Donovan McNabb Comes Up Shaky in the Big Game

MSNBC ^ | 1:20 AM Feb. 7, 2005 | Associated Press

[dmz]

A gameplan that comes out of not being able to get more than 2.9 yards per rush from your best running back.

[Tribune7]

Yeah. It could never have happened to Peyton Manning </ sarcasm>

[Richard Kimball]

Up until now, it's been a firing offense to criticise McNabb. This may change, though. The first, "what's with that?" articles have been published, and the MSM will turn on last week's darling in a second (Howard Dean). It's almost like if your girlfriend catches you cheating. Absolute love changes to vindictive hate in a heartbeat. In a way, I feel badly for McNabb about this (nah, he's an Eagle). He is an above average QB, but is not, and has never been a great QB. The press declared him a GOD, and he's proving them wrong. They don't like to be proven wrong.

Athletes have psyches. McNabb IS good enough to win a Super Bowl, IF he can keep his head screwed on straight. That's the big question.

[dfwgator]

It's time for Brady to get his props. All you hear about him is "he doesn't make mistakes." That alone does not win you three Super Bowls. He has a rocket of an arm, he is very good at looking off receivers and then suddenly throws the ball the other way. The Pats do not win one Super Bowl, much less three without Brady.

[You Dirty Rats]

Did Rodney put a big hit on McNabb when he was scrambling. I was surprised that McNabb was not a little shaken up.

Perhaps he got his bell rung at some point late in the game. McNabb looked like a fighter that took too many hits -- almost punch-drunk.

[gopwinsin04]

Actually I think the 'T.O. Factor' helped Philly in the end.

He takes all of the heat from the press, while the rest of the team gets to relax and prepare, probably made the game closer than it really should have been..

[dfwgator]

Can you tell I'm a bitter Philly fan?

Naaaah! Hey look at it this way, you still have as many Super Titles as the Detroit Lions.

[Callahan]

The grating thing about McNabb is that during the regular season he is very clutch.

[Barney59]

Pat's played a great game, so did the Eagles... It was a fun SB to watch (for a change!)...

My only question is the bad time management by Philly at the end of the 4th... I mean, was it just me, or were they just wasting precious time?

What happened to the 2-minute drill?

[JohnnyZ]

eventually thye were going to force a bad decision from McNabb into mistakes, which they did.

McNabb was making mistakes from the beginning of the game, overthrowing receivers and so forth. He's a good QB but maybe too used to playing NFC patsies? Because he sucked in the Super Bowl, poor accuracy, no rushing, and terrible leadership (2 minute drill? what's that?)

[dfwgator]

As I said in an earlier post, what's the difference between what TO did, and what Curt Schilling did? Yet notice the difference in how the media covered it. TO did make a good point.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Look I agree McNabb didn't have his best game and didn't look on top of his usual form. Yet there were two things beyond his control that would have hampered anyone -- one was that some significant Eagle players had the flu, were coming down with it or were not quite recovered from it. How else to explain all the cramps? The Eagles have excellent physical conditioning and training, the weather in J-ville was great -- so why the cramps? The flu. We heard that there were a few cases written up -- I suspect there were more. Maybe most of the team.

Well, if that's the case then it can't be used as an excuse - during the Colts/NE playoff game this year, many Pats, including Brady, were playing with the flu, so... ;0)

[One Proud Dad]

Take away the Patriot 1st quarter where they didn't get a 1st down because of 4 drive killing penalties and they'd have scored 14-21 points in that quarter and the game would have been over before they woke McCartney up to play.

Bruschi and his boys won that game and he should be co-MVP with Branch. The only reason the Eagles scored was the Pats O kept their defense through on the field the first half through mistakes and they got tiresd. No defense can keep up a high tempo without the offene helping them a bit. Odds are you throw 50 passes even a blind hog can find an acorn now and then.

The only guy on Eagles defense to show up was Trotter. Dawkins, Kearse et. al. played like the B team.

[bvw]

That's possible, that's possible. He performed. The rest of the team has a reasonable expectation to perfom to that higher level, to smoothy integrate that exceptional talent TO has. Still, I think the flu took Philly out.

[gopwinsin04]

I think TO was doing it for a different reason, to inspire/help his teammates and to put the focus on him and away from nervous McNabb.

He's a very smart guy actually..

[Chad Fairbanks]

And Patriots "fans," if there are any real ones in Boston and not just a bunch of lapsed baseballers and bandwagon jumpers, must have made some sort of deal with Satan.

Well, as a real Pats fan - someone who has supported them since childhood - even when they were losing, which was a lot - I can say with all honesty that I have no deal with Satan, but I am enjoying this period of winning, after decades of watching them choke...

[dmz]

People are dying and you have time to talk about this football?
Stop playing games and fight the good fight.
_____

LOL.

You had time to stop in, read the thread, AND comment.

Do you not recognize how ridiculous it is to come onto a thread, read, comment, and then tell us how foolish we are for doing exactly as you have done?

[Idisarthur]

"People are dying and you have time to talk about this football? Stop playing games and fight the good fight."

I don't know what you are talking about.

Are you serious?

Are you going to save the world? I thought that someone already came to do that job.

[Callahan]

Brady, like Kurt Warner, seems to have made a deal with Mestiphopholes.