Benching McNabb Is Not the Answer

Ok, fine.  You beat me down.  All anyone wants to talk about is McNabb, so fuck it, let's talk about him.

Here's the best argument you're going to read for benching the franchise.  Notice it includes the following statement: "Not all of this, not even most of this, is McNabb's fault..."

No shit. 

Unfortunately, since so ... many ... people want to dump this entire mess on McNabb, let's not leave it at that.  Let's go a little deeper. 

FACT:  McNabb hasn't played that badly this year.

Don't take my word for it, look at the damn numbers.  McNabb's passer rating this year is 86.3, a number which:

• Ranks him 13th in the league
• Is higher than his career mark
• Is better than Drew Brees (84.6) and Eli Manning (79.5) and Jason Campbell (74.8)

FACT:  The Eagles' skill position players -- with the exception of Brian Westbrook -- are mediocre.

Tom Brady has three receivers better than anyone McNabb has.  Peyton Manning has two.  So do Carson Palmer and Jason Campbell.  Manning has Plaxico.  Romo has Owens and Witten.

McNabb has bupkis.      

Have you noticed so far that the Eagles run basically three plays this year:

1. McNabb gets sacked right away.
2. McNabb has plenty of time and stands in the pocket for five seconds desperately waiting for someone to get open.
3. They give it to Brian Westbrook.

That's it.  That's the offense.

FACT:  Despite this lack of talent, the Eagles have the league's ninth-ranked offense.

Quarterbacks generally have something to do with that.

FACT:  Without choke jobs by the special teams (Green Bay) and defense (Chicago) the Eagles would be 5-3 and well-positioned for another run at the playoffs.

Unless your idea is that by benching McNabb we could use him to return punts and/or play linebacker, I'm not seeing how that's going to help much here.

McNabb is not the reason the Eagles suck this year.  Has he been great so far?  No.  He's been very, very average.  So if you're benching him, it's not for poor performance.  If not performance why then?

-------------------------

I am providing here the three reasons you might legitimately consider benching McNabb.  As a public service, I will also explain why all those reasons are completely, totally fucking stupid.

1.  Bench McNabb because he's not getting it done and Kolb deserves a chance.

The only way you can argue this is if you simply don't understand that rookies quarterbacks suck. 

McNabb as a rookie?  Sucked.  Matt Leinart last year?  Sucked.  Trent Edwards, the only rookie QB starting so far this year?  See for yourself.

And how's Vince Young been treating the folks down in Tennessee these days?

Kevin Kolb may or may not be a great NFL quarterback some day -- the odds are against it, by the way -- but right now he's just another deer in the headlights rookie who can't beat out AJ Feeley for the job as #2 quarterback.

Sepaking of AJ Feeley, let's use this moment to demonstrate why expectations matter so much.  McNabb is getting killed around here for having a season where he's been basically average, while a few years back Feeley was lionized for the job he did stepping in for McNabb and Detmer to keep the ship on course for a few weeks.  Funny how that works.

2.  Bench McNabb because the team isn't going anywhere without rebuilding and it's time to see what we have in Kolb. 

That's basically Bob Ford's point.  And I'd agree with it, if this were 2010. 

But what are you going to learn by playing Kolb now?  You'll find out that he's not ready for the speed of the game or perhaps at best he does a little better than we all expect and we feel like he has something of a future. 

And that's really important because it's not like any quarterback has ever followed up a decent debut by completing sucking for the rest of his career. 

Kolb needs more time to learn the system.  He needs years more of practice and he needs to study the NFL game.  As much as it pains me to say it, the waiting game works.

Furthermore, McNabb is NOT that old.  I covered this in voluminous detail back in May after the draft, but I realize not everyone reads during the offseason.  I looked at the careers of all the most recent quarterbacks who made the Hall of Fame and I found:

At least for these guys, their numbers were actually better after they hit their early 30s.  Completion percentages go up, TDs go up, INTs are down and QB rating is better.  Their yardages go down a bit, but that seems to be mostly a function of playing fewer games.

I honestly think the guy McNabb most compares to is John Elway.  Neither guy was the most accurate player, but both were playmakers.  They did what they needed to do to win games.

But check out Elway's career numbers.  In 1992, Elway was 32 years old.  His career seemed to be going the wrong way.  His passer rating that season was 65.7.  But the Broncos didn't give up on him. 

And as we all know, it's a good thing they didn't.

