McNabb makes playoff - now the fans of Philly see him as Jesus lol

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs2008/columns/story?id=3798346

PHILADELPHIA -- Periodically, the critics have questioned his talent.

Repeatedly, they've questioned his leadership ability. Endlessly, they've questioned his ability to win the big game, to elevate the Philadelphia Eagles franchise to championship status, to speak up, speak out and ward off the palpable, alarming momentum that was calling for his ouster.

And all along, all Donovan McNabb kept saying was "I'll let my play do the talking."

Then he'd display his patented smile, of course, and invite his critics to kiss his you-know-what.

On Sunday afternoon, McNabb's play did his talking -- again -- in emphatic fashion in a 44-6 stomping the Eagles laid on the Dallas Cowboys in the regular-season finale. The Eagles, who seemed out of contention after McNabb was benched in a Week 12 loss at Baltimore that left them at 5-5-1, are going to the playoffs after all.

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McNabb, presumably, will remain in Philadelphia after all. And all this whining about whether or not he should still be wearing Eagles' green once the 2009 season rolls around should evaporate just as quickly as any credibility Tony Romo supposedly had as a big-time quarterback.

Let the record show that McNabb is still a stud, something former Eagles' wideout-turned-McNabb's nemesis, Terrell Owens, wouldn't even try to deny at this point. McNabb certainly displayed the difference between a viable QB and a wannabe (Romo), despite Sunday's passing statistics (12-for-21, 175 yards and 2 TDs) that can be described as marginal, at best.

"It's not always about the numbers you put up," Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard said after the game. "Especially with a lopsided game like this one. It's about the leadership a guy provides. Knowing he's the one you'll be able to turn to in the toughest of times. That somehow, some way, he'll come through in the end. When you talk about what motivates a locker room, especially after the way we almost ruined our playoff hopes by losing the Washington game last week, that's what you're looking for. It's what No. 5 gave us [Sunday]. It's what he's always given us."

I've been around McNabb for years, and when he alludes to how critics continuously motivate him, he isn't lying. He means it when he says, "I've been kind of revived, I guess. They've thrown me out. Ran over me. Spit on me. But I just continue to prevail. I continue to keep my chin high. Stay positive."

[+] EnlargeJames Lang/US Presswire

In November in Baltimore, Donovan McNabb's future with the Eagles seemed bleak after coach Andy Reid benched the star quarterback.


I've rarely been one to believe the last part from him. I fail to comprehend how even someone so strong-willed, so spiritual, can't be ultimately broken by the shrapnel of criticism McNabb faces -- especially when it seems so undeserved.


There is no doubt that McNabb has made his share of errors over the past 10 years. Indeed, he should have a career pass completion percentage better than 58.9 percent. His 60.4 percent accuracy this season is a little better, but still ranks just 18th-best in the league.

At 32 years of age, he is still one of the best in the game and has more than enough mileage left in the tank. So the fact that folks have called for the Eagles to trade him is beyond ridiculous -- particularly with the limited options swirling around the NFL.

Consider just a few of the other starting quarterbacks in the league this season: Tyler Thigpen, Dan Orlovsky, Ken Dorsey, Seneca Wallace, Tarvaris Jackson.

I mean, give me a break.



McNabb overcame the shock of being benched after the first half of the loss to the Baltimore Ravens to lead the Eagles to four victories in their final five games. Now 9-6-1, the Eagles head to Minnesota to play the Vikings in a wild-card playoff game Jan. 4.

That said, McNabb still is working without the threat of a reliable running game, something that coach/general manager Andy Reid has not provided, even with a star halfback in Brian Westbrook. And with the exception of Owens, McNabb's targets have not been star-quality. He's had Todd Pinkston one minute, Freddie Mitchell the next, followed by Greg Lewis and Reggie Brown and rookie DeSean Jackson, with a James Thrash thrown in in-between.

Essentially, nobody worth mentioning.

Yet over 10 seasons as an Eagle, McNabb has 29,320 career yards along with 194 touchdowns on his résumé. He's been to four NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl. After Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, McNabb is on par with any of his quarterbacking peers.

The naysayers keep coming, holding McNabb accountable, acting like he's being coached by Bill Belichick. It's as if McNabb's presence was keeping the Eagles from developing one of The Matts (Matt Cassel or Matt Ryan instead of Kevin Kolb.

"I think it's easier [to deal with] now because I've been through these types of experiences for years," said McNabb, acknowledging how hard-core Philadelphians help him develop his alligator skin.

"When you go through [the criticism] for the first time, you don't know how to handle it. But with me being a part of something like that, with it happening over and over and over again, the way I continue to show that it never affects me is just going out and doing my job and having fun."

McNabb redeems himself - this week he is a god among the arm-chair QB's

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=281127021

PHILADELPHIA -- Donovan McNabb got pulled for Kevin Kolb again. This time, he earned a seat on the bench with a superb performance instead of a stinker.


McNabb threw four touchdown passes, Brian Westbrook tied a team record with four scores and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Arizona Cardinals 48-20 on Thursday night.


The Eagles end a three-game skid behind Brian Westbrook, who becomes the fourth player in NFL history with two rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and 100-plus rushing yards in a game. He is the first since Lydell Mitchell in 1975. Westbrook's four TDs are a career-high.

• After compiling a 40.4 passer rating and five interceptions against one passing touchdown in his last two games, Donovan McNabb had four passing TDs, no INTs and a 121.7 passer rating.

Eagles' McNabb didn't know rule - arm-chair quarterbacks whine about him being overpaid lol

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/articles/2008/11/18/not_a_real_good_looking_tie/

Thanks to Donovan McNabb, players around the NFL now must know there doesn't have to be a winner or loser in every regular-season game. Yes, there are ties in the NFL. They just don't happen too often.

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A day after the Eagles and Bengals played a 13-13 tie - the league's first since 2002 - the focus wasn't on how poorly the teams performed on the field. Instead, everyone wanted to know how it's possible some pro football players, especially a 10-year veteran such as McNabb, don't know simple rules about overtime games.

"I'm sure there are plenty of rules that guys don't understand, but I don't think that has any factor whatsoever to do with the outcome of this game and how they played in the overtime," Eagles coach Andy Reid said yesterday. "I think that's absurd. You play to win in that time, whether you think you have another overtime period or you don't. And you play your heart out to win it in that time, and that's how we approached it and that's how the players approached it."

The Eagles now have played 12 OT games, including one in the playoffs, since McNabb joined the team in 1999. Yet, the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback didn't know ties were possible until his desperation pass fell incomplete at the end of the fifth quarter.

"I've never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book," McNabb said after the game. "It's part of the rules, and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately, with the rules, we settled with a tie."

The overtime rule isn't an obscure one. It was adopted fully by the NFL in 1974 and 17 games since have ended tied. The Eagles have been involved in four of those games.

"I guess we're aware of it now," McNabb said. "In college, there are multiple overtimes, and in high school and Pop Warner. I never knew in the pro ranks it would end that way. I hate to see what would happen in the Super Bowl and in the playoffs."

They keep playing if it's tied in the playoffs or Super Bowl. But McNabb didn't know that, either.