It's a major part of the debate that's been going for the last decade here in Philadelphia and it concerns Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
is McNabb overrated or underrated? Do NFL experts and fans immediately rate him as one of the top five quarterbacks in the league, despite the opinion of some that he doesn't belong in that group?
His critics go through all of the championship games and the Super Bowl that he played in as evidence that he's overrated.
His fans use the fact that he's been in so many championship games as evidence of his excellence.
The critics talk about his habit of throwing the ball into the ground. His fans talk about the fact that he's got one of the best interception to pass ratios in the history of the NFL
The critics bring up the fact that McNabb has led the Eagles to one Super Bowl and five NFC Championship games yet won only one of those contests.
His fans talk about the lack of talent that he's had playing along side him during that period.
The critics point out that he wasn't able to lead the Midnight green crew to victory in 2002 against the St. Louis Rams.
In that game McNabb was throwing to Charles Johnson, Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkston. Kurt Warner was throwing to Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt and Marshall Faulk.
He wasn't able to lead them to victory in the NFC Championship game played in 2003 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were at home and favorites in that game.
He also was unable to find a way to beat the Carolina Panthers, even though the Eagles were favored and at home. The Birds defense played well in that game but McNabb threw some interceptions, got hurt and couldn't finish the game.
His fans talk about the performances of Todd Pinkston and James Thrash, which amongst the worst of any wide receivers who had played in the conference championship.
Their performances were so poor that the Eagles made a major move during the off season and traded for Terrell Owens.
Of course they made it to the Super Bowl where McNabb and the Birds came up short again. This time McNabb threw three touchdowns in the deciding contest against New England, but he also threw three interceptions.
In addition, many of his teammates said he threw up during the second half of the game. McNabb denies throwing up in the contest.
His fans bring out the fact that the Birds didn't have any running game to speak of. The team's offensive line couldn't open any holes for Brian Westbrook.
They also had trouble protecting McNabb who had his head taken off and lip bloodied on the first passing play and he was under pressure from the start of the game until the finish.
This past season McNabb was again at the helm when the Birds fell short to the Cardinals.
Number five played poorly in the first half before leading the Birds in a comeback to take the lead. He couldn't lead the offense to a touchdown with a few minutes left to go on the clock.
The Eagles were able to take the lead in the game, thanks to McNabb's arm. He made a perfect throw to Kevin Curtis on fourth down and ten. Unfortunately Kevin wasn't able to hang onto it.
These are some of the elements of the "Is Donovan McNabb Overrated Debate".
What's your take on it?
