ASSOCIATED PRESS NFC quarterback Donovan McNabb of the Eagles looked healthy as he threw passes at practice yesterday.

No soup for McNabb

The Eagles’ QB says he
was not sick at the end of
the Super Bowl

The New England Patriots are known for respecting every opponent. They don't give anyone extra motivation by making what can be interpreted in any way as an insulting statement.

But the Super Bowl champions don't have another meaningful game for seven months, so defensive end Richard Seymour figured a little jab at vanquished Eagles star Donovan McNabb yesterday might be OK.

Seymour was asked if he thought his sack of McNabb during Super Bowl XXXIX might have caused the Philadelphia quarterback to become woozy and perform at less than his normal efficiency, helping the Patriots win 24-21.

"I think he needed to get some soup at halftime," Seymour said.

Whoa -- that could be considered not only a shot at McNabb, but also at his mother, Wilma, who stars in soup commercials as a sort-of Eagles nest-mother.

Good thing McNabb has a sense of humor about his misadventures last Sunday.

"Let's jump right into it. I'm sick. I'm ready to throw up," McNabb said, with a big grin, as a horde of national and local reporters descended upon him seconds after the whistle ending yesterday's NFC Pro Bowl practice.

McNabb's pocket presence was never better. There's supposed to be no blitzing at the Pro Bowl, but the Eagles quarterback fended off a maximum media bull-rush.

It was the first chance to hit McNabb with questions about his health during the Super Bowl, two days after center Hank Fraley said the Eagles' unquestioned leader was so ill he "could hardly call the plays."

"No, I wasn't sick, and no, I didn't throw up," McNabb said.

He also said receiver Freddie Mitchell did not have to call a play in the huddle for him, as Mitchell had claimed.

"No, Freddie did not call a play. I get the plays in my helmet, so he couldn't call a play," the quarterback said.

Running back Brian Westbrook, also here for the Pro Bowl, said he could hear McNabb's play-calls and other signals, and the quarterback was fine as far as he could tell.

"He wasn't sick. He was coughing a little, but he didn't seem sick," Westbrook said.

McNabb did acknowledge that he'd had a cold during the days prior to the game, and that might have caused him to be fatigued in the fourth quarter as the Eagles tried to rally from 10- and 3-point deficits.

"That could've been it," he said. "But I wasn't sick to the point of hanging over a toilet or excusing myself."

McNabb was questioned specifically about the Eagles' last scoring drive -- a 13-play, 79-yard odyssey that consumed 3 minutes and 52 seconds of the fourth quarter. It knocked the clock down to just 1:48, leaving little time for the Eagles to get the ball back and tie or win the game.

"Yes, I was tired. But we scored on the drive (a 30-yard McNabb pass to Greg Lewis), that's the main thing," he said.

Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said he didn't think it was strange that the Eagles had to use plenty of the play clock to attack New England's defense late in the game.

"I thought they were just trying to get the right play," said Bruschi, who grabbed one of three interceptions thrown by McNabb. "I wasn't really paying attention to how he was feeling. That wasn't my concern."

McNabb said he hadn't talked to Fraley or Mitchell.

"I haven't talked to anyone. But I've seen Hank on TV a lot," he said. "Obviously I'm upset about the whole deal."

Not overly so, though, as McNabb managed to keep his sense of humor. His main point was that he didn't want to make any excuses, and didn't want excuses made for him.

"I'll take the blame. I'll put it on my shoulders and we'll move on," he said. "Then it will be time for us to start getting ready to do what we need to do to get to Detroit (site of Super Bowl XL)."

Nothing appeared to be wrong with McNabb as he alternated series with fellow NFC quarterbacks Daunte Culpepper and Mike Vick yesterday as the Pro Bowlers practiced under sunny skies.

A few minutes later, as the mass interview of McNabb ended, the Philadelphia quarterback grinned again and announced loudly to everyone and no one in particular, "There will be chicken wings at the pool bar."

No word, though, on the availability of soup.