Only a really sick individual can take pleasure out of what is happening in Washington to Donovan McNabb.
OK, count us as sick, demented Eagles fans.
You want to make something of it?
For 11 years, Philadelphia had a love-hate relationship with its star quarterback.
This all started on Draft Day back in 1999, when, engineered by the local sports radio zanies, a group of Iggles zealots made the trek to the Big Apple and booed the Birds’ first-round draft pick. That selection happened to be McNabb. The boos weren’t necessarily directed at the Syracuse star, the fans were simply showing their displeasure that the team did not select all-everything running back Ricky Waters. Among those who had been leading the cheers for the Texas stud was then-Mayor Ed Rendell.
McNabb never got over the slight. The guy signed a $112 million contract, and he still revisited the draft day horror at every opportunity. If I signed that kind of deal – and don’t look for that anytime soon in my racket – people could say anything that wanted about me, boo me all they want. I’d laugh all the way to the bank. Instead McNabb sulked all the way back to the huddle.
The heat intensified on McNabb in the now-infamous final minutes of the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, when a harried McNabb failed to execute a two-minute drill and either did or did not regurgitate on the field. If he had, he would have joined most of the fans, who by this time had seen this act too many times.
The combination of Donovan McNabb, Andy Reid, and the last two minutes of both the first half and the end of games had become something of a recurring nightmare. Either via poor time management, a lack of execution or simply bad decision-making, these situations always wound up like a stick of dynamite being passed hurriedly from one person to the next. And it always blew up in the Birds’ hands.
Last year, after the Eagles were humiliated in both the final regular season game and a playoff game by the hated Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles brass (or maybe we should defer to their preferred moniker, the NFL gold standard) decided to part ways with their longtime QB.
The Eagles stunned the league, their fans and the experts by dealing McNabb in their own division, to their rivals just two hours down I-95, the Washington Redskins.
The national pundits scorched the Eagles for such an idiotic move, saying they would regret it and that, under the tutelage of Coach Mike Shanahan, we would now see the “real” Donovan McNabb.
What they’re learning is something Eagles fans have suspected for some time, the “new” McNabb looks amazingly like the “old” McNabb.
All of this culminated in something I did not expect, McNabb being benched by Shanahan in the final two minutes of last week’s stunning loss to the Lions.
Shanahan’s reasoning? Donovan was not in good enough shape to run the two-minute drill. At least that’s what it sounded like.
Now is sounds like something else. It sounds like the complaints Eagles had lodged against McNabb for years.
Having said that, I also should say this. While I was never a big McNabb fan, I always admired one thing about him. He was a solid citizen who never had even a whiff of controversy about him.
Does that overrule all those one-hop passes, balls thrown behind receivers running those West Coast offense slants, and throwing passes to receivers in the middle of the field with no timeouts left and seconds left in the first half? Probably not.
But what is happening to McNabb in Washington is just wrong. Sure, it’s redemption for Eagles fans who absored the wrath of the national media for years for daring to question McNabb. But bringing in a 285-pound Jamarcus Russell for a tryout? That’s just rubbing it in his face.
Now all of a sudden the national media is offering up a chorus of “we told you so” when it comes to McNabb. When exactly was that? I don’t remember any of them blaming McNabb for any of the Eagles decade-long problems that thwarted one Super Bowl opportunity after another.
I suppose the only thing left for the national media to do is to pull out that tired old video of McNabb being booed on draft day.
Give it a rest, guys. It’s old. Apparently, just like Donovan, who suddenly appears ancient.
We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so.
The Eagles face the Colts on Sunday, then will brace themselves for their first appearance on Monday Night Football.
And who would be their opponent on Nov. 15? Of course that would be those Washington Redskins, who have a bye week this Sunday. It will McNabb’s first appearance back on the field since being pulled and doing that classic Donovan “funk” on the sideline.
Yo, Donovan, long time no see. How’s life in D.C.? We wish you all the best, except on Monday night.
Would Shanahan dare further embarrass his new QB on national TV, against his old team?
Donovan may never recover. It’s pretty clear he’s never quite gotten over Phillly.
