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First minicamp for Eagles begins with some harsh words

The Philadelphia Eagles opened their first minicamp since the Super Bowl on Friday, but several familiar faces were missing, as was the harmony that helped the team reach the NFL championship game for the first time in 24 years.

Discord was plainly evident in the absence of wide receivers Terrell Owens and Freddie Mitchell, and in the rebuke that quarterback Donovan McNabb issued without naming them.

Owens and Mitchell have criticized McNabb since the Eagles lost, 24-21, to the New England Patriots on Feb. 6.

On Friday, without being specific, McNabb challenged his teammates to act professionally and speak to him personally if they have a problem with him.

"Don't try to throw guys under the bus to better yourself," McNabb said, adding that if teammates were looking for excuses to explain the Super Bowl defeat, "pretty much just keep my name out of your mouth."

McNabb also said: "I'm not going to sit here and try to have a war of words. I'm a man at what I do. If anyone feels they need to lash out, they know how to get in touch with me, and we can handle it like men."

Owens, in pushing for a restructuring of his contract, recently told ESPN.com that at least he was not "the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl."

This was a caustic reference to McNabb, who center Hank Fraley said had nearly thrown up in the huddle while battling fatigue in the final five minutes of the Super Bowl.

It has never been fully explained whether McNabb was sick, injured or simply weary from the pressure and exertion of the moment. The Eagles scored a touchdown on that particular drive, but they have faced criticism for a seeming lack of urgency in its hurry-up offense.

Mitchell, who was frustrated last season in a reduced role with Owens on the team, told The Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this month that McNabb lacked confidence in him, even though he had bailed the team out on critical plays, including a reception on fourth-and-26 against Green Bay in the 2004 playoffs.

Mitchell's days with the Eagles are clearly numbered. He was absent from minicamp Friday, coach Andy Reid said, because "I did not want him here."

Reid said he was "working on some things," apparently referring to his attempts to trade Mitchell, a former first-round draft selection.

At a news conference, McNabb said he had become winded during the Super Bowl and not exhausted, as Owens suggested. McNabb, who was hit often by the Patriots, threw 51 times in that game. Three went for touchdowns and three were intercepted.

"Just to set the record straight, I wasn't tired," McNabb said.

"I don't play games in the media," he added. "If someone has a problem with me, they can call me or they know how to get in touch with me."

Neither Owens nor Mitchell had called him, McNabb said, adding that he did not believe it was his place to call them.

Asked again what had happened in the final minutes of the game, McNabb said, "If you're in a game at the highest level, where everyone is watching, including guys you played against, and you're not tired in that game, giving all that you have, then you haven't done nothing."

It would be accurate to say that he and his teammates were winded, McNabb suggested. "But to be tired and pretty much dropping to a knee, that didn't happen," he said. "I was giving all that I had out there; I left everything out on the field. Unfortunately, we came up short."
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