The Philadelphia defeated the Baltimore Ravens 13-6 in their preseason opener and generally looked pretty good doing. The first offense scored in their only drive and the defense got six sacks, two turnovers and gave up no touchdowns. Overall, it was a pretty good performance for a team with a lot of guys that have had less than a week of practice to prepare. Here's what some had to say in the locker room after the game.
"I feel that each and every guy in the locker room wants to be on this year. We've enjoyed each other so much over training camp and just spending time with one another, getting to know one another. [We're] just so happy to be back and gelling as a team that I think that every guy in the locker room wishes they could be on this team. And I think that's why you get the effort that you just saw out on the field. Because guys want to play for us. It's awesome. It's awesome. I wish every guy could make this team and be a part of it. But yeah, we definitely have something special and this was by far one of the best training camps that I had, one of the best teams that I ever felt that I've been a part of and I enjoy each and every teammate that I have in the locker room."
"It's still early. It was only one series and it's going take a lot to be a good team. We have to get everybody back healthy and in the flow of things. It will take a bit of time, but we will be good. I think that past few years we were good and now with a few more weapons and working together, we will be fine."
Punter Chas Henry
"It's great. I love winning and coming to a place like this, where the expectations are winning a Super Bowl. That is the expectation you should have as a professional. I relish that and can't wait to begin the season."
"There are certainly some things I need to work on. I have only been in camp for a week, so I need to get comfortable with things and pick up on the offense. It's going to be a continuing thing. There are a lot of things to work on. I told coach Mudd that I am not afraid to put extra time into it. I am hoping for a good week of practice and head down to Pittsburgh and see how it goes."
Vince Young, who evidently feels that he needs to keep working.
"I have to continue to keep working. It's a new offense and a new team. I just want to continue to keep working. I felt alright tonight, but it's not where I want to be at. I have to go back to the practice field and keep working to progress."
"With the way [defensive coordinator] Juan [Castillo] is having us play, I mean, we're playing fast and we're manning up a lot of guys. I don't know if you can tell, but we are getting after these wide receivers. They made a couple catches, but at the end of the day, they didn't get in the end zone. From [the first team] to the end of the first quarter, everyone did their job and I think that's something that we can improve on. There are still things that we have to go back and check the film on and get better at, but overall, I'm pleased with the way it went down."
Darryl Tapp is now wearing the #55 jersey, but he says that wasn't the reason for his two sacks.
"[Jokingly] It might have been. No, it was definitely a lot of work with [defensive line] coach [Jim] Washburn. There's still a lot more work to do, but it was a good feeling to get a good start."
Alex Henery, a kicker, says it was to get started off "on the right foot." Get it!?
"Yeah, the first kickoff was kind of nice and I got a good one. I snuck it in. It was good to just get started off on the right foot. I was happy how it went today."
Jaiquawn Jarrett on his first pick
"It was a great experience to come out here in my first professional game to get out here and compete. The coaches had faith in me and the players did, so it was exciting for me to get a turnover and get the offense back on the field."
Nnamdi Asomugha... he calls us "we!"
I've had three practices and a preseason game, and obviously we're talented-it's laid out all over the place and everyone sees it and the coaching is great here as well. So, we could be really special. I think we have a great opportunity to do some big things this year. But with those expectations, you have to put in a little more focus, so it may not be as easy as other people are expecting it to be. We still have a lot of work to do."
"I knew what this team was capable of doing. With this outcome, I wasn't surprised, but with how fast it went. I only got eight reps and that's fine. Each game we'll start getting more and more and just looking forward to getting in a rhythm. We have a good group of guys and we know what we're all about. Obviously, it's nice coming out with the victory."