Conlin on McNabb

[PhillyGirl]

Bill Conlin | McNabb passing critical tests


FOR THE second straight week, Donovan McNabb played like a white quarterback.

Last Monday night, the Eagles franchise star did an excellent imitation of Ryan Leaf.

Yesterday, the man some people seem to think Andy Reid has renamed "McPass" did a more than passable imitation of Joe Montana. That's the same Montana who turned the San Francisco 49ers

into a dynasty bearing no resemblance to the shabby stiffs who showed up at Lincoln Financial Field and impersonated an NFL team. Back in the Buddy Ryan era, Montana did to the Eagles in one four-TD fourth quarter what McNabb and both his backups did to the Niners yesterday in the perfect storm of a 42-3 annihilation.

And, if you have already forgotten about Montana, who was the personification of the Bill Walsh West Coast offense McNabb now leads, then you can substitute either of the current prototypical white QBs, pure pocket passer Peyton Manning or dual Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.

Not that there's anything wrong with playing like a white quarterback...

Those strong-armed, heavy-legged monuments to the days of guys named Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack, had become the hood ornaments of the National Football League before it literally became bigger than U.S. Steel.

Norm Van Brocklin, who led the Eagles to their last NFL title only 45 years ago, would have rather had his plays called from the bench than tuck the ball and run with it.

I wonder if it has ever occurred to former Cowboys star Roger Staubach that he was the first Donovan McNabb. Fran Tarkenton was a terrific scrambler all those years with the Vikings, but he was never a pure passer. Staubach was the first quarterback in the NFL's modern era with a perfect balance of skills. The Dodger could beat you deep with his right arm or both legs.

McNabb critics - there still are some - argued he would never be a pure enough passer to shelve his wonderful ability to run through or around tacklers after being flushed from the pocket. The reasons he has gradually put a cap on his running skills have been perceived as sociological. Nobody was ever going to ask Donovan, "How long have you been a black quarterback?" which was the dumbest question of the 20th century that taterskins pioneer Doug Williams fielded after his landmark Super Bowl XXII victory.

You may have noticed by now that McNabb is at his most brilliant while performing with injuries that would have landed most of us in the ER. His performance on a broken leg against the Arizona Cardinals has become part of Eagles lore. What we learned that rainy afternoon was that in a situation where running was a zero option, Donovan was a much more accurate short- to medium-range passer than we believed him to be.

This time, the guy didn't practice with shoulder pads until Friday, just 3 very short days after his sternum collided with the helmet of the Falcons' Chad Lavalais in the first quarter of the Eagles' 14-10 loss. There was no reason to expect him to be sharp against a defense that registered seven sacks last Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. He would play, yes, but Reid's game plan would be a cocoon of safety-first stuff from the "Introduction" chapter of his "War and Peace"- thick playbook.

McNabb was conservative, all right. However, many of his passes were upfield and a good number were over the middle to blossoming tight end L.J. Smith. As he did that game in the rain against the Cardinals, McNabb displayed the delicate touch of a French impressionist while painting a football masterpiece to make Renoir and Matisse proud.

In what will take its place with the most dominant games in Eagles history, Donovan's stats leap off the page the way his receivers were leaping into the end zone. In three quarters of work, 23-for-29, 342 yards and five TDs. An off-the-charts passer rating of 155.4 (Koy Detmer was 9-for-9, Mike McMahon 1-for-1) came on a team record day when the Eagles amassed a 30-8 edge in first downs, a 583-142 plurality in net yards and an average gain per  offensive play of 8.2 yards. That's almost unheard of in the NFL, where an average of 4 yards a carry will get a back into the Hall of Fame.

"It's still sore," he acknowledged, explaining that he sacrificed the protection a flak jacket would have provided for mobility and arm freedom. "For days, it was sore to sleep, it was sore to move around when you're lying down, and sore to get up. But it loosened up in time enough where I was able to get out here on this field."

