Just days after confidently declaring that his knee was 75 percent and that at said 75 percent he feels that he can be “one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Donovan McNabb decided to give us all a chuck on the shoulder and confide that he was just (and I’m paraphrasing here) “making some sh*t up when I said all that.”

In both an interview on the NFL Network yesterday and his press conference today, he tried to call out the media on their reaction to his “75 percent” comments, joking that he just made some stuff up and people ran with it. Essentially, he gave us the Frankie Five Angels defense.

This is all good. At least he’s trying to defuse it all and joke a bit. Still, watching his performance on the NFL Network versus his press conference at Eagles Camp, you can’t help but notice that the tone of the NFL Network interview (playful, lots of joking, lots of personality) is drastically different than the local press conference (stoic, businesslike, wooden — with the exception of the jokes about the percentages). Maybe it just takes more effort to be funny so he saves it for the national appearances? Or maybe he’s just sick and tired of the local blathermonkeys?

(A little from column A, a little from column B.)

Links:
Donovan McNabb appears on NFL Total Access [NFL Network]
Donovan McNabb press conference August 1 [PhiladelphiaEagles.com]