Andy Reid announced today that quarterback Donovan McNabb will return to Philadelphia for the 2010 season and the final year of his contract. This statement follows McNabb’s declaration prior to the Cowboys game that “win or lose” he would be back next year, and for “many years to come.”
Andy Reid was much too hasty in his decision to bring Donovan back, and it was the wrong decision. Let me start by analyzing Donovan’s performance over the past few years. Donovan has been a good regular season quarterback and a good early postseason quarterback, but has never been able to win the big game for the Eagles. He has taken the team to 5 NFC Championship Games, but has lost 4 of those games. In addition, the Eagles were favorites in 3 of the 4 NFC Championship Games that they lost. In these games he has been extremely inconsistent, has been inaccurate, and has been unable to lead any type of game winning drive. Yes, against Arizona, I realize that he led a drive to give the Eagles the lead in the 4th quarter, but after a Cardinals touchdown, the Eagles had good field position, and Donovan underthrew or threw behind receivers three consecutive times, and as a result was unable to produce a clutch drive down the stretch.
Donovan McNabb also lacks the leadership to be able to take this team to the Super Bowl. McNabb has been unable to take any criticism from the fans of Philadelphia, and has let it affect his play. One need not even mention how Donovan still holds a vendetta for when he was booed in New York after being drafted by the Eagles. He often refers back to that when he discusses the “injustices” he has faced during his time in Philly. Get over it! The fans weren’t even booing you, Donovan. They were booing the Eagles organization because they wanted Ricky Williams, not your performance or you personally. Donovan has continued this trend of acting like a baby, as he has criticized anyone but himself. There are many examples of how Donovan has acted childish, but in the interest of brevity, I will give one recent example. Just last week, Donovan McNabb blamed everyone but himself for the Week 17 game against Dallas. He said, “We showed our youth today” by not being able to make big plays in big spots. Really, Donovan? Only the youth didn’t perform? Was it the youth that threw the ball behind Maclin, which, on target, would have been a touchdown. Was it the youth that miss open receivers low the entire game? Was it the youth that overshot Desean Jackson when he was open? No it wasn’t. It was you, and a majority of the blame should be upon you for your performance against the ‘Boys. Then, after being called out by reporters for his comments, he retorted, “I would never throw someone under the bus…That’s just not me.” That comment may anger me more than the original comment. That comment shows that Donovan is a 33 year old baby who simply refuses to claim responsibility for his words and actions, and thereby is not fit to lead a football team. These comments represent a microcosm of Donovan’s entire career in Philadelphia.
Although McNabb has done nothing to convince the fans that he is capable of winning a Super Bowl, the decision to get rid of McNabb is not solely based upon McNabb’s performance. The Eagles have a very young base of talented weapons, including Pro Bowl WR Desean Jackson, rookie WR Jeremy Maclin, rookie RB Lesean “Shady” McCoy, and newly contract extended hybrid FB Leanard Weaver. Part of that young base, but hiding in the background, is quarterback Kevin Kolb. He was drafted out of Houston in 2007 and has sat in waiting for three seasons. Let’s analyze the impact of this draft pick. The Eagles traded down from pick 26 to pick 36, and then drafted Kevin Kolb. This pick certainly sends a message that the Eagles organization does not have full confidence in Donovan McNabb. Think of it this way. The Eagles desperately needed a wide receiver at the time, and WRs Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith (Giants), and Sidney Rice. Therefore, if the Eagles weren’t seriously considering replacing Donovan in the near future, the organization would not have drafted a quarterback with its first pick in the draft when it had so many other needs at the time.
