Donovan will be fine. I’m here to stop all the hysteria. Whether you believe me or not, as long as Donovan is healthy, his job is safe.
Don’t believe me? I encourage you to go on Youtube.com and do a search for ‘Donovan McNabb.
This is what I think people are forgetting: McNabb is unreal on the field. Go find his highlights and remind yourself. The 14 seconds in Dallas? What other NFL QB can make that play? I’ll tell you who: No one. Not Peyton Manning, not Tom Brady, not Mike Vick. I’m certainly not knocking Manning or Brady, believe me (Vick is another story). But they don’t have the mobility or pure athleticism to make that play. You can say that Vick does, but I’m sorry, he would have taken off and run a long time before that, and he would haven’t delivered the in-stride dart that Donovan rocketed – on the run, no less – to Freddie Mitchell.
Should we revisit the game that knocked him out in 2002 against the Arizona Cardinals? He threw for four TD’s on a cracked ankle. And people forget, that he had them down on the one-yard line after that, but they ran that WR reverse-type play with James Thrash for a rushing TD. So he threw for four TD’s, but the offense scored five. That’s a display for the ages.
Go ahead, look up the play in the Green Bay playoff game that occurred before 4th and 26 back in 2003. He scrambled, he ducked, he swerved, all while continuing to look down field and finding Todd Pinkston in the front corner of the end zone for the touchdown. Beautiful. Who else could make that play?
More evidence? Donovan is the first QB in NFL history to throw for more than 30 TD’s in a season and less than 10 INT’s (31 TD’s/8 INT’s in 2004). Peyton Manning did it last year with 31 TD’s to 9 INT’s. Donovan holds the record for consecutive completions with 24, breaking Joe Montana’s record of 22. Mark Brunell has the record for consecutive completions in a game with 22 last year, but they were all dink and dunk.
For fans worrying that Donovan is in trouble, don’t sweat it. As long as Donovan is Donovan, he’s fine. Is there another QB in the NFL (heck, perhaps NFL history) that possess his combination of size, strength, mobility, arm strength, decision making (rarely throws picks), leadership and accuracy (ok, at times not so much)? He is a complete package.
Now, if he’s hurt, that’s a different story; I’m not going to argue that one. No one is worth a lick on the bench, that’s just a fact. But to say that he has to look over his shoulder, I think that’s nonsense. Check his highlights and tell me that anyone playing at that level would be, could be, or should be benched. The ball is in his hands until he shows otherwise.
