Sports

Philadelphia Eagles: From TO to OT

First, Donovan McNabb had a TO problem. Now, he has an OT problem. The Donovan McNabb era of Eagles football should now officially be over. Some people will say it should have been over before this year, but after his abysmal performance against the Bengals it’s time to move into the Kevin Kolb Era. I personally haven’t worn my McNabb jersey since the infamous 2-minute drill that took 7-minutes during the Super Bowl.

McNabb will no longer be remembered as a great QB who led the Philadelphia Eagles to five NFC East Titles, three NFC Championship Games, and one Super Bowl. Heck, he won’t even be remembered as the guy who lost his lunch during the Super Bowl. No. Now, Donovan McNabb’s legacy with Philadelphia Eagles’ fans will be that he didn’t even know that NFL games could end in a tie. It’s like his own personal Rich Kotite play chart where the ink ran in the rain. Yeah, it’s that friggin’ bad. I just compared McNabb to the immortal Rich Kotite. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I’m not sure how any player in the NFL could possibly not know that there is only one overtime quarter during a regular season game, but apparently our Donny wasn’t aware of this fact. And even if any player on the field didn’t know this rule, all he would have had to do was pay attention to referee Tony Corrente. Before the overtime coin flip Corrente explained the rules of overtime so the entire stadium could hear. He said, “Captains, we will now play one overtime period.” He then went on to explain, “If neither team scores, the game will be declared a tie.” Well, that seems pretty clear. How did McNabb miss that? Maybe he was busy making goofy faces into a camera somewhere. This is what separates good QBs like McNabb from Super Bowl winning QBs like Eli Manning. Manning knew the rule about his whole body having to be past the line of scrimmage last week and convinced his coach to challenge the ruling on the field. Now THAT’S a leader.

McNabb was quoted as saying, “I’ve never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book.” This is simply mind-boggling. But what do you expect from a man who is thirty years old and just voted for the first time in his life? Maybe he didn’t know that he was allowed to vote until this year? Hey! Wait a minute! This would explain a lot.

Maybe McNabb doesn’t know that other QBs call audibles at the line of scrimmage when they read a defense and realize that the play that’s called will fail miserably. Heck, maybe he doesn’t know QBs are allowed to read a defense. Maybe he doesn’t know that there are FOUR quarters in a football game. Maybe he thinks those first 15 minutes of each game are just his time to get his arm loose. Maybe he doesn’t know what those clocks in each endzone are for. (Those would be the play clocks that keep running out before the Eagles snap the ball.) Maybe he doesn’t know that you can turn around and hand the ball to his teammate that is standing behind him and let him “run” with the ball. Maybe he doesn’t know that the NFL hasn’t made it a penalty for a QB to run with the football in the last four years. Maybe he doesn’t understand he shouldn’t be smiling and hugging Giants players after they just kicked the Eagles’ butts. Maybe he doesn’t understand what the term “leader” REALLY means. Maybe the McNabb Era really is over in Philadelphia. Let’s hope so.

~Bob E. Whalon

Comments can be sent to: angrybob@thisweekinphilly.com

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