|
An Interview With:
MICHAEL VICK
MICHAEL VICK: Just ready for Sunday, with that said I'll be ready to take any questions.
Q. What's your feeling about the weather forecast heading into Sunday's game? MICHAEL VICK: It doesn't matter. I think that situation is just a matter -- we're just going to pretend that it's -- just go out there and let it go.
Q. Can you talk about what's going through your mind on the eve of your first NFC Championship game? MICHAEL VICK: I probably have some butterflies. I'll be excited. This is a moment that I've been waiting for for my entire career, I remember when I was younger, and sitting in a room and watching Steve Young battle Troy Aikman in the NFC Championship game and always sitting there wondering, whether I would have the opportunity and the opportunity has come. So I would be so excited and ready to take advantage of the moment and at the same time enjoy it.
Q. What are your impressions of Donovan McNabb? MICHAEL VICK: There's no doubt about it. He's a great quarterback. Donovan, he's a quarterback that can beat you and he's a tremendous athlete and he's a guy that's been in his system for over six years now and really knows how to play the game and really has a good understanding and good feeling of playing football. So with that said, he's a quarterback that's dangerous, and if you ask me, I'd list him in the category with the elite quarterbacks in this league, the Peyton Mannings and the Tom Bradys. Definitely a guy that you have to contain and make sure you play your best football against.
Q. Do you anticipate wearing gloves, doing anything different with the Colts; you haven't played too many games in weather like that? MICHAEL VICK: Not at all. I didn't do that as a youngster, and so I won't do that this coming Sunday, put a glove on my right hand and my left hand will be free and just let it rip. I played plenty of football games in the cold weather and didn't seem to matter so I don't think it will matter at all in this game.
Q. How is having the No. 1 ground game in the NFL changed your approach during the game; does it take pressure off you? MICHAEL VICK: It's definitely taken a lot of pressure off of me. Our backfield has been part of the -- a big reason for our success this season and it's something that we didn't have last year or the year before that I think we have to give a lot of credit because he's really stepped in and made our offensive line better. Those guys bring their game to another level and that's been a big part of my game as well.
Q. As a fan, what are some of your favorite playoff moments? MICHAEL VICK: There's been plenty. The majority of them are 49er highlights, remembering when John Taylor caught the pass in the Super Bowl to put San Francisco up. There's a lot of others but hopefully come Sunday I can go out there and make some moments and have some moments that will be special and people will remember for a long time.
Q. The last playoff game in Philadelphia and how the Eagles defense attacked you, how can you draw on that experience from two years ago? MICHAEL VICK: From what I can remember two years ago, they pressured me. They ran some guys at me and kind of knocked me out of rhythm. That was two years ago. I think I'm a more experienced quarterback now, more mature quarterback, I know what it takes to win. You know, with that being said, I think that that gives us a good opportunity to win this football game. I study film all week and have a good idea of what they are going to do. So the main thing for me is just to come in and play with confidence and believe in my teammates and the guys around me and Carolina defense making some stops and giving me an opportunity and taking it here.
Q. The confidence that the rest of the coaching staff have shown in you running this offense, what has that meant to you this season? MICHAEL VICK: It's meant a lot. You know, taking the offense, a new offense, and putting it into a 24-year-old quarterback's hands, it's saying a lot about the confidence that they have in me, and I just took it upon myself to make sure that I did everything possible to go out on Sunday and make as many plays as I can and be successful. So them believing in me, made me want to go out and work even harder. It was really motivational.
Q. In Green Bay a few years ago, the start was so important and you completed so many in a row on the first drive, do you remember what it was like and how you toned yourself down; do you believe that's a key to this game, how you start and how you control your emotions? MICHAEL VICK: Yeah, that's something our offensive coordinator preaches every Saturday night when we have our team meeting, to start fast and get some points on the board and try to get the opponent down early and that's what we're planning on doing and if we can do that, that definitely gives us an advantage and I think going into the fourth quarter when you have to play your best football, that's when we are at our best and you look at the stats all season, it shows. We're a fourth-quarter football team, and if it comes down to the fourth quarter, this is a football team that I think I can count on and I think my teammates feel the same way.
