Philadelphia Eagles News

QB Vick, CB Hughes

QB Michael Vick

On the importance of this week's game in terms of conference standings: "Every game is a big game. Regardless of who you're playing I think you have to take that approach and not take any team in this league lightly."

On his fondest Thanksgiving memory: "Fondest Thanksgiving memory is just being with my family each and every year. Some years you can't, some years you can, depends on everybody's schedules. And this year will be like last year, I can spend Thanksgiving with my family, so my fondest memory is having everybody together."

On his comments in the Sports Illustrated article about how his birthday party last year was the turning point in his life: "That was a turning point in my life when I realized that I just had to get things in order and get my priorities in line - and that's what happened. That was the point where I said 'okay, I get it now. Let's do this the right way.'"

On winning people over and whether there will ever be an article written about him mentioning only his game play: "I think at some point in time it'll be monotonous to continue to talk about the same thing over and over again. I really don't pay attention to it. I don't even read the articles, so regardless of what people say, it doesn't matter to me. I appreciate all of the positives, but I appreciate all of the negatives as well, because that only drives me and motivates me."

On the challenge of playing the Bears defense: "The Bears defense, my God, looking at them on film - we've got our work cut out for us. Like I said, every week is going to be a challenge in the NFL. It's a good group of guys that we're playing against, a lot of veterans over there. They fly around to the football. You've got to put together an excellent game plan to beat them."

On how much he is looking forward to getting the offense clicking again: "We're very confident in what we can do as an offense. There's going to be some games where things don't go as well. You've just got to continue to keep fighting, bounce back from it, and just try not to let it happen again."

On how concerned he is with getting a contract extension:"I'm not really worried about that right now. I think it's all going to take care of itself at the appropriate time. I totally understand, but I'm going to keep playing and try to put myself in the best position that I can possibly be in and let it take care of itself."

On the large amounts of media requests and whether he has a concern about mental and physical fatigue: "I'm just doing what I feel like I promised myself I would do, what I'm obligated to do, and I enjoy doing it. If I felt like it was going to fatigue me or tire me out then I wouldn't do it. I'm just trying to do things that I feel like in my heart I should be doing."

On whether getting the franchise tag placed on him may be better than a long-term contract when considering his financial state: "Honestly, I can't even answer that question, because a lot of details have to be worked out, and we're not even talking about contracts or extensions or franchising right now. We're talking about football."

On how the Eagles are handling the spotlight: "I think the team's done a great job. We all understand what's the most important thing, and that's winning the next game. We try to put ourselves in a position where we can do that and we can excel on the field. You just have to stay even keeled in this league. You can't get too far ahead; you can't start thinking that you're bigger than you really are."

On whether the Giants were the best defense he has faced this year and whether the Bears have a similar defense: "The Giants had a good defense, Bears have a good defense, Washington had a good defense—they've all got good defenses. You've got to be prepared. You've got to execute and be sharp and be focused. So, I really can't say who's better - they're both good."

CB Brandon Hughes

On how strange it was playing on the Giants' practice squad last week and then joining the Eagles this week after the two teams met: "It's not at all. It's just seeing it from different perspectives. I got to see it from the Giants' perspective, now I can see it, in a couple of weeks, from the Eagles' perspective. It's going to be competitive, as it was when I was in New York, it's just, you're on different sides of the fence now."

On where he was for the Eagles-Giants game last Sunday: "I watched it at home."

On who he impersonated while on the Giants practice squad last week: "I was everybody. I did offense and defense, but I did that all through being on the practice squad out there. Mostly, I was just (WR) Jeremy Maclin. I wore the number 18 jersey, I stretched the field a little bit."

On whether he played offense on the practice squad because of the Giants having injuries:"No, practice squad - your job is to practice, so if they need you, you go in and you do it."

On Maclin's nine-catch, 120-yard performance and whether he gave the Giants defense a good look: "(Jokingly) I gave them best look I could considering that I'm not a receiver."

On what his role will be with the Eagles: "I'm just here to contribute, whatever it is that they decide down the road. They don't know me. I mean, they've watched film on me. I'm assuming they still want to see what I can do when I step onto the field at practices, and then we'll go from there."

S Nate Allen

On what has happened to the Eagles defense since losing to the Titans: "That was a rough week. I guess, being a younger defense, you kind of learn as you go, and we definitely learned from that, and just didn't want that feeling to come around again."