McNabb has years of good football left in him (yes, if he stays healthy).  In the NFL, teams rebound in a single offseason.  With a couple of smart acquisitions (which I want to talk about later), the Eagles could be right back in this thing next year.    

3.  Bench McNabb because teams have figured out how to stop him and at least someone else gives us a chance.

The theory goes as follows, take away the deep ball, focus on containing Brian Westbrook, and eventually the Eagles offense would stop itself.  Supposedly this is all McNabb's fault because he's not accurate enough and he's not a good "fit" for the West Coast offense.

First of all, it's not McNabb's fault that his receivers can't get open.  When he had Terrell Owens, the coverages didn't matter, McNabb got him the ball.  When he had Donte Stallworth, the coverages didn't matter, McNabb got him the ball.  And when he had Todd Fucking Pinkston, again, the coverages didn't matter, McNabb got him the ball (whether he caught it or "lost it in the lights" was another matter).

How many times have we seen Kevin Curtis run a sideline route this year with zero separation from the cornerback?  A dozen?  How many times have the other receivers ever managed to get deep this season? 

It's not the coverage, it's the players.  The Eagles better hope the Pats let Stallworth go after his one-year prove-it deal this year and the team can go crawling back to Drew Rosenhaus to try to work something out.

That or maybe draft someone fast.  You know, like everyone else occasionally does.

The second issue is the overblown question of accuracy.  Supposedly McNabb will never "succeed" in the WCO -- although what that means in the context of his five Pro Bowls is a mystery -- because he's not a 60-percent passer.  Well, first of all, when he had Owens, he was a 60-percent passer.  In fact, 64.0.  But more importantly, do you realize that the difference between McNabb's 58.4 lifetime rate and the magic 60.0 level is about five passes a season? 

Hell, Reggie Brown could take care of that all by himself by just catching the ones that hit him in the hands.

X's and O's only get you so far.  At some point, there has to be a guy on the field who beats the guy assigned to stop him.  McNabb's situation this year is much like the criticism Jim Johnson faced last year on account of the poor performance of his defense.  You don't hear anyone out there saying that Johnson somehow re-learned how to coach this season.  He just has better players. 

Now, for pete's sake, if you're going to keep screaming, at least spread the wealth.

Comments

[Dan]

McNabb can no longer be assessed in isolation, as if what he represents is only on the gridiron.

McNabb is a social cause.

As such, he, the cause, which are intermingled to such an extent as to be inextricable, exercises an unhealthy influence upon the team, the coaching staff, the ownership, the media, and lastly of course, the fans themselves.

The task of a quarterback is to win football games. The task of a quarterback who is a FIRST ROUND draft pick, is to win the Super Bowl. THAT'S the cause.

NO OTHER CAUSE, however laudatory, can replace his prime purpose, which is to win Super Bowls.

NO OTHER ATHLETE in the history of this city has enjoyed the protection of the media, of his coaches and of his owner, as has Donovan McNabb.

Not Schilling, not Barkley, not Iverson, not Doug Collins, not Andrew Toney, NO ONE.

His performance on the field has been shielded from appropriate, and warranted scrutiny, because of various causes.

That's harming this team.

It was NEVER wise for the Eagles to have a quarterback who is both erratic, and a cause.

That was ALWAYS a recipe for disaster, for dissension, for defeat.

When Owens first came to the city, BEFORE he was signed, BOTH owner and coach stressed that "McNabb's the man...." A "man" is determined by his play on the field, not by the pull he has over the ownership and coaching staff.

When the owner and the coach felt obliged to lay down the law that McNabb's place was first and foremost, REGARDLESS of performance, {notwithstanding the fact that later their "man" would wrap a towel around his head in defeat at the Super Bowl}, what we saw was a management that lacked the ability to OBJECTIVELY assess what's happening on the football field.

Reid and Laurie LOST objectivity YEARS ago.

What we fans observed YEARS AGO, the management is only beginning to come to grips with now.

McNabb makes POOR DECISIONS on the football field.

Moreover, HE'S ERRATIC.

WHEN COMBINED, McNabb becomes a quarterback who can't get rid of the football. His first turnover resulted from him holding on to the ball long after he should have gotten rid of it. Likewise his first half interception, you remember, the pass that was intercepted by Ken Hamlin, but was intended for............ Roy Williams. That too was a case of McNabb making the WRONG conclusion on the coverage, it wasn't cover 3, and moreover, it was another case of him holding on to the football.

