I guess defending a guy who is always getting shat on makes McNabb fans "thin-skinned". I'd actually argue that it's more difficult to defend something than to slander it.

Why defend McNabb from criticism? For starters most of the charges against the guy (like yours) aren't true. You're saying people wouldn't be on him as much if he'd put together a good season or two consecutively? He played at a high level for a period of 4 straight years and a lot of that time was with a terrible receiving corps - mostly guys who are still young but no longer playing in the NFL (James Thrash, Todd Pinkston, Freddie Mitchell).

He's had bad luck with injuries recently but you make it sound like his career is almost over. The guy JUST turned 30. He'll be back to form with plenty of seasons left in him. Saying that they should be looking for his replacement now is not uncommon, but it doesn't make a lot of sense and sounds a lot like hating.

There's always the excuses.....

Its always the injuries, or the receivers, or something. Truth is McNabb fans are notorious for coddling his ass. Maybe thats why realists seem to diss him in your mind.

Yeah, he's just 30, but if you think you're going to see him perform like he did when he was 25, you're mistaken. Even you would have to admit that injuries take their toll, no matter who we're talking about.

Bet he's not even on somebody's bench when he's Garcia's age.....

I criticize things McNabb does more often than you might think. He is not infallible.

But a ton of people just do nothing but bury him.

Well McNabb played a bad first half of the New Orleans game and a great second half... but I get your point. But you make it seem like the good and bad came with equal regularity. They didn't.

McNabb's 2006 stats:
95.5 QB rating
18 TDs / 6 INTs
57% completions
180 of 316 throws
2,647 Yards Passing
212 Yards Rushing + 3 Rushing TDs
4th Quarter QB rating of 114 (best in NFL)

I have probably heard a hundred or more reasons offered by people explaining why McNabb is so hated. I almost never hear this one but I cant rule out the possibility that it could be a contributing factor.

If people are anti-McNabb all the time because some people (a minority it seems) make a concerted effort to defend him from the relentless criticism... well, I think that wouldn't make a lot of sense.

Frank Gore had a torn ACL in one knee... then he had a torn ACL in his other knee. He didn't give up and neither will McNabb. Maybe he wont be 100% from day 1 but he still has a long career ahead of him. He will be running around and making plays for years to come.

In a word: 'No'
It is not time for the Eagles to start looking for a future QB, its way too early and the Eagles have plenty of QB depth right now.

And now Mike, just one question for you -

Can you name me an athlete in any city and in any sport who is more disrespected than Donovan McNabb?

What's your excuse for making a bogus claim and having it refuted? You say people wouldn't hate on the guy if he could play well for two straight seasons.

He played at a high level for four straight years with mostly bad receivers. Thats not an "excuse" - in fact, that makes it MORE impressive.

But I guess you're opinion is that of a "realist" and I'm just a coddling fan boy.

i feel sorry for garcia... he sits bitch behind mcnabb waiting for his next injury to occur, and does a hell of a job when such injury does occur, makes it to the playoffs, and all "eagles fans" can do is say how they'd rather have mcnabb in and how garcia doesnt amount to shit.

classy.

Garcia easily.

McNabb has a tender leg, garcia has a cool lisp as well.

I still don't see how defending McNabb has anything to do with dissing Garcia. I am an Eagles fan. I am really glad the team came together towards the end of the season, and I am really glad Garcia was there to help that happen. Would it have happened had McNabb not been injured? Impossible to say.

How can you feel sorry for Garcia? He took a backup job, got to step up, has done a fantastic job, is getting all the love in the world (from Philly and the national media), is making 7-figure bonuses, and regardless of how the playoffs go will have a great choice at the end of the season either to stay in philly behind mcnabb (which may offer him more chances to start depending on the rehab situation) or go somewhere else and make great cash either way. He wanted to be on a playoff team, and now he's leading one to at least the divisional round. It's a dream for him (and for Eagles fans!). I'm nuts about the guy.

But that doesn't mean we don't still love McNabb, and we should. I will be happiest if we can keep them both next year, and if A.J. stays even better (although Detmer is a great holder). Anyway, I'm getting a little tired of this discussion.

Mike, I agree with the Birdman on the above points. McNabb is young and he rehabs like gangbusters. He's had a run of bad luck but he's gonna come back (again) and he's gonna show everybody (again) how tough and how good he is. 'Nuff said.