In the words of the inimitable Whitey Ashburn: Hard to believe, Harry.
OK, count us as sick, demented Eagles fans.
You want to make something of it?
For 11 years, Philadelphia had a love-hate relationship with its star quarterback.
This all started on Draft Day back in 1999, when, engineered by the local sports radio zanies, a group of Iggles zealots made the trek to the Big Apple and booed the Birds’ first-round draft pick. That selection happened to be McNabb. The boos weren’t necessarily directed at the Syracuse star, the fans were simply showing their displeasure that the team did not select all-everything running back Ricky Waters. Among those who had been leading the cheers for the Texas stud was then-Mayor Ed Rendell.
McNabb never got over the slight. The guy signed a $112 million contract, and he still revisited the draft day horror at every opportunity. If I signed that kind of deal – and don’t look for that anytime soon in my racket – people could say anything that wanted about me, boo me all they want. I’d laugh all the way to the bank. Instead McNabb sulked all the way back to the huddle.
The heat intensified on McNabb in the now-infamous final minutes of the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, when a harried McNabb failed to execute a two-minute drill and either did or did not regurgitate on the field. If he had, he would have joined most of the fans, who by this time had seen this act too many times.
The combination of Donovan McNabb, Andy Reid, and the last two minutes of both the first half and the end of games had become something of a recurring nightmare. Either via poor time management, a lack of execution or simply bad decision-making, these situations always wound up like a stick of dynamite being passed hurriedly from one person to the next. And it always blew up in the Birds’ hands.
Last year, after the Eagles were humiliated in both the final regular season game and a playoff game by the hated Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles brass (or maybe we should defer to their preferred moniker, the NFL gold standard) decided to part ways with their longtime QB.
The Eagles stunned the league, their fans and the experts by dealing McNabb in their own division, to their rivals just two hours down I-95, the Washington Redskins.
The national pundits scorched the Eagles for such an idiotic move, saying they would regret it and that, under the tutelage of Coach Mike Shanahan, we would now see the “real” Donovan McNabb.
What they’re learning is something Eagles fans have suspected for some time, the “new” McNabb looks amazingly like the “old” McNabb.
All of this culminated in something I did not expect, McNabb being benched by Shanahan in the final two minutes of last week’s stunning loss to the Lions.
Shanahan’s reasoning? Donovan was not in good enough shape to run the two-minute drill. At least that’s what it sounded like.
Now is sounds like something else. It sounds like the complaints Eagles had lodged against McNabb for years.
Having said that, I also should say this. While I was never a big McNabb fan, I always admired one thing about him. He was a solid citizen who never had even a whiff of controversy about him.
Does that overrule all those one-hop passes, balls thrown behind receivers running those West Coast offense slants, and throwing passes to receivers in the middle of the field with no timeouts left and seconds left in the first half? Probably not.
But what is happening to McNabb in Washington is just wrong. Sure, it’s redemption for Eagles fans who absored the wrath of the national media for years for daring to question McNabb. But bringing in a 285-pound Jamarcus Russell for a tryout? That’s just rubbing it in his face.
Now all of a sudden the national media is offering up a chorus of “we told you so” when it comes to McNabb. When exactly was that? I don’t remember any of them blaming McNabb for any of the Eagles decade-long problems that thwarted one Super Bowl opportunity after another.
I suppose the only thing left for the national media to do is to pull out that tired old video of McNabb being booed on draft day.
Give it a rest, guys. It’s old. Apparently, just like Donovan, who suddenly appears ancient.
We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so.
The Eagles face the Colts on Sunday, then will brace themselves for their first appearance on Monday Night Football.
And who would be their opponent on Nov. 15? Of course that would be those Washington Redskins, who have a bye week this Sunday. It will McNabb’s first appearance back on the field since being pulled and doing that classic Donovan “funk” on the sideline.
Yo, Donovan, long time no see. How’s life in D.C.? We wish you all the best, except on Monday night.
Would Shanahan dare further embarrass his new QB on national TV, against his old team?
Donovan may never recover. It’s pretty clear he’s never quite gotten over Phillly.
In the words of the inimitable Whitey Ashburn: Hard to believe, Harry.
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