APS Editorial: Defending Donovan

Am I a Philly homer? Yes.

Does that cloud my ability to call it straight down the middle? No.

The other night, my buddy Brandon 'Big D' Dietz sent me a message on myspace following the Eagles-Cowboys game that was your typical Cowboy bullshit....think Emmitt Smith's commentary, only in English. It was 'TO all day...blah blah blah...Donovan McNabb is the most overhyped QB since Kyle Boller."

What?

You're shitting me, right? Kyle Boller? Are you smoking crack? Someone call the rehab facility, Dietzy is messing with that freebase shit again!!!

Ive been brooding over it for a day or two now, and Ive about got the shits of hearing it. SO Im going to set the record straight once and for all. McNabb is EASILY one of the top 25 quarterbacks to EVER play the game, and as far as the modern era goes, hes one of the 15 best- and easily top five for this decade. Anyone who thinks differently is either a complete idiot or doesn't have a firm grasp on what football is really about.

Lets take a look at the facts, shall we...

1. McNabb was not only the best QB, but the best player in his draft class...

The 1999 NFL Draft was supposed to be so deep at QB that it would rival the 1983 draft as the best of all time. I remember actually thinking (at age 17 mind you) that Akili Smith was the best QB, and like other Philly fans, I wanted Ricky Williams too. I was aggravated when we drafted McNabb out of Syracuse. Look at the other QBs taken in that draft: Tim Couch (Bust-Retired), Daunte Culpepper (retired), Akili Smith (Bust-played in CFL), Cade McNown (Bust-Retired), Shaun King (ESPN analyst), Joe Germaine (Arena Football), Aaron Brooks (unemployed), Kevin Daft (retired), Michael Bishop (AFL & CFL), Chris Greisen (Arena League) and Scott Covington (retired). Only Culpepper made enough impact not to be labeled a flop, as he ended up being a flash-in-the-pan, putting up some solid seasons before injuries and being mysteriously blackballed.

2. McNabb is still an elite QB in the NFL...

Five Pro Bowl appearances. 6-4 in playoff appearances. Thats ten playoff games hes led the team into, which is only behind Favre, Brady and Peyton Manning out of all active QBs. He has the lowest TD/INT ratio of any QB in NFL history. Four consecutive NFC Championship appearances, even in three losing efforts, is in all likelihood (with the exception of Brady, Favre, Manning) better than whoever is under center for your team. Also, as far as the NFC is concerned, he is statistically better than any NFC QB that played in the Super Bowl during his career (Chris Chandler, Kurt Warner, Kerry Collins, Brad Johnson, Jake Delhomme, Matt Hasselbeck, Rex Grossman and Eli Manning). I know McNabb hasnt won the big one, but are you going to tell me that Trent Dilfer or Mark Rypien belong in the Hall of Fame more than Dan Marino and Jim Kelly? McNabb's career is far from over at this point, you should keep in mind that John Elway was on the losing end of THREE SUPER BOWLS (XXI, XXII, XXIV) and the 1991 AFC Championship Game before rattling off two Super Bowl wins to end his 16 year career. Its funny, but most of you probably forgot about those losses.

3. He's injury prone...



Okay, Ill give you that. In '02 he missed 6 games with a broken ankle. In 2005, after the Owens fallout, he missed 7 games due to the sports hernia. Not having fully recovered from that, in 2006 he tore his ACL and missed the final 6 games. Any expert will tell you that an ACL takes a full year to two years to completely recover from. Ask Carson Palmer. He was 8-6 as the starter last season and finished the season with some strong outings. Im sure you all will give Tom Brady a free pass next season when he comes back significantly weaker than what you're used to.

4. He's done it without a major weapon at wide reciever....

Aside from Terrell Owens (04-05), name the leading reciever for the Philadelphia Eagles at any given point throughout his career? Torrance Small (1999), Chad Lewis (2000), James Thrash (2001), Todd Pinkston (2002-03), Reggie Brown (2006), Kevin Curtis (2007). Not exactly a whos who of fantasy football, huh? Four NFC title games, five Pro Bowls, and one of the best records in the NFL over the last decade with that supporting cast. It reminds me of when I was a kid and saw that they never tried to put a decent offense around Randall Cunningham. Hmmm, geriatric Herschel Walker? Keith Byars? Mid Level recievers Calvin Williams and Fred Barnett. Yeah, sure they set him up to win big time. Only difference is that this team has usually had a damn good O-Line to protect 5, unlike the the swiss cheese line they used to protect QB Eagles. Hopefully the emergence of Brian Westbrook and the development of Desean Jackson will make the puzzle complete soon.

5. In an era of overhyped crybabies who cant handle the pressure, Donovan has endured PHILLY for 10 seasons...
Vince Young, you think your situation is bad. Sunshine, you would have offed yourself on draft day if you played for us. Im serious, this is the toughest city to play for. Our fans are bitter, spiteful, brutish hooligans. Our media does its damndest to put superstars under a microscope until we run them out of town (see: Barkley, Charles; Iverson, Allen; Cunningham, Randall). Ive said it a thousand times, we dont DESERVE to have McNabb, who has endured WAY more bullshit than the average NFL quarterback should. He survived the boos on draft day, Rush Limbaugh, the TO fiasco, the Super Bowl, the Madden Curse, the fans pulling for Jeff Garcia to take over, drafting Kevin Kolb and the omnipresent trade rumors every damn season that are ALMOST ALWAYS started by the Philly Inquirer OR Sal Paolantonio-and he's done it with a smile on his face. Do you know how much easier it would be for him to play in Miami, Kansas City, Baltimore, Chicago or any other place that is a QB wasteland. He would be elected mayor the first freakin' day--but not here, not Philly. Our collective fanbase is too stupid to admit that McNabb is the greatest QB this team has ever had, and we are in for a rude awakening once he is gone. Remember life before McNabb? Rodney Peete, Bobby Hoying, The Detmer Brothers, Doug Pederson?? Yeah, brace yourselves for a reality like that once number 5 is gone. There we will be, all with bags on our heads again, watching our team go 4-12 year in and year out, then what?

We will retire his number, talk about the good old days when we were contenders, and wish we didnt treat the poor guy like shit when all he ever did was win.

Thats all.