Not just was McNabb NEVER all that, but what little he ever was is evaporating before our eyes.

Confidence is gone.

The locker room only gives him lip service anymore. They know he's gone. They know the salary cap alone dictates his removal.

Time for him to go.

This season is over. And what's more, EVEN IF IT WASN'T, this team was still going nowhere, doing nothing.

Let's all cut to the chase, and begin rebuilding.

And this time, without any nonsense of yesteryear. So begin all over, get rid of Reid, get rid of the cause McNabb, get rid of them all.

[Dan]

However, I give you credit for going through the various pros and cons surrounding the cause, McNabb.

How sad that it ever came to this. I must confess I saw it all coming years ago.

McNabb is like a missile gone ballistic high in the upper atmosphere, and there's nothing left for him now, but a burning re-entry and collision with the earth's surface.

It's all over. All over.

Failures get removed. Sooner or later, failures get removed. And McNabb is a failure.

[doyle]

Dan, your RANDOM capitalization of WORDS does little to show that you USED about 1 fact in your argument (the Hamlin/Williams one).

How come during the years pre-TO, we all blamed the receivers. Now, we have a fast, tiny receiver with good hands and route running, a relatively slow, average sized guy with bad hands, and pretty much no one else (Westbrook, and LJ excluded, but LJ hasnt played much at all).

Now, Donovan is what, exactly a year removed from his injury, and we're ready to bury him? Haven't we all heard that these injuries are "18 month" injuries? Guess what's happening in just over 18 months. TRAINING CAMP.

It's obvious that Curtis and Brown can be good two receivers, but nobody is scared out of them. We need a receiver that people will have to respect. We also need him to not be an ass, like TO.

We can tweak the defense to keep it running, but we need a Y-factor on offense (we obviously already have our X factor). Kolb is not it. McNabb has earned another season in my books.

[Dallas Clark Fan]

"Peyton Manning has two [receivers better than anyone McNabb has]." I'd argue that it's three (Wayne, Harrison, and Clark). Alternately, were you not counting Harrison because he's been hurt so much this year?

[dunny]

"Dan" is now officially renamed "The Architect." Here's a deal man, Eagles bench McNabb and you stop putting posts into Word and using the thesaurus, ergo concordantly we won't have to somehow drag causality into an argument of whether or not McNabb will be fine with a recovered knee and receivers who can catch...you know, vis-a-vis Carson Palmer.

[Dan]

First off, the reason prior to T.O. that we blamed the receiver corps was because we could blame the receiver corps. It was a safety net. Since men like Thrash, Pinkston, Brown et al didn't have the cachet of a T.O. or a Randy Moss, it was safe and easy for the whole city to direct criticism towards them, and away from the social cause, McNabb. It's been easy to say that the receivers "couldn't get open." Whereas the truth, on the game tape, which has never been consulted, was much more unsettling.

Lou Tilly once said on his show that there was, and I quote, "a dirty little secret circulating" about McNabb, amongst defensive coordinators. But of course, other than that vague reference, Tilly didn't divulge it, didn't disclose it, didn't specify it.

Defensive coordinators have known about McNabb for years.

In college football when a receiver has a step, the QB looks away from him, to find a receiver who is REALLY open. But in the pros, as Troy Aikman once observed, if a receiver has but HALF a step, he IMMEDIATELY gets the football, without the QB going through subsequent progression. That takes confidence, that takes accuracy. That takes Marino, Elway, Montana, Brady, Aikman. That takes genuine QBs.

However, an erratic QB, who is also apt to make poor decisions, is naturally hesitant to unload the ball in that stressful situation, where there is no margin for error, and that situation is par for the course in the NFL.

I want all of you to go to the NFL Network video site, select the archives for last year, and check out the video selection for the Cowboys v. the Giants, at Giant stadium. In that game, in a 4th quarter drive, with the game on the line, Tony Romo hit Patrick Crayton on an out pattern, with a defender in perfect interception position. Go check out that video, and see what kind of decision a confident QB has to make, see where an accurate QB has to deliver the football.

McNabb can't do that.

McNabb's all over the place.

Don't you guys recall Steve Young and Michael Irvin eviscerating McNabb's performance in the Super Bowl? Maybe you guys missed it, you guys were partying maybe. But I saw it. They ripped him apart. They pointed out where the ball should have been, they pointed out where the ball was "delivered." And that told a tale, a tale of defeat.

