Q: What is it like to see WR Steve Smith go to another team?
A: It is always tough to lose a player like Steve. Steve brought a lot to our team and he is going to be missed, no question about it. I think we've got guys to fill in but it is going to be hard to replace a guy like Steve. In saying that, I do think we have a lot of talent here. We have a lot of young guys. We have Hixon, which is a great help to our offense. Players go where the most money is. Guys don't just play this game just because of the love of the game of football, they also play it to be well compensated and that's what the Eagles did with Steve. They compensated him better than anyone else in the league can.
Q: Are you wondering why this team is not offering more money to some of these players?
A: I am not wondering why because part of me kind of knows why. With the salary cap being what it is now, it is going to be hard trying to get a lot of the high caliber players like Steve and the other people who have slipped through the cracks as well. It is the nature of the business.
Q: This is the reason why you re-structured your contract right?
A: I want to win. I want to be able to be successful as an individual player and as a team. I re-structured to get 44 back here and that is what we got. Anything else that we would have been able to bring back off of the little I gave back is a plus. In saying that, Steve is going to be well missed and it is what it is. We have a lot of talent, we have Duke Calhoun who is also stepping up and playing very, very, very well for us. He is going to be key and the guy that is going to have the ball. Of course we have Hakeem, we have Hixon, we have Manningham, we have guys that can catch the football and run route and they know what they are suppose to be doing. We just have to wait and see how things are going to pan out.
Q: How anxious are you to see how the offensive line plays?
A: This is going to be my seventh year and everybody wants to play. I know what the preseason is all about and me personally, I don't really like the preseason anyway. Guys go in and get hurt or banged up. Preseason games don't mean anything. It is a time to get guys out there to see who is going to be a dog or a cat. I don't mind going out there just to prove that point but it is going to be interesting to see with the guys playing on the line and how the chemistry will be on our team. I can't wait to see it.
Q: Are you getting tired of seeing players go to the Eagles?
A: Not really, they can be the dream team as they call it and have all the guys down there that they want to. They are a very talented team before the guys that they added to it but you have to keep in mind that there is only one football that you play with on the football field. As far as defensively, there is a body for everybody that is out there so it doesn't mean anything to me. I like competing. They have a good team before this offseason and they have a great team now. It doesn't really mean anything to me. We just have to go out and compete.
Q: How do you feel about the fact that you may touch the ball less this season?
A: That would be selfish of me to say, now you have to bring somebody else in. You can't bring him back, it's not about that. Like I said, I want to win games and no question 44 is a big help to us winning football games and we all know that. Whatever comes out of that, we have to take it on the chin and roll with it. I have money and I'm not shy to say that. We needed to do whatever we could to get him back here, so I took that hit and I wasn't the only one to take that also. There are guys that know what winning really means and know what you have to do and the price you have to pay, literally the price you have to pay to win.
