Posted on 02/08/2005 11:49:37 AM PST by West Coast Conservative
PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was so ill in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl that a teammate had to call a play in the huddle, center Hank Fraley said.
"He fought to the end," Fraley told Comcast SportsNet on Monday. "He gave it his all. He was almost puking in the huddle. One play had to be called by (wideout) Freddie Mitchell because Donovan was mumbling because he was almost puking."
Offensive lineman Jon Runyan also echoed Fraley's comments in the same interview aired on two local radio stations on Tuesday after the Comcast report.
McNabb was shaky in Philadelphia's 24-21 loss to the England Patriots on Sunday, throwing for 357 yards and three touchdowns, was also getting picked off three times.
McNabb misfired on several passes early, held the ball too long in other instances and made several poor decisions. One of the best scramblers in the NFL, McNabb had zero yards rushing on just one carry and was sacked four times.
An Eagles spokesman did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday.
If McNabb was appreciably sub-par and knew it, both he and Coach Reid have to bite the bullet.
They are the ones who chose the cards to play with.
One other observation: The Eagle defense could NOT stop the Pat offense when it had to. The Eagles team lost.
There's a Sports Illustrated picture from the late 80s of Cade McNown actually puking in the UCLA huddle. Hard to tell if really sick or just too much gatorade; the elimination of which actually feels better.
But either way, I don't believe this for a second. The camera was on McNabb virtually the entire 4th quarter and he looked as normal as he did any other time. Remember that incident they showed on the bench with TO telling him something.
I LOVE Roethlisberger, and thought the criticism of him was ignorant, but he did claim he had broken toes. McNabb, himself, hasn't made excuses. Let's be fair here.
As a Browns Fan, all we have seen at QB since Bernie is a bunch of Playboy Playmate daters (Couch and Garcia).
I think Roethlisberger had a better game against the Pats.
"...As a Browns Fan, all we have seen at QB since Bernie is a bunch of Playboy Playmate daters (Couch and Garcia)...."
What's wrong with that?
I'm not saying he is awful, Dan Marino was the best quarterback I've ever seen but he couldn't win the big game. Personally I'd take him during the regular season and than put a good backup in during the Super Bowl. Three years in a row he has thrown it away for the team.
Although I'm a Browns Fan, I now live in Cincinnati and have seen Dillon play. He's tremendous. I think you might have had trouble beating Philly without him. Brilliant signing by Belichick.
You really think that a white QB with McNabb's performance would be praised like McNabb?
He did play poorly in the Super Bowl, but the regular season he was damn good, and deserved the praise
The NFC was weak. The AFC had a 44-20 (.688) record against the NFC-- widest disparity since 1979. The AFC's 6 playoff teams were 21-3 against the NFC. The NFC's 6 playoff teams had an 11-13 record against the AFC. I'm not trying to speak ill of the dead, so don't get offended. He needs a superstar WR like TO to excel, IMO.
I agree with you completely. I do not buy this, "if we don't win the Super Bowl we are failures" business. That would mean every team in the NFL besides the Patriots are failures.
That said, Brady is a class above McNabb and Roethlisberger in that he does not make stupid snap decisions. I do not see either the Steelers or the Eagles beating the Patriots any time soon.
There is no percentile requirement for average - quarterbacks are not rated on the curve. Losing the big game four straight years is not usually highlight reel material. We will have to wait until the end of McNabb's career to determine if he is average or above average. I don't think McNabb will be considered average unless it is meant: an average quarterback in the top 25%. McNabb is like Joe Theisman - they both had a few good years but they are not going to the Hall of Fame.
Yeah I think Dillon was worth a second round pick.
You mean Bernie never dated a Playmate ?
I am very disappointed in him.
Who remembers second place in the Super Bowl ? lol
How about Scott Norwood, and the whole city of Buffalo.
Nope. But then, the lack of a definitive word on anything does not mean that it did not happen. But if he did, and the facts so far suggest that may well be the case, then it certainly is an explanation for why he seemed so slow late in the 4th.
If McNabb was that disabled, via flu or concussion, or whatever, he's gotta come out, then the team's got to suck it up.
Uh, what's your point? Nobody is disputing that, or diminishing the Pats' win. If they rung his bell that good, its to their credit anyway. The only thing that's in dispute is whether his slowness in the 4th Q was due to a medical/health problem.
Seemed to me since the first quarter McNabb was sloppy with his throws. He never got into a groove.
Agreed. The possible concussion does not explain his relative inaccuracy at various points in the game. When they went to the three step drop in the second half, he moved the offense a lot better. But as is the case with a concussion, the effects take a awhile to manifest themselves. What I saw was a guy who took a major shot to the head late in the second quarter, and who started to look lethargic in the 4th. Then you hear from other players that he's puking and mumbling. Those are classic signs of a concussion.
I was looking for an explanation not for his inaccuracy earlier in the game, but for his seeming lethargy late in the 4th Q. Whether he actually suffered a concussion we may never know unless he was examined, but it is an explanation that fits all the available facts perfectly.
What I honestly can't figure out is why this seems to be such an emotional topic for some people. Why does raising the possibility of a concussion bother you so much?
That's an interesting comment. It's worth noting that Elway never won a Super Bowl until after the prime of his career . . . when he became the #2 man on offense after Terrell Davis.
Kelly was a better QB than McNabb by far but he had bad luck.
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