by John Leon
How ridiculous is this? “I don’t want to negotiate an extension until I see how the team will improve itself this off season.” Who said this? Why it’s the franchise quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles Donovan McNabb. Not T.O. Not any of the other greedy me-first superstars in the NFL but the one and only quarterback that everyone seems to think Philly needs.
Not me! Enough is Enough. This statement reeks of holding the team hostage and I’m sick of it. I wasn’t his biggest fan to begin with and it’s time to cut the umbilical cord that he’s got attached to Andy Reid. On top of that, he had a private meeting with Reid and Joe Banner to “clear the air” about his Week 12 benching…what?
Here’s my thought. trade his ass to Chicago or wherever he wants throw his high and outside and low and away bouncers. Sign Jeff Garcia to a 2 year contract with the understanding that Garcia will mentor the next QB that the Eagles draft and it’s not Kevin Kolb or A.J. Feeley. There’s going to be some good quarterbacks out there over the next 2 years and this would ; A) give the Birds a legit leader with some balls. Remember his leading the Eagles when the precious choke artist was hurt? and B) allow the Eagles to groom the next long term signal caller of the future without having to throw him to the wolves too early.
Of course that quarterback guru tandem of Reid and Moringwheg could’ve had Brady Quinn but TRADED UP to get Kolb…I know you’ve gotta be scratching your head over that one aren’t you? PLUS the Eagles need shoring up at a few different positions and have some tough decisions about free agents.
Tra Thomas or Jon Runyan? I pick Runyun because he adds toughness and you could move Todd Herremans to left tackle, Max-Jean Gilles or Nick Cole move into left guard and you’re good for the next year. O Line is a must draft this year and with two first rounders it’s time to spend the money instead of trading out. Chris “Beanie” Wells has to be the second pick in Round 1 to back up Westbrook. No brainer.
Brian Dawkins gets one final year at safety while T.J. Houshmandzadeh is the guy to compliment Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett on the outside.
Just my opinion but they’ve gotta start by getting rid of the weakest link and that’s McNabb. I don’t care about how he performed down the stretch last season. If not for the unbelievable circumstances that even allowed them to get into the playoffs, Raiders over Tampa, Chicago and Minnesota both losing and the Eagles showing how heartless Dallas really is, he and possibly Reid would be gone and deny it if you will, in your heart you know they would be.
Don’t look at this with your heart, use your head. It actually makes sense.
Fans like you are why Philadelphia fans have such an awful reputation nationally. Trade McNabb? Fine. But then you bring up Jeff Garcia who helped lose a play-off berth for the Bucanneers. Enough with Jeff Garcia. He is over the hill and finished! Any idiot can and does have a blog these days I guess. The failuers of this Eagles team can all be blamed on McNabb and everything can be fixed by bringing in Candy armed, 8 million year old, Elfin Jeff Garcia. Pure Genius.
How can you honestly say trade McNabb and sign Jeff Garica when Garcia was a part of a team that couldn’t make the playoffs after starting 9-3? Remember the game the Eagles needed Tampa Bay to lose to a bad Oakland team? Guess who the quarterback was, that’s right, Jeff Garcia.
Once again the failure to look at this like a normal fan instead of one with blinders on absoluletly amazes me. Did anyone NOT hear what the guy said??? Are Philly fans willing to put up with him holding the team hostage?
Garcia has one playoff win in 4 years. McNabb has two wins in just one year. Plus, he’s allegedly taking the team hostage to make it better. TO took the team hostage to make more money.
Few hits and a few misses in there.
#1 – I think this McNabb “wait and see” thing might have to do with wanting the team to bring in his old partner in crime from Syracuse, Marvin Harrison. The timing just seems a little too coincidental. Though it could certainly be that McNabb is holding out for a Houshmanzadeh or Boldin. Anyhow, I’m on the fence regarding Mcnabb. Since he know either can’t (or refuses to run) I think he’s a much less potent QB than he’s been in the past. That being said, I think we’ve got a team that can still compete for a championship and I’m not ready to risk it with an unproven (or expiring) commodity. Which leads me to…
#2 – Jeff Garcia isn’t the answer. After being benched the first couple of games last season, Garcia played inspired for several weeks and then his age set in and play spiraled downward. I’d love to bring him back in as a #2. If we needed him in late November and he had fresh legs, I’d be all for it but a full season just isn’t in the cards for this guy any more.
#3 – Absolutely right on the O-line. It’s the biggest area of need this offseason. I liked what Cole did at the end of the year and hope he ends up a starter. Not so confident in Herremans moving to left tackle. If Andre Smith slides due to his combine gafs, we’d have to nab him.
#4 – Chris “Beanie” Wells has to be the second pick in Round 1 for the Eagles. No doubt, but the last no brainer I remember for this team was passing on Randy Moss. You can’t put anything past these guys.
The whole gist of the article was for the Birds to unload McNabb. I agree that Garcia probably isn’t the best choice but eventually this team has to start to take a different direction at QB. Kolb and Feeley certainly aren’t the answers. What happens of the Eagles do their cheap out and trade out of the first round as they’re prone to do? Or they don’t get the players that McNabb feels is an improvement? Does he pout and play uninspired? Does he force a trade? All legitimate questions. All subject to debate.