Here's the deal, contrary to popular knowledge, our receivers have been getting open, they've been getting open for years. McNabb has always had receivers open. It's just that they're not open enough for him. For other quarterbacks, like Garcia for instance, those receivers are wide open. But for McNabb, they're covered, well covered.

What we have is a QB that's reluctant to direct the ball into a spot where a guy has half a step on someone like Champ Bailey. Donovan was chosen in the first round because he was supposedly the man to make that decision, make it confidently, execute it to perfection.

He's failed. He's failed to make that decision, he's failed to execute it to completion. The West Coast offense is predicated not just on a controlled passing game, but on RAC, {run after catch}. We however are plagued with a QB who disturbs the overall scheme, by delivering the ball at the feet, in the sky, behind the receiver, and he does that consistently. THAT is his one consistency, his penchant for consistently delivering the ball OUT of step with the receiver.

Aren't you guys tired of your quarterback throwing one-hoppers to receivers?

How many of you know that Donovan, post Super Bowl, is sub-500 for regular season starts? Are you guys comfortable with that? Are you OK with that? Does retaining McNabb come before regular season victories.

What's more important for you, that the Eagles win the Super Bowl, or that Donovan AND the Eagles win the Super Bowl?

You can have one, but not both.

Decide.

Isn't it interesting that last year, with the same receiver corps, {Donte Stallworth being injured most of the time} Jeff Garcia went 7 and 1. And the only team Garcia lost to was an offensive juggernaut.

Compare Garcia's performance to McNabb, with the same opponents, the same difficulties, the same "lame" receiver corps. In fact, Garcia's task was much more burdensome. Garcia had to pump life into a corpse, had to convince a team that was down that it could still accomplish things. He had to make them believers once again. And he had NO margin for error. A single loss during that homestretch, and no playoff appearance.

But Garcia went. Why? Money? We know that's not the case. This team has NEVER had a QB who would TRULY compete for the starting position.

That too, was all part of the insulating of Donovan, insulating him from criticism, insulating him from scrutiny, insulating him from a true challenge, insulating him even from competition.

A QB that can't fight off a challenge to his starter role prior to the playoffs, isn't the kind of guy to lead you to championships, now is he?

A delicate ego isn't going to get it done.

McNabb's "injury?"

What of it? That's another item in the indictment against him. He's become brittle. And if his injury was all that problematic that mid season we'd STILL be talking about it, than all the more reason to have retained Garcia. Why didn't this team retain Garcia to play the first half of the season, while McNabb perfects his rehabilitation. Why was the management in such a hurry to discard Garcia? This is an indictment against both McNabb for being brittle, and for Reid, for protecting the cause from a true challenge to his position.

And we all know the answer to why Garcia was discarded. They couldn't bear the thought of McNabb tossing in another one of his erratic performances, the fans growing restless, the chants starting throughout the Linc: "We want Garcia, we want Garcia, we want Garcia....." Laurie and Reid were determined that not occur to the cause, so that possibility, {that probability...} was forever ended.

The handling of McNabb's injury, if he is still dealing with the aftermath thereof, is but more proof that Reid has to go. He got rid of a guy that was 7 and 1, all to put on the field a man who was not fully recovered. We're mid way in the season, if McNabb continues to play as he did the other night, are we going to continue using his injury as an excuse?

Too many excuses attend all discussion of McNabb.

Sooner or later, his legacy will be determined by his performance on the field. Wins, losses, touchdowns, interceptions, last minute drives. NFC Championship games won, Super Bowl Trophies earned.

Colts, Patriots, receiving corps?

Not many teams have a receiving corps like the Colts, the Patriots, the Giants and the Cowboys.

They're rare. It's not wise to EXPECT such things, and it's even more unwise to make such a thing a PRE-REQUISITE for NFC Championships.

What was the receiving corps for Pittsburgh when they last won the Super Bowl? Or Baltimore for that matter? Teams have won Super Bowls without great receiving corps. That's not unusual. You hear again and again that "Defense wins championships." I don't recall ever hearing "great receiving corps win championships." Great receiving corps are luxuries. Helpful to be sure, but not decisive.

If McNabb was as accurate as he should be, we'd be seeing balls bounce off the numbers of his receivers, and this exchange wouldn't be happening.