To that same end, Kolb’s contract expires after next season, as McNabb’s does. One must ask the question: Will the Eagles extend McNabb’s contract after next year? It would be difficult. McNabb will be 34 years old. Kolb will be 26. Kolb will most likely not want to resign with the team if he does not get any playing time next year, as he will be likely to find a starting job somewhere else. Therefore, the decision of who will be the starter next year will have many repercussions down the road. If McNabb starts, that means Kolb will become a free agent without any playing time with the Eagles, and thereby will feel no loyalty to the organization. He will be very likely to sign somewhere else, and the Eagles will have effectively lost a top draft pick and the team’s future starter. If McNabb breaks down in a year of two, which may happen soon with McNabb’s age, the Eagles will have to start from scratch in terms of finding a new quarterback.
However, if the Eagles start Kolb, the team will have a quarterback who has been learning for three years by sitting behind McNabb. The team will have a quarterback who will be much more likely to sign a long term deal after his contract expires. The team will have a quarterback who will be able to grow with this young base of talent for many years. Starting McNabb next year will foil this scenario, and Kevin Kolb will move on with his career. Therefore, Kevin Kolb is the right decision for the Eagles starting quarterback position in 2010.
The point is, Donovan is not a quarterback that will be able to win the Eagles a Super Bowl. He lacks the leadership, accuracy, and overall ability to lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl, which from my knowledge is all Eagles fans care about right now. The Eagles fans have had enough of the NFC Championship Games. As a Bills fan, I get it. As fulfilling as it was to be in the playoffs every year and make the Super Bowl, I wanted a Super Bowl after being so close, and really didn’t care about anything less. Similarly, the Eagles have been in the playoffs 8 of the last 11 years, and as a result the Eagles fans want much more than just a playoff appearance. They want a Lombardi Trophy. Therefore, with Donovan McNabb’s lack of leadership, his lack of accuracy and consistency, and Kevin Kolb’s presence in the backup role and the impact of his expiring contract after next year, it would be in the interest of the Eagles to rid themselves of Donovan McNabb and give Kolb the keys to the offense.
Bob you say Mcnabb cant win the big game but do you honestly believe making Kevin Kolb the franchise quarterback will solve the problem. You also state that Mcnabb lacks the leadership qualities, accuracy, and overall ability to lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl, what makes you think that Kevin Kolb is going to come in and magically get the job done? Keep in mind when discussing not being able to win big games, Kevin Kolb was 0-3 in college bowl games in his career at houston( Losing the Hawaii Bowl, Forth Worth Bowl, and Liberty Bowl)..not exactly prestigous bowls I may add.
Bob, i believe that with Mcnabb staying one more year will just make the team better as a whole. Starting Kolb will put in a quarterback who’s average rating for his career is 68. Now consider hes only played how many games, but in all seriousness, do you really think adding another “new” starter to the team next year will instantly change things. Having Mcnabb play for at least one more year would give the youth whom you talked about another chance to get all the plays down and be able to execute as a team should. Having Mcnabb and his experience on the field i believe would allow for a more improved playing field. If Kolb were to know he would be starting in the 2011 season, it would give him time to prepare himeself, and allow for an all around better team.
What about beyond 2010? There will be no one to take over the squad after 2010. Then the young base gets into its prime and there is no viable quarterback to take the team to a Super Bowl. So would the team be better without McNabb next year? Maybe not, but if the Eagles can get decent value for McNabb while he still has a year on his contract, and starts Kolb, the team can be a legitimate Super Bowl contender in two years.