Q. How do you control -- how do you control your emotions? MICHAEL VICK: I mean, you know, there's a lot of guys on this team that has been in this situation before, knows what it's like to play in big games. You know, I think that they are ready for the moment, we are ready for the game and we're just excited. But at the same time, you've got to control your emotions, we're playing on the road and that's going to be a big part of it, to control our emotions and stay calm and act like we've been there before.
Q. Do you remember the last time you played a football game in the snow? MICHAEL VICK: Green Bay 2002. It worked out. It was a big one. I had a great one. You know, pretty much try to take the same type of approach. FastScripts by ASAP Sports ... An Interview With:
WARRICK DUNN
WARRICK DUNN: Good afternoon. Just want to reiterate what my teammates have said, that guys are just ready to play. We are excited about the opportunity and just look forward to the challenge. So, any questions?
Q. How critical is it to establish the ground game on Sunday? WARRICK DUNN: I think it's a vital part of our team, just the way that we go out and run the football I think it's important for us to get off to a good start, try to control the line of scrimmage and hopefully we can make some plays in the running game early and we can really put a lot of pressure on defense.
Q. There's been a lot of talk about the DVD backfield; what do you think of that nickname? WARRICK DUNN: It's just a nickname. We all have great initials, let's just say that. (Laughter). I just think, you know, when you have three potent weapons that have definitely made a statement this year in the running game, so "DVD" definitely fits our names.
Q. How tough a challenge does the Eagles defense present? WARRICK DUNN: Well, I think they have a great front four. I think their linebackers are guys that run side to side and then get downhill. Jeremiah is playing probably his best football since he's been in the League. It's going to be a task to run the football on those guys, but at the same time, they do a lot of things on defense that give us an opportunity to make plays.
Q. Earlier this week you had said that you think that Michael and the passing game have to be more of a factor in this game. Can you elaborate on that? WARRICK DUNN: Well, I just feel like when you're the No. 1 running team in the league, everybody in the country knows that you're going to run the football. Not that we are going to change the game plan but try to run the football. At the same time, we do have to make plays in the passing game. That's the thing each week that we talk about that we want to do is throw the football better but at the same time, you win football games with the running game.
Q. Is playing with Michael similar to the feeling of playing with Charlie Ward in the sense that you might think, as long as we get that guy on our side, then no game is out of our reach? WARRICK DUNN: Michael tends to play more street ball than Charlie, so it's definitely -- it's definitely a great thing to have a guy like that because at any given time in the game, he can make a play. He can get things started. When you have a guy that can do the things he does in the football game, it makes it exciting. You can never count yourself out.
Q. Talking to you about Gibbs coming over, everybody was talking about the offensive linemen responsibilities but everybody was talking about what the running back's responsibility is and how the relationship works, obviously over a thousand yards this year, but can you explain some of the differences are with the way that you run this line of scrimmage and the things they do and how they do it? WARRICK DUNN: Well, I think the running game is about timing and for me, it's taken me a while to definitely get into that rhythm. But it's being at the right place at the right time. There's creases, there's always creases; it's just can you be in that position to make the play successful. With Alex, it's preached repeatedly over and over again of be in this spot and you make the read. He's not putting blinders on us and telling us we have to run a certain place or direction; but, just react. You see somebody react to it. It's been successful for us. I think everybody has caught on to coach Gibbs and the way he coaches.
Q. You mentioned that the Eagles do many things on defense that give you opportunities to make plays. What kind of things do they do on defense to give you opportunity to make plays? WARRICK DUNN: Well, when you have a defense that's aggressive, there's always opportunities. I played against these guys for years, and when the opportunities are there, we are going to take advantage of them. We could not protect, we could not run the football. I think with this team we are much more talented and we are a great football team that if somebody posed a challenge to us, we have good enough coaches and players that we can come out and make adjustments and make things happen. They are going to blitz us and they are going to do what they do. I don't think that they are going to change the game plan just because they are playing the Atlanta Falcons.
