A Case For Resigning Donovan McNabb

Donovan's been all smiles this offseason, and a new contract would keep the good times rolling.

McNabb & I haven’t been on the same page recently.  Throughout his campaign for a new contract, which began in Tampa two weeks after the NFC Championship game, I’ve been trying to figure out where he’s coming from.  Right when I think I’ve got it, he goes and says something like he expects a “financial apology” for being benched.  Hey Don, you were benched because you were playing terribly, you don’t get a raise for that.  That said, it makes sense a lot of sense to give McNabb what he wants and re-work/extend his current contract.  Donovan has always shown the type of ability to become a Hall of Fame QB, but hasn’t been able to reach his ultimate goal (some call that “choking in big games”) and continues to surround himself with controversy.

But what other QB has been attacked throughout his career like McNabb has?  Donny was booed on draft day, victimized by Rush Limbaugh’s ignorance, and survived the cancer that is TO.  Plus he puts up with the general day-to-day scrutiny of the Philadelphia media dissecting his every action and word looking for something to critique.  McNabb has stood tall for the most part, yet always seems to toss in a couple whiny words.

Now he’s asking to re-work his contract, what he and Fletcher Smith call a “financial apology” for being benched against the Ravens.  As insane as that request sounds, I know there isn’t another QB even remotely available who can give the Eagles a better chance to win the Super Bowl in ‘09 or beyond for that matter.  So without further ado, the case for resigning Donovan McNabb:

The Numbers -

• The Eagles have only been to 6 NFC Championship games, and Donovan McNabb was the team’s quarterback in 5 of those games.  He, much like the Philadelphia Eagles, has never been able reach the next level and win a Superbowl.  Although it doesn’t reflect well on McNabb that he was at the helm for most of those loses, but we’ve had a better shot to make it happen over the past 10 years than any other stretch in Eagles history.Mortenweig

• But let’s not judge the future by the past.  Who is this quarterback today?  McNabb turned 32 a few months ago on November 25th, and during the 2008 season was among the top 10 NFL QB’s in completions, yardage and TDs.
• Not everything about the numbers are pretty, and the main complaint about McNabb is his mediocre 60% completion rate.  In 2008, Donny attempted 571 passes, 4th most in the NFL.  The one-dimentional nature of the Reid/Mornhinweg offense contributes to McNabb’s completion percentage issues, which drives down his QB rating as well.
• Since 2002, only Manning, Brady, Brees and Farve have thrown more TDs than McNabb.  Donovan has has the fewest INTs of the five quarterbacks, but also has the lowest completion percentage.  When healthy, McNabb is right up there in the “best quarterback not named Peyton or Tom” conversation.

Uncapped 2010 -

• As it stands today, the NFL will not have a salary cap for the 2010 season.  Nobody manages the cap better than Joe Banner, and if there is no cap in ‘10, re-working McNabb’s deal in could present some interesting possibilities for this year.  In the new contract (extension), Banner could divert money currently due to McNabb in ‘09 into the uncapped 2010 season, thus allowing the Eagles to be even more aggressive in the 2009 free agent market.

Kevin Kolb -

• The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  As detailed earlier, McNabb’s numbers paint the picture of a top-tier NFL quarterback, even though the perception of his performance has not always matched up.  Imagine what this city would do to a mediocre QB.
• To date, the Eagle’s heir apparent at QB has not shown anything to make me confident that the team is in competent hands if the Birds were to part ways with McNabb.  If Kolb isn’t the answer, then who is?  Another high draft pick?  Sign an aging veteran?  Both of those options are too risky for me and don’t bring us any closer to the Super Bowl.

He needs a Super Bowl just as much as we do.

Certainty -

• From the outside looking in, it seems like McNabb’s current push for a contract extension is tied to his lack of certainty and confidence in the Eagles front office.  Hard to blame for being skeptical, the Eagle’s front office have been notorious for abruptly cutting ties with aging players, regardless of past performance.  In McNabb’s eyes, resigning with the Eagles is the only way to end the questioning and scrutiny from the media once and for all.  Who knows, maybe that weight off his shoulders is all he needs to get over the hump.

At the end of the day, Donovan McNabb is an elite quarterback, even if he is a step behind greats like Brady and Peyton Manning.  It’s not like those guys would be available if the Eagles were to cut ties with McNabb.  All we would be left with is the task of finding a new franchise QB, which is an extremely hard thing to do and the fastest way to get your team into “rebuilding mode”.

It’s easy to pin the blame on McNabb for the team’s inability to win a Super Bowl, but I argue that we wouldn’t have been in a position to consistently compete for Super Bowl’s without McNabb.

What do you say?