Archives for September 29, 2003

‘The next possession, a 16-play drive that inhaled 8:36 of the first quarter, was pure McNabb. Three times he converted on third down, finding enough time and space in the pocket to hit James Thrash for 16 yards, and Pinkston for 11 and 5. After a 26-yard David Akers field goal, the Eagles had already matched their offensive output on the season.’

‘”He just set the tone for all of us,” Eagles tight end Chad Lewis said. “I don’t know if it was the week off or if it was any inward thinking that he did, but he came today with a will and it was Donovan’s will. He asserted that on the first drive. He really took all of us on his back and said, ‘Let’s go!’ You could just feel that he was our leader from snap one.”‘

‘For the first time this season, McNabb actually looked like he was enjoying himself out there.’

‘"We knew that they had struggled a little bit running the ball," defensive tackle Corey Simon said. "We knew their best running back was out, so we just had to go out there and not have a letdown. Last year, when we went into the Indianapolis game, and we figure OK, we can just go out and play the pass, and James Mungro had a huge game. So, we knew Joe Burns can run the ball. He’s a tough runner. We had to go out there, focus and bear down and get after it."’

‘Drew Bledsoe’s offense was ineffective for much of the game, but he still finished with 296 yards and a TD on 27-of-43 passing for Buffalo (2-2), which was coming off a 17-7 loss in Miami last Sunday night. Bledsoe also rushed for a score.’

‘The Bills failed to put points on the board until the fourth quarter when quarterback Drew Bledsoe passed for a touchdown and ran for a score to pull Buffalo within three points. But, Eagles running back Brian Westbrook killed any chance of a come back with a late 62 yard score.’

‘On the Bills’ Running Game: "We have got to execute a lot better there. You can’t be one-dimensional and we were one-dimensional today."’

‘On the Lack of a Rushing Game Putting Too Much Pressure On the Passing Game: "The areas that I think we need to address are two areas. Number one, too many negative plays on early downs. We have a penalty on first down or we have a sack on first down, or we have a negative play on first down makes it hard to stay patient with the running game. Number two is our third conversions, partly because of that problem, but overall our third down conversion percentage has not been strong enough. When you don’t convert your third downs then you don’t get a chance to be patient with the running game. Those two areas are really making it hard for us to stay patient with the running game and on top of that we just haven’t been very effective with it the last couple of weeks."’

‘On the Inability To Run the Ball: "It’s not a lack of running game. It’s doing what you have to do on the field. We have to be able to stay on the field. We have to convert third downs and our defense needs to stop third downs. That’s how you win ball games."’

‘On Whether There’s a Lack of Commitment to Running Game: "I’m not the one to make that decision. I just go and execute the play that is called to the best of my ability. I just have to go out and do what they tell me to do."’

‘On the Penalties: "On third downs we couldn’t get off the field, which kept us on the field a long time. Offense didn’t convert on third downs, which hurt us. We just have to go and get back next week."’

‘On Aggressive Play On Last Drive: "It was very important, we kept reminding each other, players and coaches, to stay aggressive. Over our years here there have been times when I haven’t been aggressive enough and the coaches did a great job of reminding me of that."’

‘On the Play of the Offensive Line: "They played well today. We picked up the blitz well and for the ones I wasn’t able to pick up, I was able to get the ball out to the hot reads and let them turn up field to get some yards. Collectively the O-line played well."’

‘Following a touchback, the Eagles started at their own 20-yard line. Westbrook started the drive with a 3-yard run. Pinkston couldn’t quite hold onto McNabb’s pass on second down. On third down, McNabb fired to the right sideline and Thrash made a leaping grab for a 14-yard gain and first down.’

‘"All game we were just able to keep fighting," said McNabb, who completed 18-of-29 passes for 172 yards. "We never gave up."’