Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Dull and Duller

No one has ever claimed that Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb are quote machines. But today's press conferences from the two at the NovaCare Complex were about as interesting as raking leaves.

It's true McNabb's responses usually lack substance, but he does enjoy the occasional sarcastic quip. A sampling:

On whether he wants to see the Eagles run the ball more to keep the pressure off him (said with straight face):
"I wish we could throw the ball 75, 80 times a game." McNabb then made an I'm-obviously-joking face.

On whether there are things he can't do because of the injury:
"Well, I'm not able to do pilates. My tae-bo tapes have been put away. I can't really work on my six-pack, but at least I wear a shirt everyday so people don't know what's going on under here."

On what he did during the bye week:
"I got a chance to walk by the pool with my six-pack. I got some good sun, tanned a little bit, kicked my feet up in the water."

On what kind of six-pack:
"The six-pack right here. No beer. I'm talking about abdominal muscles here."

First: Admit there is a problem

Today, Eagles head coach Andy Reid admitted that it is time to fix some of the problems on special teams. He wants to improve kickoff and punt returns.

And it is about time, if you have an ailing quarterback like Donovan McNabb, how about giving him the best starting position possible?

In kickoff returns, the Eagles are 27th in the NFL with an average starting position around the 24-yard line (23.9). Rod Hood has an average of 22.2 yards per return on 10 attempts and Dexter Wynn has an 18.8 average on eight tries.

Certainly to be near the bottom in any category is not acceptable for any team with Super Bowl aspirations.