was seriously ill late in the game last Sunday, forcing Mitchell to help out in the huddle by calling a play. Mitchell said in another TV interview that he finished a play call.
McNabb “fought to the end. He gave it his all,” Fraley said on Comcast SportsNet. “He could hardly call the plays – that’s how exhausted he was trying to give it his all. If you remember back when we played Jacksonville two years ago and he ended up puking, it was close to that scene. He exhausted everything he had.”
While Fraley apparently meant to praise his quarterback’s toughness by describing his condition, McNabb perceived it as an attempt to excuse the Eagles’ performance in the second half. He was bothered by the endless television replays of Fraley’s comments in recent days.
“When I heard about it, I was kind of upset,” McNabb said. “I’ve seen Hank (too much) on TV in the last couple of days.”
McNabb and his receivers desperately tried to get Philadelphia’s offense going, but the quarterback added to his history of struggles in big games. He was 30-of-51 for 357 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions.
As for Mitchell’s play-calling claim, McNabb could only laugh at his gregarious receiver’s boasts.
“No, Freddie didn’t call a play,” he said. “I get the plays in my helmet, so he couldn’t call a play.”
McNabb felt sick earlier during the week leading up to the Super Bowl, but he said it wasn’t a serious illness. He also said he wasn’t hurt during the game, even on a hard hit from New England’s Richard Seymour.
Nine of McNabb’s teammates were selected for the NFC squad in Hawaii, and their mood was considerably brighter after a workout for NFC coach Jim Mora at the Ihilani resort on Oahu’s west side.
“It’s just good to have something to do to forget about the Super Bowl,” tackle Tra Thomas said.
The Eagles lost the conference championship game in each of the past three seasons, which meant coach Andy Reid and his staff also traveled to Hawaii to coach the NFC squad.
McNabb has been selected for five Pro Bowls in his six NFL seasons, so he knows how to get the most from the experience.
“There will be chicken wings at the pool – on the rookies,” McNabb shouted to his teammates as they headed for the showers.
A day after kicker Adam Vinatieri arrived, New England’s four remaining Pro Bowl players also joined their first practice on Wednesday. Tom Brady was exhausted after the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, the parade in Boston and a long flight on Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s jet in the previous 72 hours. The group stopped in Los Angeles to drop off coach Bill Belichick, who’s playing in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am this week.
Brady got the usual razzing from his AFC teammates after the Patriots’ third title in four seasons.
“Eventually, these guys are going to start to hate us,” Brady said. “But there’s always a lot of congratulations when you get out here. We’ve had some hard-fought battles with a lot of these guys, but it’s a great group of teammates out here.”
Though Brady plans to relax as much as possible this week, Tedy Bruschi, Seymour and Larry Izzo all seemed thrilled by the extra week of work. Corey Dillon also was selected, but had to drop out with an injury.
“I’m really going to cherish this experience, because it’s the first time in nine years,” said Bruschi, chosen for the squad when Baltimore’s Ray Lewis dropped out. “It doesn’t happen a lot, so coming out to the Pro Bowl is really an honor for me.”