Mr. McNabb Goes to Washington

Photo courtesy the NY Daily News.

Donovan McNabb has gone from one NFC East team to another, as the Philadelphia Eagles traded the face of the franchise to the Washington Redskins in a questionable move for both teams. The NFC East is the toughest division in football, home to the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Eagles, and Redskins. You need a great quarterback in this division, which Philly had in McNabb and Washington did not. Now, the two have essentially traded places in that regard as the Eagles will go with Kevin Kolb at QB.

For Philly, this is a step back with the potential for being a huge step forward, depending on the level of talent they get in the draft picks Washington sent them. The Eagles get a second-round pick (37th overall) and a conditional pick next year. Philly's season rides entirely on Kolb's shoulders now, and the fan base will not be forgiving should he struggle. The team has a lot of youth on the offensive side of the ball in receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and running back LeSean McCoy. As much as I think Philly shouldn't have traded McNabb, Philly did at least have the class to make an accommodating trade that fit his wishes. Most players don't deserve that type of accommodation, but since McNabb has played in an Eagle uniform for eleven years, he is an exception. The other destinations McNabb could have headed, Buffalo and Oakland, are not nearly as appealing to a quarterback as DC is.

New Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan. Photo courtesy the Bleacher Report.

For Washington, this deal hinges on McNabb's play, or the naysayers will say the price was too high, given the draft picks given up. McNabb will have lots of help at running back with Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, and Willie Parker. His receivers are mostly young, but he has Santana Moss as his #1. On the downside, the trend with Redskins ownership has been to spend like a drunk in free agency and trade/give up draft picks and this trade continues that trend. Most great teams become great teams through the draft, just ask New England and Indianapolis. Plus, McNabb is a free agent after this upcoming season, so it could become a "rent-a-player" situation.

The unmentioned winner in this deal: the NFL. One of the league's historic franchises suddenly becomes TV-worthy and one of the biggest rivalries, Washington-Dallas, becomes noteworthy again. Meanwhile, the Eagles should remain competitive and Dallas and NY Giants fans everywhere start to sweat a little.

EDIT (1:48 PT): Had to reformat some photos, so if you're seeing this post twice, my apologies.

McNabb Heading West?

Photo courtesy of the Lehigh Valley Express-Times / Associated Press.

There's a lot of speculation in the NFL that longtime Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb will be traded to the Oakland Raiders for at least a second-round pick in this year's draft. It would be the end of an era in Philly as McNabb has been with the Eagles since 1999.

McNabb has certainly had a rocky time in Philly. First, his selection in the 1999 NFL Draft (1st round, 2nd selection overall) was booed by Philly fans because they wanted running back Ricky Williams, who later turned out to be a bust in New Orleans. Talk about a warm welcome. McNabb has made the Pro Bowl six times, led the Eagles to the NFC Championship Game five times and one Super Bowl where they lost to the New England Patriots on a field goal. Initially, McNabb had sub-par receivers to work with, but when the Eagles traded for hothead Terrell Owens for the 2004 season, the duo lit up the scoreboard. Finally, acceptance by the Philly fans, right? Nope, because they lost the Super Bowl that year. Then, in 2005, Owens publicly ripped McNabb over his Super Bowl performance and subsequent play. In 2006 and 2007, there were rumblings the Eagles would replace McNabb, who had had injury issues in those seasons. In 2008, the criticism continued with Eagles fans caling him a "choker" after losing in the NFC Championship Game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Photo courtesy the New Jersey Star-Ledger / US Presswire.

And to top it off, the Eagles are considering trading him to the Oakland Raiders, a team who hasn't had a winning season since 2002 and is known more for its crazy owner, Al Davis, and its bizarre fans in the Black Hole. Classy move, Philly. Is McNabb the best quarterback of his era? Certainly not, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have had better runs. But after those two, McNabb can be considered a top performer and maybe even a potential Hall of Famer, though winning a Super Bowl would greatly increase those odds. For Philly to treat McNabb the way it has for ten years then to ship him off to the wasteland that is the Oakland Raiders, #5 deserves better. Whether it be back in Philly or not, at least somewhere other than Oakland.

Vick is an Eagle

Photo courtesy of the New York Daily News.

On Friday, Michael Vick was officially introduced as the newest member of the Philadelphia Eagles. His contract is a two-year deal. The first year, Vick will be paid $1.6 million and the second year is worth $5.4 million. Also, his contract has $3 million in incentives. All told, he could receive as much as $10 million.

Does Michael Vick deserve to be in the NFL? It ultimately depends on your view of forgiveness. One can say, "He doesn't deserve the privilege of playing in the NFL for the awful things he did." True, he did some despicable acts of murder, but how long can one hold that against him? It's the same question posed against kids in juvenile hall, the unfaithful wife or husband, or any other case where someone or something is wronged. My family owns two cats and has owned dogs. I despise what Michael Vick did to the dogs he had, but I also know that I can forgive a man for his deeds. To quote Ephesians 4:32, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."


Photo courtesy of OregonLive.com/Associated Press.

In terms of football, this is a peculiar move by the Eagles. Why take on the risk of having Vick on your team? It certainly took guts to sign him in spite of the public outrage over his past deeds. Why sign him when you have a franchise quarterback in Donovan McNabb? When I first heard of the signing, I thought, "Poor McNabb." When Philly drafted him in 1999, he was booed by Eagles fans for not being Ricky Williams, a star running back from Texas that eventually turned out to be a bust. There have been moments where the fan base loves Donovan, than weeks later, calls for him to be traded. Philadelphia sports fans in general tend to be among the most mercurial in the country, especially regarding Eagles football. How will they react to Vick? I sense that this may be the last season McNabb wears an Eagles uniform, or Vick will be traded next year. No way will those two be on the same team with the other offensive playmakers they have.


Photo courtesy of NJ.com

I'm glad Michael Vick has Tony Dungy, in the above photo, far right, as a mentor. Dungy was known as a coach that commanded his players respect in a far nicer way than other famous coaches like Bill Parcells or the New York Giants' Tom Coughlin. Dungy invested time into not only his players' skills on the field, but also their lives as a whole. Were it not for Dungy, I'd have serious doubts about Vick returning and succeeding in starting a new chapter of his life.