Q. When you talk about Michael and you never count yourself out, are you surprised to hear the criticism around the league and maybe around the nation about, "he can't pass," things like that? WARRICK DUNN: When you run for as many yards as we run, you don't worry about throwing the football. Those rushing yards are just as important as the passing yard. The thing is, he knows that if you're not going to win the game throwing the football, that can happen; but when a guy can make plays with his feet, you take advantage of that.
Q. Do you notice many differences in the Eagles defense from the time you faced them when you were with Tampa Bay? WARRICK DUNN: To me, I don't think there's a lot of -- I don't think it's a real big difference. I think there's a lot of similarities, just the fact that the scheme has not changed. A lot of the guys have been together for a few years. I just think they have just replaced with much more talented players. And when you have a coach like Coach Johnson that can make those adjustments and game plan the team, he's done a great job. And you have to credit the players, players make plays and he puts them in position to make plays.
Q. You probably had your best period of the season coming down the stretch in the last month and you did that when you probably had three or four different fullbacks blocking for you. Talk about the adjustment and how Fred has caught on with things? WARRICK DUNN: For me it was a challenge because I had to pretty much learn the fullback position. It gave me an opportunity to learn more of the offense and to know what other An Interview With:
WARRICK DUNN
WARRICK DUNN: Good afternoon. Just want to reiterate what my teammates have said, that guys are just ready to play. We are excited about the opportunity and just look forward to the challenge. So, any questions?
Q. How critical is it to establish the ground game on Sunday? WARRICK DUNN: I think it's a vital part of our team, just the way that we go out and run the football I think it's important for us to get off to a good start, try to control the line of scrimmage and hopefully we can make some plays in the running game early and we can really put a lot of pressure on defense.
Q. There's been a lot of talk about the DVD backfield; what do you think of that nickname? WARRICK DUNN: It's just a nickname. We all have great initials, let's just say that. (Laughter). I just think, you know, when you have three potent weapons that have definitely made a statement this year in the running game, so "DVD" definitely fits our names.
Q. How tough a challenge does the Eagles defense present? WARRICK DUNN: Well, I think they have a great front four. I think their linebackers are guys that run side to side and then get downhill. Jeremiah is playing probably his best football since he's been in the League. It's going to be a task to run the football on those guys, but at the same time, they do a lot of things on defense that give us an opportunity to make plays.
Q. Earlier this week you had said that you think that Michael and the passing game have to be more of a factor in this game. Can you elaborate on that? WARRICK DUNN: Well, I just feel like when you're the No. 1 running team in the league, everybody in the country knows that you're going to run the football. Not that we are going to change the game plan but try to run the football. At the same time, we do have to make plays in the passing game. That's the thing each week that we talk about that we want to do is throw the football better but at the same time, you win football games with the running game.
Q. Is playing with Michael similar to the feeling of playing with Charlie Ward in the sense that you might think, as long as we get that guy on our side, then no game is out of our reach? WARRICK DUNN: Michael tends to play more street ball than Charlie, so it's definitely -- it's definitely a great thing to have a guy like that because at any given time in the game, he can make a play. He can get things started. When you have a guy that can do the things he does in the football game, it makes it exciting. You can never count yourself out.
Q. Talking to you about Gibbs coming over, everybody was talking about the offensive linemen responsibilities but everybody was talking about what the running back's responsibility is and how the relationship works, obviously over a thousand yards this year, but can you explain some of the differences are with the way that you run this line of scrimmage and the things they do and how they do it? WARRICK DUNN: Well, I think the running game is about timing and for me, it's taken me a while to definitely get into that rhythm. But it's being at the right place at the right time. There's creases, there's always creases; it's just can you be in that position to make the play successful. With Alex, it's preached repeatedly over and over again of be in this spot and you make the read. He's not putting blinders on us and telling us we have to run a certain place or direction; but, just react. You see somebody react to it. It's been successful for us. I think everybody has caught on to coach Gibbs and the way he coaches.
