About The McNabb Trade "Rumors"

I've been meaning to make this point ever since the Bears' game and I keep forgetting.  For a McNabb trade to make sense, the following three things need to be in play:

1. The trade needs to make the team getting McNabb better.
2. The trade needs to make the Eagles better (although not right away).
3. The trade needs to make sense given the position of the franchise and its employees.

Item one isn't hard to satisfy.  Assuming fair draft pick value, there are many, many teams who would improve if suddenly quarterbacked by Donovan McNabb.

Item two is a lot trickier.  In the short-term, the Eagles would not be better under AJ Feely or Kevin Kolb.  Otherwise one of those two would be starting.  In the long-term, the league is littered with can't-miss quarterback prospects who never could cut it when the lights came on.  It's interesting that the same people who think Andy Reid can't get out of his own way when he gets out of bed in the morning also seem to be putting a lot of faith in his quarterback-picking skills when it comes to Kevin Kolb.

But let's assume for a minute that the trade worked out.  McNabb's departure brings in a couple of draft picks who can make an impact and after a brief period of adjustment Kolb takes the league by storm.  I'm not saying it's the most likely scenario (hey, didn't a second-round draft pick just get cut yesterday?) but let's just pretend in this case that it does.

That leaves item three.  And the question you have to ask yourself is, deep down, does Andy Reid feel like a guy in a position to say, "You know what, this team has an unshakeable veteran makeup and they're not getting me out of here with a backhoe, so screw it, I'm trading the franchise and making a run at 2010."

I don't think so.  And it honestly has nothing to do with the reaction of the fans.  I think Reid has been disappointed in how the character of his team hasn't always seemed to hold firm the last couple of years.  He's also mentioned a couple times how important it is to make sure you don't let a culture of losing get established. 

I think his plan all along has been to stick with McNabb as long as he can, and then only go to Kolb when he was sure the new guy was ready to take over.  Waking up and finding himself on the (semi) hot seat only makes that more imperative.

Like it or not -- and neither one may -- Reid and McNabb are more closely tied together now than they have been since 1999.

Comments

[whoismariowilliams]

Eagles fans need to realize how hard it is to find a good QB. Heck, many teams can't even find one that can hold a starting job for 16 games. Lovie Smith and Brad Childress must have winghead IDs...

[ShouldaTookRickyWilliams]

couldn't agree more. love that article in the minnesota newspaper about the vikings giving up a second rounder for #5. and i love the philly fans who are banking on kevin kolb as the future of the franchise. i'm banking on him as the QB who finally gets AR fired.

[HorseCollaredbyRoyWilliams]

I don't think there's any possibility that McNabb gets traded before next season.

If they're not going to give him the chance to start next season, when he's fully recovered, why run him out there now? Might as well have just started the rebuilding a year early.

Unless there's something weird going on behind the scenes -- like them knowing something about McNabb's injury that they're just not telling us, or McNabb really wanting to get out of Philadelphia -- I think Donovan McNabb dictates with his play how long it is before future our "QB of the Future" becomes the "QB of the Present." Here's hoping for a Superbowl victory and contract extension for "5".

[Me]

Very creative with the themed comments today, fellas...

[BenZ]

I think trade rumors are inevitable when it comes to a team that is underperforming. The media speculates on whatever makes sense to them, regardless of the situation on the ground.

As you've pointed out before, McNabb is having a typical McNabb year. He's been inaccurate at times, he's been on fire at others. Generally, he's a solid QB and should be the QB of the Eagles for a very long time.

Personally, if you're going to shake up the organization, get rid of Andy. But that's not what your post was about, so I'll leave it at that.

[5gohome]

are you kidding me? Mcnabbs play dictate if he stays in philly? he's sucked for every year but one(2004). But he's choked in every big game he's been in but the Chicago game a couple years back. He's a joke at QB that stays late in games to pad his stats so his 11 - 15 record since the superbowl don't look so bad. He's running out of people to blame for his sucness don't you think? .

5goTHEFRUCKHOME

5gohome.