But that's not the case, now is it? McNabb had a wide open tight end against, what was it, Chicago, and he missed him. The ball sailed so high that Carmichael wouldn't have had a prayer. So sure, he's put the ball on the numbers, and the balls have been dropped. That happens to all QBs. But somehow they continue to make plays, continue to make throws, continue to put the ball on the money, in the money games, which earn championships.

We haven't seen that here.

The last huge game where McNabb had a HUGE performance was the playoff game in Chicago, against Chicago, that sent him to his first NFC Championship game against St. Louis.

Since then, ..................... a disappointment.

McNabb's successes have coincided with a period of UNPRECEDENTED weakness in the NFC East, and moreover, unprecedented weakness throughout the NFC as a whole. Against both Tampa Bay and Carolina, we were heavily favoured. And what kind of games did McNabb have?

Are any of you pleased with how McNabb performed against Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship game?

Are any of you pleased with how McNabb performed against Carolina in the NFC Championship game?

And BOTH of those NFC Championship games were at home, and McNabb lost both of them. And we know from statistics that the team that has home field enjoys a vast advantage in the playoffs? But with McNabb, we enjoyed no such advantage.

Isn't it embarrassing that the only other QB that McNabb actually defeated in an NFC Championship game, again, at home, was Michael Vick, the guy that Howard Eskin has been calling a fraud since forever.

Isn't that the kind of fact that unsettles, that disturbs, that makes one uneasy?

McNabb didn't defeat Aikman, didn't defeat Phil Simms, didn't defeat Jeff Hostetler, didn't defeat Rypien. Instead, the only guy he defeated was Michael Vick, "a coach killer."

Additionally, take a look at his performances in the playoff games PRIOR to those games, and they weren't anything to write home about either.

It's time he goes. His departure will surely spell the end of an era. Which is exactly the message that must be sent to this team.

This team has to have it driven into their skulls that we are THROUGH with the nostalgia of yesteryear. We are through with what they did in the NFC East when they didn't even have a real, legit opponent in the NFC East.

It's time this city ask this question about the birds, "What have you done for us lately?"

And what they just did was embarrass themselves, their coaches, their team, their city and their fans, on prime time.

Pull the trigger on this group of losers.

Begin again.

And this time, get it right.

[doyle]

Wouldn't it be nice if our receivers could even get half a step?

We don't need a wayne/harrisson, or moss/stallworth/welker or a Fitgerad/Boldin.

We need the one guy. McNabb was good with garbage - he's had TWO, going on three bad years. (and last year, he started 4-1, would have been 5-1 if we hadn't collapsed against the Giants, and McNabb wasn't to blame for that game. And also the TB game - which was more of his fault for putting us in the situation, but still took a 62 yarder as time expired to beat us.

We need one guy, in the receiving position, to make us better. One guy that can get a full step (cause guess what, that's what the great receivers get) before catching the ball.

McNabb's shown he can be lethal with a great wide receiver. McNabb's also been shown that he can be very good with garbage. Maybe time is catching up with him and he can't polish a turd as well as he has in the past. We need one guy, that'll let curtis and brown be the #2 receivers they are built to be.

And why don't you talk about his injury Dan, besides gossip column "dirty little secrets"

[BrianS]

Good discussion. I'm obsessed with the QB situation right now.

Unfortunately, I'm leaning toward thinking that Donovan McNabb will not be the Eagles' QB in 2008, and certainly not in 2009.

The thing I hear so many arguments about is "who's fault is it that the WRs aren't making plays -- Theirs or Donovans?" Are they not getting open enough, or does Donovan not see them or not throw to receivers that many other NFL QBs would consider "open" because they're not "open enough" for him to have confidence to throw the ball. (Sorry, I did a bad job phrasing this, but I'm sure you've heard this before to know what I'm talking about.)

It's hard for me to tell which is true. McNabb looked excellent at times in 2002 and 2003 with completely pedestrian receivers -- worse than we had now. What changed? Maybe those guys weren't better overall receivers, but Pinkston at least had field stretching speed. Maybe that's what we're missing now. (My impression is that Curtis is fast -- maybe his height sort of counteracts that on the deep routes? Really, I don't know).

