I am not quite sure how I did it (and I don’t think that I am the only one) but I have managed to overlook the great statistical season that McNabb is currently putting together.
The ups and downs of the season, the team’s short yardage woes, the never-ending injuries, and the chatter about the need to usher in the Kolb era have all hidden the fact that McNabb (in a non-T.O. season) may be having his best season.
To the 2009 stats we go:
– Completion %: 61.6
– Average Yards Per Attempt: 7.7
– TDs: 14
– Interceptions: 5
– QB Rating: 95.9
Sure a lot can change in the next 6 weeks, but if you project out his statistics for the remainder of the season you get:
– 25 TDs, 9 Interceptions, 3,376 yards
(Again, outside of 2004) The completion percentage is his best, average is 2nd best, projected TDs would be 2nd best, and QB rating would be his 2nd best. And the numbers might turn out to be even better based on McNabb’s past December history.
Over his career the month of December brings about McNabb’s highest monthly winning percentage (68%), highest completion percentage (60.7), highest TDs per game (1.6), and 2nd highest QB rating (89.6). It’s safe to assume that McNabb’s best football has yet to be played this season.
All this is being done despite McNabb working behind a patchy OL that has already surrounded 22 sacks (projects to 39 total sacks) and having to battle back from a rib injury. Pretty darn impressive if you ask this fan!
Ultimately, and as a QB I think it’s fair, McNabb will be judged by the team’s record this season and playoff sucess. But the numbers show that McNabb, despite just turning 33, is still at the very top of his game. Oh yeah, he is still at the top of the NFC QBs as well:
– 7th in Completion %
– 3rd in interceptions
– 4th in QB Rating
– 5th in yards per attempt
There will always be “McNabb-lovers” and “McNabb-haters.” But as we make yet another playoff push it is still nice to have #5 again under center.
