This Just In: Donovan McNabb Is Still Good

I don't care if the Saints have a terrible secondary. I don't care if that final TD was a result of mind-boggling play calling. Donny can still play. Fuck all you haters. Yes, Angelo Cataldi, I AM looking at you. Blowhard.

To everyone else, Merry Christmas. That's right, I said it. Merry fucking Christmas. Hanukkah is over, and really, does anyone even know what Kwanzaa is? Kwanzaabot has been handing out that book for over 600 years. If you do know what it is, and you celebrate it, Happy Kwanzaa.

I'll be taking a few days off from this, unless something really awesome or noteworthy happens. Enjoy the holiday(s).

How Dare You Boo A.J. Feeley!

Yes you, fellow Eagles fans. You wanted A.J., you got him. Why any of you are the least bit surprised that a back up quarterback played like - gasp! - a back up quarterback, I have no idea. But in a poll conducted by the local NBC affiliate, over 70% of those polled this past week said they wanted Feeley to start regardless of McNabb's health. So, roughly 70% of Eagles fans are morons, give or take? Yeah, that sounds about right.

Well, I'm not a fucking moron. Feeley now has 7 interceptions on the season. Donovan McNabb has 6. A.J. has started 2 games. Donovan has started 10. Hmmm, one of those things is worse than the other. Now look, I understand McNabb is still banged up. It is, after all, December. Given the circumstances, Feeley should have started against the Seahawks. But the circumstances are not "A.J. Feeley is better than Donovan McNabb". The circumstances are "Donovan McNabb is hurt". And Jesus, he needs to heal. Fast.

Honestly? I'm glad Feeley played like dog shit. Don't get me wrong, I wanted the Eagles to win, but I was tired of hearing blowhards like Angelo Cataldi croon on about how McNabb needs to go. SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP. He's the second best Philadelphia athlete of my generation - behind Allen Iverson - and while Chase Utley is one more great season away from surpassing him, he will forever go down as one of the greatest Eagles of all time, and that's saying something.

Before the season started I wrote this, a piece about great Philly athletes of the last 15 years leaving town despite having something left in the tank, something to contribute to the team, and about how I do not want to see McNabb going down that road. A week ago it seemed inevitable that he would be gone well before he retired, before he stopped playing well. A week, later, that seems less certain. After the game reporters were getting fan reactions from Feeley's God-awful performance. One reporter had this exchange with a fan that had brought a pro-Feeley sign to the game:

Reporter: So who do you want to be the starter next week?
Fan: McNabb!
Reporter: But last week you said you wanted Feeley.
Fan: Well not no more!

Without even playing, Donovan has gained back much of the fan support that was rightfully his. And for that, I will not boo A.J. Feeley. I thank him. The Eagles needed him, and he came through in spades. Now let us never speak of him again.

Did You Hear That?

That was roughly 7 million people in the greater Philadelphia area breathing a collective sigh of relief. The throwback unis (seen on Reggie Brown and Correl Buckhalter, right) were ugly, and so was the beating. The Eagles put an absolute whoopin' on the Lions Sunday, winning by a score of 56-21. The Eagles put up 42 in the first half en route to dismantling a Lions team that many people thought might be for real this year. And who knows, maybe they are. But with a defense like that, I wouldn't bet on it. The Lions' two wins have come against Oakland and Minnestoa, two teams with a combined record of 2-4, and those two wins have come against Atlanta and Cleveland, who sport a combined 1-5 record. So yeah, Detroit isn't one of the worst teams in the league, but they sure as hell aren't one of the best.

Now, despite their emphatic, convincing victory, the Eagles weren't perfect, although McNabb was. Literally. His QB rating for the game was the highest possible. He looked good. The secondary, without Dawkins or Lito Sheppard, got lit up for over 400 yards in the air, although to the credit of the defense as a whole, the Lions did not score in the 2nd half. The defense also recorded nine sacks, with Trent Cole leading the way with three.

Kevin Curtis went off for 221 yards and 3 scores. Um, T.O. never did that. Westbrook also racked up 221 total yards (110 rushing, 111 receiving) and 3 scores, despite leaving the game in the 3rd quarter with a rib injury. X-rays were negative.

Correll Buckhalter and rookie Tony Hunt also got in the board with rushing TDs late in the game to complete th biggest ass whooping (in terms of points scored) the Eagles have put on anyone since they trounced the - guess who! - yup, the Lions, in the playoffs in 1996 by a score of 58-37. We should play Detroit more often.

