BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Donovan McNabb says injuries that forced him to miss eight games the past two seasons may have made him a better quarterback, that the Eagles are "at the top of the NFC" and that he's prepared to move to a new team if the Eagles decide they want to go in a different direction.
And, he says if Terrell Owens had stayed with Philadelphia instead of leaving for Dallas after a season-long squabble, "It could've been great."
In an interview with ESPN.com NFC East blogger Matt Mosley, McNabb said of Owens: "In his situation, he's finally maturing at age 35 [actually 34]. Sometimes it's you, sometimes it's me. [T.O.] thought for so long it was someone else, but at some point, maybe it dawns on you that it's not everyone else's fault. I think once Bill [Parcells] left, T.O. realized that Jerry [Jones] truly loved him. And now he has a quarterback that he feels comfortable with. He's listening. Sometimes you have to understand the reality of the whole situation, and I think he did that."
McNabb and Owens played 22 games together. Owens caught 20 touchdown passes as an Eagle. They played in one Super Bowl together. But it ended in controversy, with Owens signing with Dallas after the 2005 season.
"It could've been great," McNabb said. "What did we have, 30 TDs? You don't see that type of combination very often. That's like Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison. We would've been up there."
McNabb, in his interview with Mosley, said his knee and ankle injuries which limited his play the past two seasons may have been a blessing in disguise.
"[Last year] was a grind, but the injury actually helped acclimate me to being the type of quarterback that I've wanted to be. It's helped me in certain areas."
Asked about the Eagles' chances this year, McNabb said: "I still put us at the top of the NFC. I feel confident in saying that because all the best teams are pretty much in our division. The Giants and Cowboys are coming off great seasons and the Redskins had a decent year."
And McNabb also said he's at peace with the prospect of eventually moving to a new team. The Eagles drafted quarterback Kevin Kolb a year ago, a decision which perturbed McNabb initially.
If the Eagles decide Kolb is their future and want to move on, as the Green Bay Packers did with Brett Favre after Favre initially announced his retirement in March, McNabb said he'll deal with that.
"I might end up somewhere else," McNabb said. "And I'm prepared for that."
