Kenny Phillips: It was 'time for a new start'

Former New York Giants safety Kenny Phillips, now a member of the new-look Philadelphia Eagles, said Friday that switching sides in the rivalry between NFC East teams was "weird" and that he would "have to learn to hate" his former team.

Phillips, and a bevy of other Eagles free-agent acquisitions, met the Philadelphia media for the first time on Friday. Phillips was asked if he intended to leave the Giants all along when he became a free agent.

"I can't say that. They did draft me, so I felt some type of ‑‑ I don't want to say I owed them anything, but there is some loyalty involved. So I wouldn't just run out the door," Phillips said. "I enjoyed and I'm thankful that the Giants drafted me. I won a Super Bowl with the team, had some great friendships and they're a great organization. But it's just time for a new start."

Phillips missed nine games last season with a knee injury suffered -- ironically -- against the Eagles. He also has a chronic knee condition that forced him to miss 14 games in 2009.He beleives his knee is not an issue.

"I’m one hundred percent. It feels good, it feels good. Since the season ended, I’ve been rehabbing five days a week and continue to get strong," Phillips said. "I took my physical today and the doctors liked what they saw. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Like I said, I’m one hundred percent right now."

[NOTE: Thanks to JasonB of Bleeding Green Nation for passing along the transcript of the press conference.]