I disagree completely. You’re honestly telling me that Kolb is two years away from winning a Super Bowl? I don’t know what you saw in the 20 point loss to New Orleans or the win over Kansas City that indicated Kolb was ready to be that “leader” the Eagles need to get to the next level and win the big game but the bottom line is that the Eagles will never win a Super Bowl with Kevin Kolb as the starting quarterback. If they are going to win one in the near future Mcnabb will be the guy to lead them to it. The funny thing about Mcnabb is you talk about his lack of ability to win big games, but if the Ealges defense was just able to hold the 4th quarter lead Mcnabb gave them last year in the NFC Championship and they made it to the Super Bowl there would be no questions about Mcnabb right now, who knows he might even have a ring. And if you look at that game carefully, Donovan passed for 375 yd and 3 td so its unfair to point the finger at him when you have the secondary who gave up 4 passing td and Brian Westrbook rushing for just 45 yds in the game. So is it Donovans lack of ability to win the big game or was his supporting cast just not good enough? Early in his career he was described as the guy who couldnt win the big game and that may have been true that he choked in NFC championship games (Bucs, Panthers) however as he matured I think he got the monkey off his back similiar to Peyton Manning who was also described as a choke after the Pats ate him alive in the playoffs consecutive years,However donovan led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004. In the Super Bowl the better team won. Last year, the Eagles let Donovan down in the NFC championship game, and this year, if you watched the playoff game, it clearly isnt on Mcnabb’s shoulders that they aren’t playing this week.
Matt,
I did say that McNabb led the drive in the 4th quarter to take the lead against the Cards last year (see paragraph 2), but in the final drive he still had three fairly open receivers that he flat out missed (the only one you could argue was Curtis on the final play). So while he did lead 1 fourth quarter drive, and the defense did let up a touchdown, he still showed some inadequency in the final drive (even when the Eagles had great field position) and thereby could not take the Eagles to the Super Bowl last year.
You couldn’t have been that concerned at the time about the Bills winning the Super Bowl because you were only 3 when the Bills were in their 4th Super Bowl
Correct, I only was 3, but the point is I understand where Eagles fans are coming from when they say they want a Super Bowl at all costs because they have already expereinced everything else, from division titles to playoff success.
McNabb isn’t the answer, Bob. But he’s a better option than Kolb. And they drafted him not because they didn’t have full confidence in Donovan, but because Donovan was drafted in ’99. You’re makin’ all these claims over here as if they’re facts. Serviceable back-up quarterbacks, separately, are also a very prized possession in the NFL. Think about Matt Cassell. Did the Cowboys not trust Marion Barber when they spent a first round pick on Felix Jones? The answer is that they did trust him, but they recognize the importance of taking the best player available and that it is valuable to have two good players at one position. Also, why, at all, is it likely that Kolb is likely to start elsewhere? What is your basis?
First, about Kevin Kolb, my point is that he will be much more likely to walk after this season if Donovan plays because he will have more of an opportunity to play somewhere. He hasn’t even gotten a sniff in Philadelphia. If Kolb walks, then the Eagles have effectively wasted first draft pick. By trading down to pick Kolb, the Eagles missed out on many talented receivers (see above) as well as Anthony Spencer, now a very good player for the rival Dallas Cowboys. Therefore, it would be just stupid, especially for the future, to play McNabb for the effect it would have for Kolb’s future with the Eagles.
Second, the Felix Jones Marion Barber example is simply apples to oranges regarding this discussion. There is a big difference between a two running back system and a two quarterback system, especially when Kolb and McNabb (at this stage of his career) are the same type of quarterback. Barber is a pounding back, while Jones is a more elusive type back. This is the ideal combination of running backs and is becoming much more commonplace in the NFL, and really has no place in the two quarterback discussion.
Then how about Matt Cassel? He does play quarterback doesn’t he? If you go by who you passed up in draft classes, you could drive yourself nuts. Hindsight is always 20 20, Bob. And where will he have an opportunity to play? What have other teams seen in him other than high passing yards in 2 games vs. poor receivers? I wouldn’t entrust my organization to him. As you said, he hasn’t even gotten a sniff.
Excuse me, I meant vs. poor defenses with good receivers.
I agree with Matt totally. I also want to bring up the question; What if Michael Vick stays? Maybe he can be the one? i mean he doesnt wanna go to a loser team. So why not the Philadelphia Eagles who are on the rise with talented young players? The Eagles organization did not use Vick enough. O yeah and when they put Vick in for like one play ‘gainst the Cowboys he throws a crisp TD pass to Jeremy Maclin.