Donovan McNabb did a good job yesterday of not letting "Donnie" his alter ego, who is a frustrated comedian who tells all of those stupid jokes and gets out of control with the attempted comedy.
He also gave clear, honest answers and didn't try to be everything for everyone.
He has always had a leadership position on the team but that position has increased with the departure of Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan. I want to see him keep "Donnie" corralled and realize that he can't clown around as much as some of the other guys on the team.
He works hard at practice but sometimes when he's not under center he lets "Donnie" get out of control. Reid used to send Brad Childress to get him under control.
Having some fun is good but clowning around sometimes in practice makes it impossible for some young players to get their focus back.
It's kind of like the way parents have to realize that however far they go on something in having fun, their kids are going to take it a few notches higher.
In the past McNabb has done news conferences where he tried to tell everybody what they wanted to hear rather than answer the questions the way he really feels and let the chips fall where they may.
Everything is going to come down to whether he leads this team to a Super Bowl or not. Everything is fodder for conversation but ultimately doesn't mean anything.
He is looked up to by his young teammates and needs to watch the way he carries himself in front of them in order to keep them focused. McNabb should continue tempering his comments and behavior, in order to be the proper example for these youngsters.
Like yesterday, be serious when you're talking football and he can let "Donnie" loose when he's talking about something that doesn't matter like Terrell Owens' stupid reality show.
So far McNabb has done a great job.
