How would you feel if you were a Hall of Fame caliber NFL quarterback and your organization gave you Ren & Stimpy or Beavis & Butt-head as your starting wide receivers? To make matters worse, your fans and local talk-radio hosts are constantly trying to run you out of town because you haven’t won a Super Bowl. Well boys and girls, welcome to the world of Donovan McNabb.
The Hate-Hate relationship between Donovan McNabb and the city of Philadelphia got off to a stellar start on Draft Day 1999. The Eagles selected McNabb with the #2 overall pick and he was immediately greeted by tremendously loud BOOOOOOSSSSSS!!!! by the Philly fans (Fans of the Miami Dolphins didn’t complain one bit when they drafted Ronnie Brown 2nd overall in 2005, Go Figure). That was a ridiculous reaction to have for a fan base whose current quarterbacks were Bobby Hoying and Koy Detmer. Well, no one has ever said that Eagles fans were the most knowledgeable fans in the NFL. The truth of the matter was that the fans wanted the team to draft Ricky Williams. Do you think the team made the right decision? Although the very passionate fan base wanted Williams, Andy Reid & company realized that the running backs on the roster were serviceable (Duce Staley & Charlie Garner) and that they really needed a quarterback. Since this was a stellar year for first-round quarterbacks (tongue-in-cheek) they decided that they should pick one with their first round pick. The only thing left was for them to decide between McNabb, Akili Smith, Cade McNown, and Daunte Culpepper. These were their choices only because the great Tim Couch was selected #1 overall and was therefore off the board. So, do you think they made the right pick?
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The Hate-Hate relationship between Donovan McNabb and the city of Philadelphia got off to a stellar start on Draft Day 1999. The Eagles selected McNabb with the #2 overall pick and he was immediately greeted by tremendously loud BOOOOOOSSSSSS!!!! by the Philly fans (Fans of the Miami Dolphins didn’t complain one bit when they drafted Ronnie Brown 2nd overall in 2005, Go Figure). That was a ridiculous reaction to have for a fan base whose current quarterbacks were Bobby Hoying and Koy Detmer. Well, no one has ever said that Eagles fans were the most knowledgeable fans in the NFL. The truth of the matter was that the fans wanted the team to draft Ricky Williams. Do you think the team made the right decision? Although the very passionate fan base wanted Williams, Andy Reid & company realized that the running backs on the roster were serviceable (Duce Staley & Charlie Garner) and that they really needed a quarterback. Since this was a stellar year for first-round quarterbacks (tongue-in-cheek) they decided that they should pick one with their first round pick. The only thing left was for them to decide between McNabb, Akili Smith, Cade McNown, and Daunte Culpepper. These were their choices only because the great Tim Couch was selected #1 overall and was therefore off the board. So, do you think they made the right pick?
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Be sure to check out regular STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! reader and commenter Anthony “Pharaoh” Goolsby on BET’s Somebodies. He will be appearing in the episode that will be airing Tuesday, September 30th at 10:30 pm.
****NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM****
I applaud the Eagles organization for realizing the special talent that Donovan McNabb was during his time at Syracuse and using the #2 overall pick in the draft to acquire him. However, I don’t understand how you draft a quarterback to build your team around and refuse to give him the needed weapons to be successful. Let’s take a moment and reflect. During McNabb’s tenure in Philadelphia he has thrown passes to James Trash (sorry, I meant to say Thrash), Freddie Mitchell, Torrance Small, Charles Johnson, Chad Lewis, and Todd Pinkston (or should I say Stinkston). Oh, and let’s not forget his current cast of Pro Bowlers. He now has Hank Baskett, Reggie Brown, Greg Lewis, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant, and DeSean Jackson. I am sure that this group strikes fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators all over the NFL. I’m sorry, there was one glaring omission from his list of receivers. That would be the one-man team killer himself, Mr. Terrell (I LOVE ME SOME ME) Owens. As much as I hate Owens (almost as much as I hate Kobe Bryant), he is an absolute beast as a wide receiver. He is a legit number one receiver and he is one of the three best receivers in the NFL today. Does anyone remember what happened when Donovan got a chance to play with a legitimate NFL receiver? That’s right, he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for the McNabb and the Eagles the Terrell Owens experiment was only successful for one season. By his second season in Philly, the one-man team killer earned his nickname, and single-handedly killed the team. It is really a shame because they were great together. It’s also a shame that the Eagles haven’t given McNabb a competent receiver since.
Even with the talentless group of receivers that he has been forced to play with, McNabb has managed to lead the Eagles to six playoff appearances, four NFC Championship Games, and 1 Super Bowl. This apparently isn’t good enough for Eagles fans. They are constantly trying to run this guy out of town, for not being a winner. There were actually some that were saying this off-season that the team would be better off starting Kevin Kolb instead of McNabb. Are you serious? If you are reading this and you are one of those fans, please SLAP YOURSELF!!!! If you think that Kevin Kolb gives you a better chance to win than Donovan McNabb, you really need to have your medications adjusted. I just have one thing to say to Philly fans. You can hate him all you want, but YOU WILL MISS HIM WHEN HE’S GONE.
While exchanging text messages with Anthony “Pharaoh” Goolsby earlier this week, we both realized that Donovan McNabb simply does not get the credit and respect that he deserves from NFL fans (especially Eagles fans). I then decided to put his greatness in perspective and let people know that we are fortunate to be witnessing greatness before our eyes. Peyton Manning, Brett Favre (the Diva), and Tom Brady (for a minute, it looked like they were going to cancel the season when Brady got injured) are held in such high regard in NFL circles. Truthfully, I view McNabb as their equal. Every NFL player is always one play away from having his season, or even worse, his career end. Before it is over for McNabb, do yourself a favor and enjoy his greatness. He is arguably the most complete quarterback in the game today and is the best run/pass threat the league has ever seen. He should definitely be celebrated as such, and I am willing to start the party.
****PROOF THAT LIFE ISN’T FAIR****
Journeyman Quarterback Jon Kitna has had the great fortune of playing with such receivers as Chad Johnson & TJ Houshmandzadeh in Cincinnatti and now he has Calvin Johnson & Roy Williams in Detroit. Future Hall of Famer Donovan McNabb on the other hand has been playing with “insert scrub here” basically his entire career.
****COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY****
WE ARE NOW 51 DAYS AWAY FROM ELECTING THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. I HOPE THAT EVERYONE READING THIS HAS ALREADY REGISTERED TO VOTE. IF NOT, PLEASE DO SO SOON. BE SURE TO LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!!!
WE ARE NOW 51 DAYS AWAY FROM ELECTING THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. I HOPE THAT EVERYONE READING THIS HAS ALREADY REGISTERED TO VOTE. IF NOT, PLEASE DO SO SOON. BE SURE TO LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!!!
