| Andrew Perna. 23rd January, 2009 - 3:54 pm
 There is an old idiom that perfectly puts into words how Philadelphia fans should feel about Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb.
"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."
McNabb has been torn apart more savagely than the Eagles' secondary in the first half of this month's NFC title game throughout his tenure as Philadelphia's quarterback.
No matter when, or how, the Eagles lose ... McNabb is always the first member of the team to have dirt thrown his way. It doesn't matter if Andy Reid insists on passing the ball rather than establishing a running game. Or if the front office refuses to provide McNabb with a top-flight receiving target. Or even if the usually reliable defense crumbles when the team needs them to be on the top of their game.
McNabb is the quarterback; he's the face of the franchise; and he simply takes what the fans spit back at him and buckles his chin strap.
It all started rather fittingly, with Philadelphia fans booing the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft -- taken after the immortal Tim Couch -- because they preferred running back Ricky Williams.
Williams started out well, but we all know now that taking him over a consistent presence like McNabb would have been a grave error.
Almost ten years later, all McNabb has to his credit is four NFC East titles, five trips to the NFC Championship Game, and one Super Bowl appearance. He is also the franchise's all-time leader in career wins, pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.
Don't tell me that Koy Detmer, A.J. Feeley, Jeff Garcia, or Kevin Kolb is capable of reaching those accomplishments.
He has more than a 2-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio for his career, with 194 touchdowns to his credit. He has been a dual threat when needed and allowed by Reid to use his size and speed to gain yardage with his legs.
McNabb also has a 9-6 playoff record with 23 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, nearly a 60% completion percentage, and an 80.8 quarterback rating. In comparison, Tom Brady has 197 touchdowns for his career with 26 of those coming in the postseason.
The Syracuse standout has been named to five Pro Bowls, was the 2004 NFC Offensive Player of the Year, the runner-up for the 2000 NFL MVP (Marshall Faulk), and kept his off-field accomplishments wholesome and clean.
After the 2008 season, McNabb ranks fifth in completions among active quarterbacks and fourth in both passing yardage and touchdowns. The players above him? Peyton Manning, who at 32 is the same age but was drafted a year prior, Brett Favre (39), Kerry Collins (36), and Brad Johnson (40).
He was among five quarterbacks (Couch, Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper, and Cade McNown) taken in the first round of the 1999 draft and is the only that was on an active roster for the entire 2008 season.
Since McNabb took over as the full-time starter in 2000, the Eagles have a record of 73-39 when he is behind center. That's a regular season winning percentage of 65.1%, which ranks among the game's greatest and most established active signal-callers.
Tom Brady - 78.1%
Peyton Manning - 65.6%
Brett Favre - 63.2%
Matt Hasselbeck - 59.3%
Kurt Warner - 56.4%
Eli Manning - 54.5%
Drew Brees - 52.2%
Unless the Eagles are going to land either Brady or Manning, there isn't a quarterback in the NFL today that fans should feel more comfortable with than McNabb.
It would be interesting to see how much better McNabb's already stellar career would look if he had played with some of the guys that Tom and Peyton have called teammates.
Manning has enjoyed Edgerrin James, Joseph Addai, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and now the emerging Anthony Gonzalez.
Brady has played with Antowain Smith, Corey Dillon, Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss.
McNabb's main toys have been Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook, Terrell Owens (one season), James Trash, Todd Pinkston, Reggie Brown, and Freddie Mitchell.
It's pretty safe to say that McNabb hasn't been dealt the same hand as either Brady or Manning. With that said, I'm not trying to compare McNabb with either; I just contend that other than #12 and #18, there isn't another quarterback more reliable and worthy of praise than #5.
It's just too bad that the city of Philadelphia would sometimes prefer the devil they don't know to the player they currently have.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM’s Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