The only time McNabb ran for his life, he was bounced out of bounds for a loss of 1 yard, which counts as a sack. With 4 minutes, 23 seconds left in the half he was sacked for minus-9 and the Niners recovered his fumble.

Hey, who's perfect?

Well, McNabb was damned close to perfect in a game where he fed the football to just about everybody eligible to catch it and made sure Terrell Owens would be the guy standing on top of the trophy.

T.O., trashed all week by his former Niners teammates, rubbed their noses in it big-time with five catches for 143 yards and two scores, including a 68-yard hookup on the game's third play.

It is past time to end the QB stereotype debate. We agreed decades ago that Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles were both dynamite singers, who wove
their magic with different styles.

Donovan McNabb can pass...

And he can run with the best backs in the NFL-when he wants to or is forced to. Because he wants to walk without crutches when he is 50, he prefers to do the former. "The offensive line did a very good job today," he said of a group that had his back once again.

Bottom line: This is one helluva quarterback. But I'm sure there is a pocket of holdouts who want him scrambling and throwing bombs.

Learn to finally accept the big-time star Donovan McNabb has become and enjoy...

[rjs246]

FOR THE second straight week, Donovan McNabb played like a white quarterback.

Uh, that's one hell of a way to start an article. I'm a little shocked, actually.

[Geowhizzer]

FOR THE second straight week, Donovan McNabb played like a white quarterback.

It is just me in this time of political correctness, or might Big Bill catch a lot of flack for that statement?

Anyway, McNabb had himself a nice game yesterday. 

[Father Demon]

FOR THE second straight week, Donovan McNabb played like a white quarterback.

Uh, that's one hell of a way to start an article. I'm a little shocked, actually.

That's just stupid.  What in the hell would make a writer think that is an OK evaluation.

That's the kinda shtein people can (and should) lose jobs over....

[Wingspan]

i really dislike conlin.

[dpierce]

Conlin took a shot at Limbaugh with that line. I don't think that anything will come of it.

[BigEd76]

Well it caught the reader's attention all right.... 

[rjs246]

Well it caught the reader's attention all right....

Not really. I didn't even bother reading the rest of it.

[Diomedes]

As he did that game in the rain against the Cardinals, McNabb displayed the delicate touch of a French impressionist while painting a football masterpiece to make Renoir and Matisse proud.

That's just trash.  Fire his editor. 

[BigEd76]

Well it caught the reader's attention all right....

Not really. I didn't even bother reading the rest of it.

Me either

[rjs246]

As he did that game in the rain against the Cardinals, McNabb displayed the delicate touch of a French impressionist while painting a football masterpiece to make Renoir and Matisse proud.

That's just trash.  Fire his editor. 

Ugh. That's painful to read.

[mussa]

passes critical test?  i could of torched the 9ers.  how about when he beats a decent team.

[PhillyGirl]

passes critical test?  i could of torched the 9ers.  how about when he beats a decent team.

Because McNabb's never beaten a decent team before.

[SunMo]

passes critical test?  i could of torched the 9ers.  how about when he beats a decent team.

Because McNabb's never beaten a decent team before.

and he's never won a "big" game.  every game that people deem "big" are only that until he wins one, then they cease to be "big" because if he could win one, it must not be "big".  when he wins the Super Bowl, it will be relegated to a mere exhibition game.

[PhillyGirl]

passes critical test?  i could of torched the 9ers.  how about when he beats a decent team.

Because McNabb's never beaten a decent team before.

and he's never won a "big" game.  every game that people deem "big" are only that until he wins one, then they cease to be "big" because if he could win one, it must not be "big".  when he wins the Super Bowl, it will be relegated to a mere exhibition game.

LOL...I said that all last year. I asked what would it take for McNabb to win a "big" game? The NFCCG was what all opposing team fans said. Once he won it and then they lost the SB, they went back to "He can't win in big games".