Eagles QB Tanner McKee (Post-Game Transcript)
On how he thought he played tonight:
“It felt good, felt like we were moving the ball, which is always fun. Obviously, we’ll watch film and you never really know until you watch film. There are things that like, ‘Oh man, I missed that’ or whatever. But overall, moved the ball well, had a lot of guys that made great plays. So the feeling is good.”
On whether he showed he’s higher than a 61 overall in Madden:
“[Jokingly] I mean, we’ll see. We’ll let them decide, but I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, nice job 61’ or whatever it was. So yeah, it’s been a funny joke going around.”
On the touchdown pass to Eagles WR Darius Cooper:
“Yeah, I mean it was a concept with this individual route, [Eagles Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo] is like give them whatever you want. I’m like, if it’s one-on-one, we’re going to take a go ball. So I mean, great release, beat him over the top, made a great grab at the back on the end of the end zone. So it was good. It was good to see that and just see new guys make big plays and have that because I feel like throughout practice you kind of have that chemistry and different things, but to see it in a game and see guys make big plays like that, it’s a lot of fun. It builds confidence for me as a quarterback to give them the ball, but also for the other guys that are on the sideline and the coaches just like, ‘Hey, these guys can make big plays in big time situations.’”
On what he has seen from Eagles WR Darius Cooper throughout the game and this summer:
“I think he’s a really good player, very fast, great hands. I think you guys saw that today. Can win one-on-one routes, which is huge in the NFL. If they’re going to give you one-on-one on the outside, you got to take advantage of it and so I think he did a great job of that for sure.”
On Eagles WR Johnny Wilson’s performance:
“[Eagles WR] Johnny’s [Wilson] the man. He’s a big body and so he saved that first pass. That first go ball was underthrown a little bit and he was able to climb the stairs and make a great play. So I think he’s one of those big guys that knows how to use his body, which is great to see. And obviously I think he’s a good player and can use the size.”
On the dichotomy between Eagles WRs Darius Cooper and Johnny Wilson:
“I think you’ve just got to play guys to their strengths. They’re both professionals for different reasons and so, as quarterback – it’s kind of like a point guard. You kind of have to give the ball to the guys to their strengths and help them show what they do best. So whether that’s an upstairs throw, back shoulder throw, down the field throw, whatever it is, I think that comes into play as a quarterback of what kind of ball you’re going to put on.”
On the thought process behind 50-50 balls:
“That is what is great about having great athletes, great players, and great teammates. They can go make those 50-50 balls. I know I threw a couple to [Eagles WR] Johnny [Wilson] today and when Johnny’s six [feet], seven [inches] and can use his body and stuff, those are more like 90-10 balls. It’s nice as a quarterback and be like, ‘Okay, if I’m going to miss, I’m going to miss high and let Johnny go climb the ladder.’ So that’s huge.”
On the advantage of being the emergency quarterback in the past and hearing the play-calling in the helmet:
“Yeah, it’s huge. Just hearing the call and thinking if I was out there, what read would I be making? What calls should I be making? And just getting those mental reps I think is huge in live games. I think you can watch a lot of film and do a lot of things, which I think is great, but seeing it live and seeing it in game time, kind of talking to [Eagles Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo] or the offensive coordinator and hearing what he’s thinking and you can anticipate calls. I think it’s very beneficial, obviously.”
On being a backup normally but starting today:
“How’s it different? I mean it’s nice when you’re going to go in. The other preseason games, it’s kind of like, ‘All right, I’m ready just in case.’ I don’t know if I’m going second quarter, third quarter, whatever it is. So it’s nice going in, obviously just knowing when you’re going to play. Yeah, I guess that’s it.”
On the effect of having a big run to get the offense going?
“It’s huge. I was telling the quarterbacks on the side, it’s so nice when you just hand the ball off and just chunk like 35-yards right in a row. That’s all on the O-line. [Eagles RB] Will [Shipley] did a great job of hitting the hole and using his speed. It’s great as a quarterback just to be able to run the ball and it keeps the defense honest, too. They can’t play sky coverage and have two deep safeties the whole time. They’re going to have to roll down and put guys in the box and that opens up things in the pass obviously. It’s really nice when you’re firing on all cylinders, you can run the ball, you pass the ball, and obviously they compliment each other.”
On how much practice he’s had with the tush push:
“Yeah, so I mean we practice those snaps. The snap is just a little bit different obviously with the center and the four point stance and just being ready to get low and to drive. We don’t do a ton of live reps. But just getting those types of snaps and technique and different things and coaching points that we’re hearing. I mean that’s obviously a big thing of what we do and people have a hard time stopping it. So yeah, we’ve got a lot of time on hand.”
On his potential as a starter:
“I’m just going to take advantage of any opportunity that’s given to me. Right now it’s getting ready for the Browns for next week and obviously earlier today was getting ready for the Bengals. So obviously I’m just going to be looking for the next week and ready for whatever happens, whether they’re playing their starters, the backups, whatever happens. We’ll be ready to move the ball and execute. The standard’s still the same no matter who’s in front of us. I always like it as an offense, it is always on us. It’s never on the defense, so it doesn’t matter who’s across the line, they could know what we’re doing, but as long as we execute, we should still be able to move the ball.”
On throwing the ball to seven different receivers tonight and if that was the plan:
“I mean, not necessarily. I think it just happened. I think it’s a great job by [Eagles Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo} spreading the ball around and those guys just doing a good job of getting open. I have my reads, if they’re going to give us a one-on-one matchup, then I guess I can pick on what side I want to go on, but a lot of times I’m just going through my reads and so good job on those guys for getting open.”
On whether he notices playing against a big-name player like Bengals QB Joe Burrow during the game:
“I mean obviously he’s a great player and so as an offense it was like, ‘All right, how are we going to respond?’ It’s obviously going to happen that we’re going to have to play from behind sometimes. And so we were just kind of rallying the troops saying, ‘Hey, let’s go match it and get things rolling.’ So it was great to be able to start the game off with a scoring touchdown drive.”
On his relationship with Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and how it has developed:
“He’s great. Obviously very knowledgeable of the game. He’s been around the league for a while and just has played in a lot of games. I kind of said this in another interview, but just the relationship that we have of going back and forth and kind of things that we’re seeing on the field. I feel like just me being in the offense for three years and being in the same room, I feel like each year our relationship has gotten better and we just can trust each other more, I guess, and kind of trust each other’s eyes and kind of see what we’re seeing. And so I think there’s going to be a lot of communication when I’m coming off the field. He’s coming off the field of what the other person’s been seeing on the sideline to help each other out.”