TEMPE, Ariz.
— Since meeting and becoming friends in Hawaii during the 2005 Pro Bowl, Arizona Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry says he and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb talk at least once or twice a week.
And now that the Eagles will be facing the Cardinals on Sunday in the NFC championship game, with a trip to Super Bowl XLIII on the line?
“Nothing’s going to change; we’ll talk this week,” Berry said. “Nothing’s going to change — and that will be true regardless of whatever happens in the game. We’ll always be friends.”
That’s not to say that Berry, who led the Cardinals with five sacks during the regular season and has added another two in the playoffs, wouldn’t be licking his lips at the chance to add to that total at University of Phoenix Stadium. If getting a shot at McNabb means getting to the Super Bowl, Berry says McNabb knows that it’s only business.
“We’re both competitors and we both know that we have to do our jobs,” Berry said. “We have to put friendship aside for a couple of hours; the fact is, he’s not my friend when we’re on the field. He’s going to try to throw the ball and I’m going to try and stop him from throwing the ball.
“It’s that simple. You can’t let personal feelings get in the way of your job out there.”
Years ago, McNabb spent an offseason in the Phoenix area working out at local sports performance institute. He liked the area so much that he moved there. Berry joined the Cardinals after leaving the Broncos following the 2003 season.
Somehow their paths never really crossed until that Pro Bowl game in Honolulu, but since then they’ve been inseparable, often seen hanging out at Phoenix Suns basketball games.
For his part, McNabb says he counts a number of Cardinals players as his friends, which is somewhat ironic in that — indirectly — they may have played a role in helping the Eagles reach the conference championship game.
In November, the Eagles lost two out of three games, the third being an embarrassing tie with Cincinnati. That dropped the team’s record to 5-5-1 and, given the competitive NFC East, seemingly out of the playoff picture. But on Thanksgiving night, the Cardinals traveled to Philadelphia, with the Eagles taking a 48-20 decision. Philadelphia has lost only once since.
McNabb, who had been benched the week before, threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns in the contest, reestablishing himself as the Eagles’ leader.
“I think that was an important game for all of us, not just me personally,” he said.
Anthony Cotton, The Denver Post