Q. You mentioned that the Eagles do many things on defense that give you opportunities to make plays. What kind of things do they do on defense to give you opportunity to make plays? WARRICK DUNN: Well, when you have a defense that's aggressive, there's always opportunities. I played against these guys for years, and when the opportunities are there, we are going to take advantage of them. We could not protect, we could not run the football. I think with this team we are much more talented and we are a great football team that if somebody posed a challenge to us, we have good enough coaches and players that we can come out and make adjustments and make things happen. They are going to blitz us and they are going to do what they do. I don't think that they are going to change the game plan just because they are playing the Atlanta Falcons.
Q. When you talk about Michael and you never count yourself out, are you surprised to hear the criticism around the league and maybe around the nation about, "he can't pass," things like that? WARRICK DUNN: When you run for as many yards as we run, you don't worry about throwing the football. Those rushing yards are just as important as the passing yard. The thing is, he knows that if you're not going to win the game throwing the football, that can happen; but when a guy can make plays with his feet, you take advantage of that.
Q. Do you notice many differences in the Eagles defense from the time you faced them when you were with Tampa Bay? WARRICK DUNN: To me, I don't think there's a lot of -- I don't think it's a real big difference. I think there's a lot of similarities, just the fact that the scheme has not changed. A lot of the guys have been together for a few years. I just think they have just replaced with much more talented players. And when you have a coach like Coach Johnson that can make those adjustments and game plan the team, he's done a great job. And you have to credit the players, players make plays and he puts them in position to make plays.
Q. You probably had your best period of the season coming down the stretch in the last month and you did that when you probably had three or four different fullbacks blocking for you. Talk about the adjustment and how Fred has caught on with things? WARRICK DUNN: For me it was a challenge because I had to pretty much learn the fullback position. It gave me an opportunity to learn more of the offense and to know what other COACH JIM MORA
Q. Coach, a question from the Philadelphia media, will you view this season as a success regardless of the outcome of the game? COACH MORA: Well, that's a good question, and I'll view it as a great learning experience for our team. I think if you want to be great, success means you've won the championship, the World Championship, the Super Bowl, so this is nothing new for us. We understand what it means, we understand how to prepare our team, how to prepare ourselves as coaches, and we're just excited to go. But there's other people out there that I've leaned on. Obviously Bill Walsh has been one, Steve Mariucci, guys I've been around and we've done it the right way, prepared how we prepare and our team is ready to go.
Q. With the weather forecast being what it is, do you expect the snow and the conditions to have any type of impact on your play calling on Sunday? COACH MORA: No, we do not. It doesn't matter to us. Bring it. Whatever the weather is, we're going to go play in it. It doesn't matter to us. Like I said, this is a very resilient team and they don't care what the weather conditions are, they don't care who we are playing, what we're playing in, we are just excited to play.
Q. How important have the developments of the offensive line been to your team's success? COACH MORA: I think it's been critical. You know, we've been able to move the ball in the ground and primarily because of the cohesive unit that is our offensive line, as you'll hear from our players, it takes all 11 guys to run the ball effectively, that includes our fullback, McClure, our tight ends, Crumpler, Peerless Price, Michael Jenkins. Our offensive line has been critical to our success but they are just another piece of the puzzle.
Q. Could you run down the injuries, last word you got on those guys? COACH MORA: We did not make any changes on our official injury report that we listed on Wednesday. We filed on Wednesday. So Brian Finneran is probable, and he will play. But we'll leave him on the probable because he is listed. Todd Weiner is equal questionable. Travis Hall is questionable and Kevin Mathis is questionable. Todd Weiner practiced today, Kevin Mathis did a little bit, and those guys will be game-time decisions.