The Eagles ran early and often which allowed McNabb to stretch the field. The offense looked just like it did early last season - good. But hey, the Lions aren't good, at least not on defense.

And, when you consider that the Packers, a team the Eagles really should have beaten, are 3-0 and the Redskins are 2-1, the rest of the season doesn't look too bleak. Of course, if McNabb doesn't play well against the Giants next week, various idiots all over Philadelphia will be calling for his head. After all, the Phillies will have played themselves out of the playoffs by then and there will be nothing to take attention away from the Eagles. What? You say no one has been paying attention to the Phillies anyway? Yeah, you're right. But it's still nice to get that first win out of the way, and the Eagles did it in style. Breathe easy everyone, for at least 7 days.

Is It Possible The Eagles Aren't Good?

Yes, it's possible. Is it too early be arriving at that conclusion? Probably. But when judging the Eagles, one has to consider certain truths and myths regarding this season.

Myth: Donovan McNabb isn't the same quarterback he once was. He's holding the Eagles back and he needs to go.

Truth: Look, he isn't 100% yet. They say it takes 2 years to fully recovery from a major knee injury. It's been 10 months. Do I think Kevin Kolb will be a good NFL QB some day? Yes, I honestly do. Is it time, after two weeks, to dismiss the Donovan McNabb era as a failure and give the kid the keys? FUCK NO. Donovan will return to form. I'm not blind - he looked unimpressive against Green Bay and worse against Washington - but he will continue to improve as the season goes on.

Myth: The Eagles' current receiving corps is good enough for a legit playoff run.

Truth: No it isn't. Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown would be great compliments to a great number 1 receiver, but neither of them are good enough to fill that role. There's more than one reason McNabb hasn't looked good. When your receivers get no separation, it's hard to get them the ball. Your throws have to be perfect (or better) every time, and only robots like Peyton Manning can pull that shit off. Why is Andy Reid vehemently opposed to giving McNabb a legit superstar receiver? Well, to his credit, he did try it once. It didn't quite work out in the end. But damn did it work for a little while. McNabb was a different QB with T.O. around. They fed off each other. Even Stallworth, a legit deep threat, made a difference. But no, Randy Moss wasn't worth a 4th round pick. He is, at worst, the 3rd best receiver of all time. He would have made a huge difference, kind of like he's doing in New England. Great QBs need great receivers, and vice versa. McNabb is no exception.

Myth: Donovan McNabb is the best player on the Eagles, so it makes sense to have him passing 60% of the time.

Truth: Brian Westbrook is, and has been for some time, the best offensive Eagle. The Eagles weren't successful after McNabb went down last year because Jeff Garica is God. They were successful because Westbrook became the focus of their offense, something everyone has seemingly realized except for the guys calling plays. GUHHHHHH. Give him the fucking ball. A lot. Please. The Redskins keyed on him all fucking game and he still racked up 162 total yards. He's incredibly good. Why Andy Reid fails to see this, I do not know.

Myth: The offseason adventures of Andy Reid's kids are distracting him and taking away from his ability as a coach.

Truth: Um, this one may be true. Can't say I blame you Andy. I mean, it's at least partially your fault you raised idiots, but anyone who claims that the exploits of the Reid boys wouldn't distract them is lying. Good luck fat man.

Myth: The Eagles' season is over and it's time to start planning for '08.

Truth: It's two games people. Two. The last time they lost their first two games, they finished 12-4. Yes, that team was better than this one, but it's early. And this is the NFC we're talking about. You know who's 2-0 in the NFC right now? Dallas, Washington, Green Bay, Detroit and San Francisco. Would you be shocked to see the Eagles in the playoffs instead of any one of those teams? Didn't think so. Take a deep breath everyone. No need to panic. It's only been two games.

Now, if we lose to the Detroit Fucking Lions next week, then we can start panicking.

He's Baaaaacccckkkkkk

McNabb finally took the field for the first time since November. He looked good. Real good. Not to jinx anything, but it appears the knee is a-ok. Which makes me happy. If he's healthy the Eagles are clearly the class of the NFC East and top 3 NFC team. Playoffs? Um, yeah.

In other news, the Phillies smacked the crap out of the Pirates, although the bullpen did it's best to keep the game close. Final score was 11-8. Unfortunately, the Mets keep winning too.

Funny Phillie anecdote: last weekend a friend of a friend was out at a bar in downtown Philly and ran into Pat Burrell, Chase Utley, and a personal hero of mine and champion of metaphysics, Darren Daulton. Utley had a cast on his hand and a hat pulled over his eyes, and when my friend's friend approached him and said "Hey, you're Chase Utley", he replied with "Nah man, I'm Allen Iverson." Classic. Burrell then asked him "Where are your lady friends?" I don't know Pat, where's your fiance? Asshole. I'm just glad you're hitting.