Again, No one here at least that I have seen says McNabb won't be back, nor should be replaced. As for media in Philly saying this.....it is just excitement over success, I don't think it was meant out of disrespect.

however, from one Eagles fan(and I am a HUGE eagles fan) to another...becareful what you wish for. Yes, hopefully McNabb can make a fast recovery....say ala Palmer, and be back at game one next year. Actually, depending on severity(which i don't believe I have seen yet) that should be the case. Still, he won't be...."normal" for McNabb next season. While I also agree..it would be great to have Garcia and co. back for safety....it is time for the Eagles to start looking at a young QB to groom for the future. As has been pointed out....McNabb isn't getting any younger, and regardless of how he rehabs...in a mobile Qb, time catches up..and injuries take their tolls.

You don't think it is out of disrespect? Maybe you haven't been tuning it lately. Praise for Garcia and wanting him to be the starter is one thing. But whats been going on lately is a crusade against McNabb (again).

Christiano Ronaldo of Manchester United. C. Ronaldo played a huge part in Wayne Rooney being red-carded in the 2006 World Cup, thus leading to England's elimination. As Ronaldo plays in England, every stadium in which Man. U. played he was booed every time he touched the ball. Home or away, the man was hated. Incidentally he's had a fantastic year, and let's face it, it's hard to boo a man who plays better and better the more he is disrespected and is leading the runnings for the league's MVP.

Nice! You went international on me here, I like it. I couldn't think of any U.S. athlete but I had a feeling there had to be one outside of the U.S. and while it's impossible for me to say whether he is or isn't...

it looks like you may have come up with a more disrespected athlete! Thanks for dropping some knowledge on me.

no sweat, McNabb's gotta top the US though, I agree with you there

At some point, age becomes a factor. Injuries at the college level are a little easier to overcome, but even then the damage is done and the careers of those tend to be shorter. Arthritis tends to show up around the location of major injuries, especially after the age of 30. Let's see Gore last for a few years at the NFL level before we say his college injuries are not a factor.

As for McNabb, he is already 30 years old, with 8 years in the leauge, and many injuries to boot. Recovering from an ACL injury takes the youngest of guys time to recover from, and mobility is often affected. Slow McNabb down a little in the pocket and he will take increased hits. I think looking for a future quarterback either this year or next year would be a wise move by the team.

To answer your question, if I cared about the whole "disprespect" theory you are trying to push, I could probably make a solid case for Michael Vick. This guy is out on the field year after year with receivers that can't catch and people, including you, constantly call him the 2nd best quarterback on the team when his backup has done nothing to prove he should be the guy.
If anything, I think there is more of a case of people trying to push McNabb into Elite status than anything else. When you try to take a good quarterback and constantly try to push him as being an Elite quarterback, you can expect to have many people pushing the opposite just for the sake of argument.

Michael Vick?!? That's the guy you come up with? He takes less heat than Donovan McNabb and gets more hype than Donovan McNabb. Unless you consider Vick to be far superior to McNabb I don't see how you make this argument.

I just read your post here and I just throw up my arms - I don't think you understand the Donovan McNabb issue. That's OK and everything, heck I wouldn't expect you to living in Texas. But to say that he is hated because people try to put him into an elite status? The minority who tolerate McNabb are simply trying to get others to tolerate him too. This for a guy who looks like a future Hall of Famer.

So people might talk about Brian Westbrook as an "elite" running back. Now suddenly everyone begins to HATE Westbrook and talk shit about him constantly? I don't buy it.

^ Chill, Birdman. Or your thin skin will asplode.....

Ah, I see. Being in Texas means that I can't comment on a quarterback in Pennsylvania. Ok, whatever. At least there is no homerism being brought into play here.

Enjoy comparing your quarterback to Rodney Dangerfield, not sure that you are going to get many to buy into it though, because most of us seem him for what he is, a talented and good quarterback with more than his share of injury issues.

I think everyone has seen the guy for what he is, yet a few have continued to push him as being greatness, even "hall of fame" now? You guys jumped in at every opportunity this year to tout how he had proven everyone wrong after the Eagles nice start to the season. Terrell Owens was gone, and the McNabb backers were in full force pointing out the greatness of McNabb, and how great he was without Owens. In the end, when the dust had settled, all that great play early in the season came down to earth and before McNabb left, once again injured, he was looking at an average 5-5 record as a starter.

Some of you get mad when he is considered overrated, yet at the same time, you are talking hall of fame in the same breath as his name.