Q. How impressed are you by Andy Reid's accomplishments in Philadelphia? COACH MORA: Well, I think they are almost unparalleled. You look at what the Buffalo Bills did, making it to four Super Bowls; and what you look at what Andy has done with the Eagles and taking that franchise to four consecutive NFC Championship games, I don't know that that's been done very often in this league. Very, very difficult to do. It's a mark of consistency at the top which starts with Mr. Lurie and all the way through Andy and their players and they have just got a standard of excellence there. We are just happy that we got to go up there and compete with them. It's going to be an exciting day.
Q. Everybody has talked about Terrell Owens. Can you talk about Jevon Kearse; people have not really talked about that free-agent acquisition? COACH MORA: Well, he's an impact player. He's a guy that can affect the quarterback on every down, he can affect your run game on every down. He can run things down from the back side and he's tough to move out on the front side. He's a guy that you have to know where he is on every play. Like I said, I just feel good about our team accepting any challenge that is put in front of us. We will accept the challenges.
Q. This defense has made a dramatic jump from last season to this season. What has been the biggest difference that has enabled you to improve like it has? COACH MORA: I don't know if you can pin it on one thing, I think there's a multitude of things, switching schemes to match our personnel, bringing in a new defensive coordinator who brought in a passion and a juice and an energy level and a standard of excellence, I think getting players like Keith Brooking and Chris Draft and Brady Smith and Cory Hall and all of these guys who just have energy and juice. I think when you watch our defense play what you see is a group of 11 guys who just swarm to the football. I think there's a number of things that helped us advance to where we are statistically on defense, so we're looking for more improvement this game and more improvement in the future.
Q. Will you talk about Allen Rossum and the pressure he can put on an opponent; if you had to face a guy like that this week what would it have done to your preparation during the week, if you had been Philadelphia and Rossum had just come off that game he played? COACH MORA: Well, I don't think it would have altered our preparation at all. It's coming down to staying in your lanes, getting off walks and making tackles. Allen is a special talent; he's elusive, he's explosive, he's tough. He's a number of things and that's why in our opinion he's the top punt returner in this league. I don't know that you alter your scheme at all. I don't think you kick it out of bounds. You have faith in your cover team, so go down there and tackle him. That's what you get paid to do. Go do it.
Q. One of the big words this week has been "normalcy," trying to maintain as much as of it as possible but it's not really normal to play for a Super Bowl. Have you without trying to temper the enthusiasm, seen them pull back too early to make sure it's not a peak-too-early situation? COACH MORA: No, I haven't felt that way about our team at all. I think our team is very, very focused, they understand the implications of this football game. We have set the right tempo so I haven't felt any anxiety level, I haven't felt an anxiousness at all. I just feel that a real tremendous amount of confidence, focus on the task at hand and you know, like I've said, we're ready to get on the plane if they can pull it up here. We'd go get on that flight and fly down right now.
Q. You mentioned Donnatell, do you know there's any part of him that thinks about last year and going back to Philadelphia, having a chance to vindicate himself? An Interview With:
KEITH BROOKING
KEITH BROOKING: Good afternoon. Just kind of like to reiterate what Mike and Coach Mora said, we're very excited, biting at the bit to strap it on and get it on against a very good Philadelphia football team. This is what dreams are made of, and we're all very excited about the opportunity.
Q. Keith, wonder if you and Travis have imparted a few things to the team and having been the guys who experienced a run like this before, the things to embrace and the things to work on? KEITH BROOKING: You know, to be honest with you, this is a totally different team here than '98. '98 just seems like a distant memory for me. There's not much to brag about being in second place, coming in second place. Coach Mora kind of hit on it earlier, that's not what we are in it for. If anything, that year and as a rookie, not that I took any of it for granted, but I didn't realize how tough it was to get to that point, to get to that point, you know, after backing it up with some up-and-down years. And with us having the success we've had this year, it's put a lot of things in perspective for me, that's for sure. And if anything, I could just let the younger guys on this team now, the rookies, how special it is for us to be at this point. We're far from being done and we have a lot of football to play, and that's kind of the message I try to send to them as much as I can.
