OK, I'm late and I apologize. But hoe stupid are the Philadelphia Eagles for trading Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins?
His doubters and critics will say he could never win the big game, but McNabb made his team a consistent playoff and Super Bowl contender during his time in Philadelphia. The one year he had a true No. 1 receiver, his team went to the Super Bowl and looked amazing during the season. They ran into a tough New England Patriots team with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in their primes.
All of the Philly fans who applauded the shipping off of McNabb are fools. Are you really that comfortable with Kevin Kolb back there and Michael Vick backing him up? Think about this, the biggest knock on McNabb was his accuracy. Vick is worse in that department, a lot worse.
Another reason the Eagles were mistaken in dealing McNabb is he could come back to haunt them twice a year for the near future. Who trades a Pro Bowl quarterback within the same division? If it came out today that Ben Roethlisberger was guilty of both of his alleged sexual assaults, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were to trade him, it wouldn't be to an NFC North rival.
I'm not saying the Redskins are going to be good this year; their receiver group is one of the worst in the league. But why risk having McNabb hand you multiple losses each season. You're just asking your fans to hate you.
Of course, now that I say this, Kolb will go gangbusters this year and lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl while the Redskins finish 5-11. That result wouldn't really upset me though. I hate the Redskins and their fans and love to watch them fail.
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
How it was handled and the end result were bad, however I agree with the Eagles trading McNabb. Letting Brian Dawkins walk was the begin to the end of an era for the Eagles that continued with cutting Westbrook and now trading McNabb. They are trying to rebuild on the fly with Kolb and McCoy now plugged into prominent roles. Given their tough schedule this year ( I believe in addition the NFC East games, they play the entire AFC South which didnt have a team worse than 8-8 last year, the Packers, the Vikes, the rest of the NFC North, the 49ers and the Falcons) they will likely going to be no better than 8-8 this year, not an easy road for a team thats defense has been gashed and for an OL that can't really run block. You might as well see what Kolb can do and retool, while getting something for McNabb.
ReplyDeleteNow, I don't understand why the hell you deal him in the division. To me, you get him the hell out of the conference so it doesn't burn you immediately. In this case it could burn them, twice a year. Reports have claimed he would have retired instead of going to Oakland and he was not at all interested in Buffalo. Last I checked, McNabb didnt have a no-trade clause, so they should have shipped him where they saw fit, not down I-95, 100 miles or so. Truthfully, the Eagles should have acted aggressively at the start of the offseason to move him to Cleveland or Denver.
I agree McNabb will never be fully appreciated in Philly until a few years from now. Although I would argue their defense had a large part in his early successes but he did navigate an offense that had only one reliable weapon in Westbrook, except for the TO year to 4 straight NFC Title games and 1 Super Bowl. Philly fans got what they wished for and it will be interested how it pans out. Moving McNabb made sense, moving him in the division was as idiotic as Andy Reid's clock management at the end of a half.