- Feb 17, 2004
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TextThe mouth that roared just won't be ignored.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Freddie Mitchell was muzzled pretty well by the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. But Mitchell is still trying to get in the last word.
On Wednesday, Mitchell sounded off on ESPN Radio's AllNight with Todd Wright, not only defending the disparaging remarks he made about the Patriots' defensive backs prior to the Super Bowl, but taking it a step further and calling out the Patriots again.
"It was kind of like me being facetious and kidding around. They blew it way out of proportion," Mitchell said of his pregame comments. "[Their reactions] reminded me of little girls. They're sensitive. Real, real sensitive.
"Now the thing that bothers me the most is you've got everybody talking now. ... I've got [Patriots coach Bill] Belichick even throwing remarks about me. It's like, 'Man, did I hurt you that bad that you have to go out and shout my name?' Troy Brown saying something, Mr. Belichick saying a little something. It's funny how I got under their skin."
Mitchell wasn't able to get "under their skin" on the field, however, with just one reception for 11 yards. He had one fewer catch than Harrison, who intercepted Donovan McNabb twice.
But to hear Mitchell on Wednesday, even that wasn't his fault. Mitchell argued that the surprising play of Terrell Owens contributed to his own minimal contribution.
"T.O., he came and did an excellent job ... but that really took away from my play time and my opportunities," Mitchell said. "I couldn't shut a lot of people up that I wanted to shut up. That really hurt the situation."
Owens had nine catches for 122 yards in his first game since undergoing surgery six weeks ago for his severely injured ankle. Still, Mitchell is confident he'll get his chance to be "in the position to make a play or ... to be the marquee guy."
Despite Owens' unexpected production -- he was the Eagles' leading receiver in the loss -- Mitchell believes it was the television analysts who placed too much emphasis on Owens.
"[The analysts] think they know it all. ... T.O. is just on a pedestal, and everybody else is pretty much peasants.
"I think when they get to the realization that one player cannot beat a whole team and we won [in the playoffs] without T.O. We got to the Super Bowl without T.O. We can win without T.O. I think that they'll educate themselves more and they'll know that could happen."
heheh putting the blame on his 1 catch performance on TO's productivity.
What i've come to expect from former UCLA football players. stupidity. like Cade McNown.