Q. You made the Super Bowl, had a couple of tough years; and then won a playoff game, and then a couple of tough years. Is it as simple as the injuries that you hit those tough years and that's just the way this league goes sometimes? KEITH BROOKING: No, I don't think -- I don't ever look for excuses, that's for sure. And obviously when you lose a key component like Michael Vick, it obviously hurts a team. But I really believe with all of my heart that no matter what the situation is, no matter how many injuries you have, you see a lot of very, very good football teams. Look at New England this year, look at where they are at with the injuries they have had on the defensive side of the ball. I don't necessarily think that's an adequate excuse. There's not an adequate excuse in this league no matter what. You just have to keep pulling and keep plugging and just fighting every day and just try your best to turn it around when things like that don't go your way.
Q. Does Brian Westbrook concern you more as a runner or as a receiver? KEITH BROOKING: Well, you know, they are ranked 30th, 31st or something like that in rush attempts. They don't run the ball a lot, but when Westbrook does run the ball, I've been very impressed with him for sure. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him going into this week, and obviously we have not had a lot of chances to look at them this year, but I'm even more impressed with him now. And even as a runner, he has not gotten a lot of attempts like I said, but he's very explosive, he gets his tough yards inside, he can bounce it outside and he's got tremendous speed, great agility, and runs really low. I mean, you have to -- we have to be prepared for that, he runs with great leverage. You know, it's well known what he can do as a receiver. They put him in a lot of different positions, and sometimes I mistake him for one of the receivers out there when he's running his routes because he does such a tremendous job. As far as whether I view him as being a bigger threat, defensively, our job always is to stop the run and make it a one dimensional game, with our defensive front, we like our chances when that's the case. That's always how I approach the games going into it; we cannot allow them to establish a running game because that can kill a defense when you have a running back like that gashing in the run down-in and down-out. That's kind of the way we look at it each and every week. If you asked all of our front seven guys that are out on the field, they would tell you the exact same thing.
Q. What are the unique challenges that a Donovan McNabb presents to a defense? KEITH BROOKING: Like I said about Westbrook, I'm even more impressed with McNabb after watching him this whole week and studying him and the way he's progressed as a passer. I think every year that he's been in this league, he's run less. He's tucked the ball and run down the field. He's run it less and less each and every year. The thing that he does is he's not necessarily running down the field but, he has tremendous savvy in the pocket and presence in the pocket and is strong in his lower body and upper body. He breaks a lot of tackles and creates a lot of time for his receivers down the field in that way. He's not necessarily running in the field, but he's scrambling right and left and inside the pocket, so he does a great job of that. He's throwing the ball down the field with better accuracy than I've ever seen, and I think, you know, when you talk about the scrambling, he does that in the crucial games, the big time games like Sunday in crucial times of the games in situations toward the end of the game and we have to be prepared for that. We do that with our rush lanes; our whole defense is disciplined to do that.
Q. Coach said earlier in the week that you guys are going to go up there and fling it around and stay on the field with them. I imagine he was trying to reduce the anxiety a little bit about the game; did it work? Did you guys try to stay loose during the week? KEITH BROOKING: Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously, we're human. We know what's riding on this game. The type of guys we have on this team, Coach Mora mentioned, the resilience we have, the resolve we have, the focus that we have. We've put on our blinders. I mean, nothing on the outside, people talking, the credit we get, the credit we don't get, whatever, the hoopla that's involved in the game. We are not worried about that. We are focused and we've been focused all week on our preparation and those blinders are set on what's ahead of us, day-to-day meetings and practice and so forth. We prepare that way and we prepare that way every week this year, every week, nothing has changed no matter what, no matter what comes our way. We win, we come in the next week and we prepare the same way. We lose, we come in, we prepare the same way and that's just what this team is all about. That's the character we have and that's what I love about this team so much. So, that's what we're going to do this week. That's what we've done and that's what we will do.
Q. Do you feel loose? |