Dear Donovan

D-MAC. McBabbulous. (i’m out of nicknames already. Donovan’s a pretty bada** name as it is though..so you probably don’t need one). What’s going on man? Busy training, working hard for the season? Rehabbing that shoulder that made you miss the eagles’ training camp? No big deal, it’s not like the eagles are counting on you or anything. Oh wait. We have at best, a 2-year window for legitimately competing for a super bowl. Our offense consists of: 1) the offensive line allowing every single pass-rusher/blitzer/fan through the line, 2) you attempting to scramble and 3) finally shoveling a pass to the best receiving running back in the league.

Thankfully, Brian Westbrook has been an absolute stud these past couple of years. People don’t really appreciate his awesomness, which is pretty cool considering I picked him up in the 2nd round of one of my fantasy football leagues last year. Despite some huge injury problems with the rest of my lineup, Westbrook basically carried my team last year. He also helped the real eagles out, finishing as an all-pro and making the pro-bowl. And who can forget this play? (btw..I love the offensive lineman’s celebration in the corner of the screen on that play) I think that deserves merit for inclusion as some sort of top ten plays list. Seriously, how many running backs would give up an extra touchdown (and possibly millions of dollars in contract incentives) for their team? Anyways…back to you McNabb. I don’t know if I can realistically expect a super bowl this season. You asked for play makers in the offseason (hint: wide receivers), and the Eagles promptly went out and got Asante Samuel. Idk…I hope he turns out to be a good investment, but he thrived in the Pats’ system, while the Eagles are much more blitz-friendly under Jim Johnson. Meh. I’d have to say our biggest offensive acquisition was DeSean Jackson, the Cal receiver, who appears to have had some mini-T.O. moments…except without the NFL promise. At least he’ll be good for our punt return game.

(I guess this is gonna sound similar to my Andy Roddick letter. Meh. Whatever. E-mail us.) As big of an Eagles fan as I am, I think I might be a bigger Donovan McNabb fan. A lotta people talk about players overcoming adversity. You definitely did that. Your draft day – Eagles fans booed the heck out of you, hoping for Ricky “I’m too busy getting high” Williams (lol…I love the closeup of those fans). Rush Limbaugh provided his hmm…”different” perspective on your success in the league (looks like ESPN has smartly pulled the video of that clip). The Eagles failing to advance past 3 straight NFC conference championship games.  T.O. was T.O., and decided to absolutely destroy (split infinitive. meh.) any team chemistry the eagles had, splitting the team in two. There was more drama on that team than season 3 of the O.C. ( OHHH YEAH…pop culture reference. bit dated..but still.) He called you out through the media, trashed your leadership, and trashed your play. I think this is sufficient excuse to link the following two clips: OD, OD, OD OD, OD following T.O.’s drug overdose in his return to Philly, and T.O. crying about a “quarterback”. Things haven’t been good for you these past couple of years. Kelvin Kolb was drafted (over some wide receivers. again) and he appears to be doing a great job in the training camps. You’ve missed a lot of time the past couple of seasons, due to groin injuries and ACL tears. To make matters worse, Jeff Garcia led an inspired playoff run with the eagles while you were gone, and freakin AJ FEELY almost led the eagles to a huge upset over the pats. (Don’t worry..AJ Feely realized he was AJ Feely and then chucked up an awful interception towards the end of the game).

Despite these bad memories…we gotta mention the Mcnabbulous ones. One of the sickest plays I’ve ever seen, against Dallas. WTTF!?!?!? NO!?!?! I’ve had that favorited for months, in preparation for this column, and now it’s removed from youtube. You scrambled for 14.1 seconds, eluding several Dallas defenders, before finally chucking it to Freddie Mitchell. Speaking of Freddie Mitchell, who can forget 4th and 26!?!? (also removed from youtube). You were also the 1st player to throw for more than 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a season (until Brady). In 2004, the only year that you have had any quality receivers, the Eagles went to the super bowl. You put up a 104.1 qb rating that year. The Eagles actually had a chance in that super bowl too – but your sickness and the 3 interceptions (including 2 boneheaded red zone hurls) ruined chances of possibly completely turning your career and legacy around.

It’s really kind of sad to think about what your career could have been D-Mac. You were probably the most athletic and skilled quarterback in the league (except for perhaps Michael Vick). You never had the wide receiver help you needed to dominate. You’ve dealt with some of the harshest fans and sports critics. You’ve been back stabbed by your teammates. You still have the lowest interceptions thrown per pass ratio in the history of the NFL. (2.1%). There’s not much time, but you’ve still got a few more great years.

This sums up everything your career’s been.

(The Eagles scored 9 points in the game following that video’s premier. Meh.)

Good luck McNabb. And I am expecting a super bowl run this year.
Btw..you should check out his website – it’s pretty fly.

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6 Responses to Dear Donovan

  1. No NFC team has a window to win the superbowl. The best 3 teams are in the AFC.

  2. eaglesforever says:

    listen…if freakin eli manning can win a super bowl, anything’s possible. i know i’ve mentioned that before but seriously, i’ve seen several of his games against the eagles. some of his decisions on the field look like the way a 2 year old would play madden. ridiculous.

  3. anyone can get lucky i guess.

  4. Travis says:

    I don’t watch football much. But how come the Eagles just waive Terrell Owens? Especially after he lead the Eagles into the Superbowl. Couldn’t they get something for him? How come they couldn’t tade him? I know he was being an ass and everything but so was Ron Artest in the NBA. And at least the Pacers got Peja for him. Why does the NFL just waive? Sorry, I don’t watch the NFL much.

  5. capitalsports says:

    eaglesforever can probably offer more insight, but I think it was mostly to make a statement. Because he lashed out at McNabb and Reid, he was cut from the squad for violating team rules, not just because he was a pain in the @ss. In most cases a team would trade a disgruntled player, but this was more an instance of “you broke the rules, so we’ll show you who’s boss and cut you”.

    of course the cowboys picked him up even though he did this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6rpp0FH2ji4&feature=related (jump to 1:15, no need to listen to the dude). The cowboys organization sure doesn’t have much respect for itself, huh?

  6. [...] SoCal, thanks for bringing some legit knowledge to the blog. Eags, thanks for making me appreciate D-Mac a little bit more and hate Philly a little bit less. FingerWag, thanks for having an awesome [...]

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