We also don't know what Donovan will look like next year. Do Reid/Heckert think he'll play better when his ankle's completely healed, or do they think there's some problem beyond that such as:
1) Even with a healthier knee, McNabb will no longer have the athleticism to avoid the rush and buy time for his receivers to get "open enough", and he can't change his style of play to get rid of the ball quicker.
2) McNabb's lost confidence or is not reading defenses as well anymore -- something that's related to the injuries, but probably won't go away (at least in Philly) as he heals.
3) McNabb really wants out of here.

I don't know if any of those things are true. But if they're not, and the coaching staff thinks McNabb will play better next year, I think he should have a chance to start in '08.

I'm wondering if there's something going on w/McNabb that we don't know about, some reason they think he won't be the QB he was in 2003-2004. If they really thought McNabb would return to near his peak form, it seems like it was too early to draft his replacement, and too high a draft pick to use on a project or backup QB.

I'm disappointed in McNabb. I thought he was progressing, but then he played badly vs. Dallas. Not many Eagles did play well, though, so perhaps that's unfair.

But McNabb doesn't deserve be the fall guy for this season. Andy Reid hasn't consistently added the types of playmakers Donovan's asked for (McNabb wanted Stallworth back), he basically threw McNabb to the wolves with his early-season game plan.

I think it's ok for us to wonder about the future of Donovan McNabb right now, because there seem to be problems more than just his injury. There's a chance we may never again see the Donovan of old. But more than any other Eagle, Reid has not put him in a position to succeed.

[ShouldaTookRickyWilliams]

DAN, you are a fucking MORON.

[Seantizzy 2 d hizzy]

I think it's laughable that you guys would ruin McNabb like this. McNabb is a cry baby and way to sensitive but he's been your best player for almost a decade. They won before Westbrook, before TO before a whole host of defensive players.

I have a feeling one day Philly will look back and regret the way you viewed a guy who took you to the Superbowl and all those Championship games.

I'm not sure where you guys got the idea that you were the 49er's of the 80's pre-mcnabb but you were not. He took you as far as any other player has gotten Philly in the SB era.

/rant

[BrianS]

Responding to Seantizzy...

I think the vast majority of Eagles fans appreciate everything McNabb's meant to this team and appreciate the results he's brought and his willingness to play through pain.

That's why there's so much debate about this -- we wouldn't care so much if this was a discussion about whether it was time to end the Doug Pederson or Ty Detmer eras.

[Saltzie]

I really like your blog. It's well written and provides a nice perspective. Keep it up.

Not trying to brown-nose, but I wanted to slip this in before a whole army of people who think they could run the team because they can write 500 word "comments" start to take over.

Thanks.

[Dan]

Truth is awfully painful.

Don't hate me, I'm just the messenger.

And it seems ole Andy addressed the excuse of his "injury." When the media asked the very leading question about Donovan's injury, expecting Andy to use the injury to once again insulate McNabb, this time Andy wouldn't have anything to do with it.

He rightly observed that a knee injury doesn't prevent a QB keeping two hands on the football.

He also noted that Donovan's injury didn't have anything to do with his thought processes on the pass that was intercepted by Ken Hamelin, but intended for Roy Williams.

Andy himself answered those who are eager to use the "injury" as an excuse for Donovan's performance.

It's all imploding for the Birds.

Donovan is as I described, a missile that long ago reached its highest trajectory, and nothing is left now, NOTHING, but a fast and furious burning re-entry.

Sorry guys.

But hopefully, the Eagles can do it right this time, rebuilding that is.

[Dan]

And the phrase "dirty little secret" wasn't mine. And I too was shocked when I heard it. It was that of Lou Tilly, who is far more connected than any of us.

Tilly wouldn't have said something like that, if he hadn't heard it from MULTIPLE sources.

Recall, the Defensive coordinators come to town, and they're available for some off the record conversation. And it's those off the record frank discussions, where the truth is to be found.

What am I supposed to do, imagine I didn't hear it, imagine that Tilly just made it up, that Tilly didn't know what he was talking about.

Sorry, that's not a tidbit from a gossip columnist, though it might sound that way. That's raw, pure football assessment.

Take a look at the Eagles regular season numbers since the Super Bowl.

Now compare those number to McNabb regular season starts since the Super Bowl. Don't trust me, you guys take a look at those numbers.

Compare Garcia's record in the latter half of last season, to Donovan's regular season starts for the last three years.

Now ask yourself who would you rather have start for this football team, based on the most recent performance of McNabb vis a vis Garcia.

Compare and contrast fellas. Compare and contrast.