I dont mean it as any kind of dismissal. But trust me, if I didn't live here I wouldn't have a clue about the degree to which McNabb is hated in his own town.

I've already given you his stats from this season - which are some of the most impressive in the NFL. If you want to be convinced that it was his fault for the team's troubles or that the good and bad came with equal regularity be my guest.

You think its laughable that I would mention McNabb as a possible hall of fame candidate? Maybe he'll get in, maybe he won't. But I'm betting he will. His statistics, his win percentage, his playoff history - I'd be surprised if he didn't make it.

Like McNabb or not, he'll probably make it in.

Stats are just a small part of the equation. If you want to go by stats, Roy Williams is one of the best safeties in the league. Hell, he has 5 interceptions, and 9 passes defensed this season, one of his best seasons yet. David Carr had a QB rating of around 88 (and a rating of over 113 through the first month) through the first 10 games of the season, but was playing probably the worst from that position that any quarterback in the NFL.

My point on the 5-5 record is when the Eagles started out of the game winning and looking good, it was McNabb being touted as the reason. All eyes were on McNabb, his name was being spoken constantly as the reason why the Eagles were doing so well. However, when the losing streak started, it is suddenly no longer him as the reason? Those who constantly rate McNabb in elite status cant just use the good times and ignore the bad times.

Granted, I am not in your area, and don't hear the local people, but I can't blame them for being irritated and thinking they may want a change, especially after seeing the Eagles offense become more balanced and effective after taking a so-called hall of fame quarterback out of the mix. The only stat that really matters are the wins and losses. As a fan, I am going to like a team that has gone 5-1 (including the very important month of December) as opposed to the team that was 5-5 through the first 10 games.

For argument's sake, I will throw something out that maybe the local folks can know a little more about. There is no doubt that the lockerroom in Philadelphia was divided between the feud between McNabb and Owens. The defensive play on this team stepped it up significantly when McNabb got hurt.
Was this increased intensity and total team effort a result of rallying because of injury, or was it because the team felt more like a team without McNabb?
Is it possible that there is some anti-McNabb or disrespect of McNabb inside the locker?
I am not saying this is the case, just wondering what the thoughts here are. (and there is no denying that there was support of Owens on that team)

Ok after giving what Mike said some thought I think I have to agree that Vick does get some disrespect. I mean the man was called a coach killer. And I think for the past 2 seasons (maybe longer) they talk about Vick being traded his style and can it work all that stuff. Now I'm not saying he is more disrepected then McNabb but Vick has to be up there.

Even being local, its hard to know whats going on in the locker room unless you are actually there - so I'm not going to pretend like I'm a total expert on this.

Living here though, and picking up a lot of things from people who are around the team or on the team here is what I think the situation was, and is.

Donovan McNabb rightly or wrongly has been put up on a pedestal by Eagles ownership who are willing to pay him far and away more money than anyone else on the team, and at the time of the contract the most money of any QB. Reid, Heckert, Banner, and Lurie usually don't want to overspend on guys and so McNabb is the sole exception.

There was support of Owens in the Eagles locker room - was that sentiment anti-McNabb sentiment? Not necessarily, but it was viewed as the same thing. Many people still think Owens went after McNabb because he was the face of the team, and saw it as a sure way to get attention of the ownership who he felt owed him a new contract. A feud ensues between McNabb and Owens.

Owens' Eagles teammates supported his effort to get a new contract. This is not at all surprising because the Eagles organization is geared toward managing the salary cap - it is probably the single biggest part of their strategy. As a result, many players get screwed. Even good guys like Jon Runyan, David Akers, and Jeremiah Trotter have had to play for way less than their value. The players are going to support their fellow player if they feel he has earned the money - it's like a fraternity of self interest, an unwritten policy of support so that when your time comes you'll get fair dollar.

Owens, they believe (and the players association too) was given an unfair contract and had proved his worth beyond that. Combined with that sentiment might be some jealousy of McNabb as the one guy who doesn't have to worry about any of this and makes tons of money every year.

This may contribute to some players seeing him less as "one of the guys". But does this dramatically influence the performance of the team? I don't think it does. Garcia is firey, McNabb is jovial - I've seen people win all kinds of ways. To say that the team doesn't play hard with or doesn't like McNabb as the QB I think is wrong. A lot of factors had to do with the Eagles turning their season around, and if one of the reasons was Garcia's locker room presence I think it was far less significant than the changes in play calling and the shakeup of the defense.