So now it's old news that the Eagles have traded their quarterback, Donovan McNabb, to the Redskins for draft picks. The trade ends an eleven-year chapter in Eagles' history during which McNabb helped lead the Eagles to five NFC title games and 1 Super Bowl appearance.
McNabb did an excellent job in Philadelphia. He played well enough to be in the conversation regarding the identity of the league's top quarterbacks. Some, including ESPN's Mike Greenberg, will argue that he belongs in the Hall of Fame. He didn't always have enough weapons at his disposal (such as a "classic" running back or above-average options at wide receiver), but when he had the top receivers (and even when he didn't), he excelled.
It's easy to knock Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid, to call them losers and to say that they failed because they didn't win a Super Bowl together. Most of the time, the coach takes the lion's share of the blame. In Philadelphia, McNabb gets a disproportionate share of it, despite, at times, glaring weaknesses at linebacker, defensive line, wide receiver and punt returner (among others). He doesn't deserve all of the negativity. The team had a great run under him, but in today's event-oriented world he's deemed a failure because he didn't win a Super Bowl. If that's the criteria, then most people in the world are failures. Donovan McNabb was not a failure; he was a success. Just not successful enough for Eagles' fans.
Thanks, Donovan McNabb, for all that you did for the Eagles. You are a true professional, and you had a great run. The fans didn't know what they had in you, and they might miss you more retrospectively than any of them might be willing to admit today.
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1 comment:
Well said. The very least the Philly fan base could do is offer a thank you. But now they can just move on to hating the next guy.
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