Donovan McNabb a measuring rod!

You better watch out!
Better not cry!
Better not pout!
I'm telling you why,
Santa Claus is comin' to town.
Santa Claus is comin' to town.

Who would boo these lyrics, who would boo Santa Clause himself? Only the Philadelphia Eagles fans, these are the same smart fans that booed Donovan McNabb for half of this season and cheered when he was benched for Kevin Kolb in the 12th game of the season. These are the same fans that asked the question on sports talk radio if Kolb would be the full time starter in week 13 or 14 after he had played horribly in relief of Donovan during that week 12 game against the Ravens. These are the same fans that now call into sports talk radio shows and proclaim that Donovan is their starter for good now, because he is the quarterback that gives the Eagles the best chance to win.

McNabb gives the Eagles the best chance to win on a regular basis because he is simply one of the best five quarterbacks in pro football today. You can argue that Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees are better than Donovan, but you would be hard pressed to find another QB who is head and shoulders better than McNabb in today’s game. There are many who would argue that Brees is nothing more than a stats hog and that many of the yards and touchdowns that he puts up come during meaningless garbage time. Under the premise that victories equal greatness, Brees is not in McNabb’s area code. Many people do not realize that McNabb’s guidance has helped the Eagles reach the NFC Conference Championship game for five of the last eight years. Many people argue that he has not won the Super Bowl and that is a direct reflection on his ability as a QB, but how many QBs have won the Super Bowl? One of the greatest QB of all time Dan Marino never won a Super Bowl during his playing career, does that diminish any of his career accomplishments?

When comparing McNabb’s stats (see below) to what many consider the “gold standard” of Hall of Fame (HOF) quarterbacks, he compares very favorably.


TD Int YDS RTG
Montana
Total 273 139 40551 92.3
Yearly AVG. 18.2 9.27 2703.4

Elway
Total 300 226 51475 79.9
Yearly AVG. 18.75 14.13 3217.1875

Unitas
Total 290 253 40239 78.2
Yearly AVG. 17.06 14.88 2367

Bradshaw
Total 212 210 27989 70.9
Yearly AVG. 15.14 15.00 1999.21

Marino
Total 420 252 61361 86.42
Yearly AVG. 24.71 14.82 3609.47

McNabb
Total 194 90 29320 85.9
Yearly AVG. 19.4 9 2932
Projected total for 16 yrs 310.4 144 46912



Donovan’s yearly numbers are better than Montana, Unitas, and Bradshaw’s in every category listed. His yearly numbers are on par with Elway, and only slightly worse than Marino’s. To be able to compete with these quarterbacks’ statistics, and have arguably worse talent around him than they all did shows just how underappreciated McNabb is and has been by the Philly fans. Looking at these numbers it is laughable that the Philly fans once had a debate whether to keep Donovan or Terrell Owens (T.O.), because Donovan got tired in the Super Bowl, just ask the Cleveland fans if they would take the Eagle’s number 5 instead of their current two headed quarterback monster.

Former Atlanta Quarterback Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb were once thought to be the new standard for “Black Quarterbacks” in the NFL, but a funny thing happened over time. McNabb hurt his knee, and transformed himself from the new standard for “Black Quarterbacks” to possibly being part of the measuring rod for all quarterbacks. If McNabb can some how will his team to win this years Super Bowl, his borderline HOF career should no longer be considered borderline. It should be full fledged Canton worthy. Make no mistake about it he will have earned it. If Donovan leaves the Eagles, the Philly fans have gotten everything they deserve. They will have gotten a chance to witness a great quarterback play the game the right way, a classy gentleman who handled adversity remarkably well under the scrutiny of one of the toughest media markets in the nation, and a man that has lead his team to the top of the mountain. And if he does not win the Super Bowl he is still the same man. Maybe the Philly fans really got what they did not deserve. With all this being said Philly, who would you rather have now, T.O. or Number 5?

****Weekend Picks****

Eagles 31 Cards 27
Ravens 10 Steelers 14



Johnson is a contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at johnsonthesportsguy@gmail.com