This is Not Going to End Well

Bobby Abreu. Allen Iverson. Donovan McNabb. What do they all have in common? No, it isn't a ridiculous beard. That's just McNabb, who has clearly been hanging around Koy Detmer way too often. Iverson, Abreu and Mcnabb are all the best players of my lifetime for each of the three major sports teams in Philadelphia. (Hockey stopped being a major sport when it took a team out of Winnipeg to put in in Phoenix. Also, I understand it's likely that Ryan Howard and Chase Utley will have better careers than Abreu, but as of now, it's too early to declare them better players than Abreu ever was.)

It appears these three men will soon have another thing in common as well: a departure from Philly that neither the athletes nor the fans deserved. Abreu was shipped off because the Phillies did not want to pay him. Iverson was jettisoned because the Sixers had given up on building a team around him. Donovan may be gone for both reasons. And so, before that happens, I have a request: please Donovan, don't go down that road.

I'm different from most Philadelphia sports fans. For starters, my education extends past 7th grade. Also, I'm a bigger Phillies fan than anything else, a rarity in an Eagle-first town. Also - and this might be directly related to trait number one - I don't boo my own players at the first sign of struggle. Don't get me wrong, I will boo when necessary. Give up 4 home runs in a game? I'm booing. Throw that 3rd pick? I'm booing. Wear a jersey that says "Eaton"? You better fucking believe I'm booing. It's just that if a guy is in a slump, we tend to berate him instead of supporting him, and I have trouble believing that helps.

The Philadelphia sports media, which consists of a bunch of blowhards calling themselves fans - I'm looking at you Cataldi - also tends to be overly negative and hypocritical. They made fans believe Abreu was the reason the Phillies weren't playing well and that the attitude change after he left last season was why they had such a good record after the break. I tend to think that Rollins and Howard hitting a combined 843 home runs in August and September along with a pitching staff hitting its stride was the more likely cause. But hey, what do I know? All I did was watch every game. I do know this though - if Bobby is a Phillie for the entire 2006 season, they make the playoffs.

As for Iverson, who was never exactly a media darling, well, he probably did need to go. (I, along with every other fan, loved him, but they weren't going any further with him as the centerpiece of the team.) But had Billy King pulled the trigger last summer the Sixers could have swung Carlos Boozer and the 7th pick in the 2006 draft, which ended up being Randy Foye. Add those two guys to Iguodala, Willie Green, Korver and Dalembert and that is a nucleus with which you can work. Instead they waited till midway through this season and got 30 cents on the dollar for him. Yes, the two 1st round picks will be nice, but Billy King, idiot that he is, is in charge of using them. Confident I am not.

And then there's Donovan. Sweet, sensitive Donovan. With apologies to Randall Cunningham, Jim McMahon, Ron Jaworski, Ty Detmer, Koy Detmer, Rodney Peete, Bobby Hoying, Doug Pederson and Jeff Blake, McNabb is the best quarterback in Eagle history. And now the media is going apeshit over the Eagles using their first pick - which was NOT A FIRST ROUND PICK - on a quarterback. Do I agree with the pick? Not this second. But if Kevin Kolb is a stud five years from now I'll be fine with it.

Look, McNabb has been hurt recently. He isn't getting any younger. Football is a business. You have to plan for the future. And that's fine. You do not, however, need to make a giant fucking deal out of the Eagles planning for the future. Andy, you don't need to have a conference with Donovan. Donovan, you don't need to say that you're "shocked" with the pick. And everyone else, you don't need to make it seem like there is any question McNabb might not be the starter if fully healthy. He is an elite NFL quarterback. Do you really think Jeff Garcia would be gone if the Eagles had short term worries about Donovan?

Everyone else, though, Donovan and his fat-mouthed and even fatter-assed mother included, is not as smart as I am. Everyone else feels the need to give this way too much attention, making a would-be non-issue into a potentially hazardous real issue. (T.O. anyone?) Just let it go. There's no way of knowing if Kolb was a good draft pick, and there is no way of speeding up that judgment. We all (myself included) booed Donovan when he was drafted. I have learned from such a mistake. I will save my boos for more deserving athletes. In the meantime, everyone just chill out and hope Donovan isn't tearing up the league for some other team much like Bobby and Allen have done. If that happens, then I'll be booing.