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.
I don't anyone has ever claimed that McNabb was in the top 20 all time QBs. In fact, if he retired tomorrow, its there is no way he would even get any votes for the hall of fame.
Here is what I take from this whole McNabb saga
Hey, McNabb is a tough guy and I like him. If Trent Dilfer, Jim McMahon and Brad Johnson are good enough to win Superbowls, then McNabb is a shoo-in.
The REAL story about how Superbowls are won is DEFENSE. The Pats put a great deal of pressure on McNabb, 4 sacks and plenty of knock-downs and near misses.
Brady got knocked down a few times but Philly wasn't able to put nearly as much overall pressure on him because his guys picked up the blitzes a lot better than McNabb's guys. Of course, part of that may have been due to Brady recognizing the nature of each blitz and pointing and calling it out during the snap count, something maybe McNabb hasn't learned to do quite as well yet.
Yes, McNabb got 350 yards in the air, but as someone said, it was the worst 350 yard game ever. McNabb made some bad decisions and some even worse throws, but the Pat defense had as much to do with this as anything else. They rattled him. I think he'll be a lot better in the big games next year.
And for the last time, Rush is not a racist. Anyone who says he is every bit as knee-jerk and bigoted as claim say Rush is. "Duuhhh, he's a right-winger therefore he has to be a racist! Duuhhh!" Careful, nuanced thought indeed...
Quit looking at things through race. When I go to Vegas and bet money on a team, race has nothing to do with it. The character of a quarterback does though, if he choked in the past I have to consider that before I put my money down on his team. Don't assume it's because of his race that people don't like him. Could be as simple as they like the AFC over the NFC.
I think priority #1 was to stop Westbrook - running and receiving. Priority #2 was to keep MacNabb under control. Even with a healthy Terrel Owens, he's #3.
Most of what Westbrook picked up was during garbage time.
Yes, McNabb did improve his game this year. However, O.T. arrival & the Eagle’s defense are the major reason for his numbers this year. McNabb season IMHO came down to his performance in the Super Bowl. Maybe the Eagles need one more quality receiver but from top to bottom the team was built to win the Super Bowl. That was GOAL and litmus test for McNabb. Perhaps if had an All Pro game & lost you could give a pass but he didn’t. As for the Eagle defense, the call selection was questionable. I mean how many times did the Pats run screens & the Eagle coaches did not make adjustments. That was not the players fault. Look up the stats over the last few years & you will see the heart & soul of the Eagle team was their defense.
Is that the proper count? Or is it only chest hits? It seems to me that the Patriots had both hands on a lot of balls.
Could you point out where I did that? I'm not sure if you really read and understood my post.
Yes. He said he threw better after that.
Perhaps the resolution on your set wasn't up to snuff, but he wsa not only breathing hard, he was wobbbling both on the way back to the huddle, and more prominently in the huddle. I figured he was really exhausted, as lots of the other players were fighting to catch their breath, especially after that last TD.
Wouldn't be surprised if he got half of that yardage if allowed to play the last 5 minutes of each half. It's where Westbrook and McNabb got a lot of their stats: garbage time against a prevent defense.
That said, McNabb is a good QB, and the one that people trusted.
the Pats do that to darn near every QB.
He could have had 7 interceptions easily.
Micheal Jordan Sick; shoots one of the greatest games of his life
Donovan Mcnabb Sick; blows it in the most important game of his life.
Limbaugh Right Again; Mcnabb nothing but media hype
Rush wasn't talking so much about Mcnabb (even though he is overrated) but the media and thier love for Mcnabb
Your insinuation is that most, if not all, Republicans are racist.
That's the only Super Bowl he ever played in.
A concussion supports several symptoms. ...though having expended the last of their energy and getting dehydrated would to.
McNabb wasn't the only one failing, but he was the only one I saw wobbling in the huddle. The rest of the team was gasping for breath - so no one was ready to try a hurry-up offense.
"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"
I can buy that. It was on the last play of the game, McNabb was on the sideline, sick from blowing the 2 minute offense.
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