More Crap from McNabb

[Zool]

http://www.sportspickle.com/features/volume6/2007-0919-mcnabb.html

DJ Gallo



McNabb: “Lousy Quarterbacks Criticized More Than Good Quarterbacks”

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb gave a controversial interview on HBO’s “Real Sports” on Tuesday night, saying he believes mediocre NFL quarterbacks receive much more criticism than good NFL quarterbacks.

“Lousy quarterbacks have to do a little bit extra,” said McNabb. “No one is ever happy. There’s always pressure to be better, pressure to be more than lousy. Good, even. It gets tiring after a while.”

McNabb said he has long noticed that fans always include criticism with their praise of him.

“It doesn’t matter if I complete a pass, people are always asking me about the four incompletions before that,” said McNabb. “About how I overthrew Brian Westbrook on a four-yard route, or I how I somehow threw the ball right into the ground even though L.J. Smith was a few feet away from me. Or how I threw up all over the ball and then fumbled it. I mean – what, I can’t get nauseous? I have to be good and have an iron stomach, too? See what I mean? The expectations are ridiculous.”

Pressed by HBO interviewer James Brown, McNabb was asked if he thinks the media is as tough on quarterbacks such as Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning.

“Let me start by saying I love those guys,” said McNabb, “but they don’t get criticized as much as we do. They don’t. I think it’s probably because they are very good and I’m not.”

McNabb said that as a student of football history, he knows that poor NFL quarterbacks have had it tougher than good NFL quarterbacks for decades.

“There’s a definite track record there, a certain mindset, and that is difficult to overcome,” said McNabb. “Look at the Hall of Fame, for example – only good quarterbacks are in there: Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Warren Moon. The rest of us are excluded. No one can tell me there isn’t a double standard there. If you’re not good, no one respects you.”

In light of the Eagles making a quarterback, Kevin Kolb, the team’s first pick in April’s draft, McNabb believes his days are numbered in Philadelphia.

“They’re trying to blackball me just because I’m not a top-flight quarterback,” said McNabb. “I bet if this kid proves to be better than me, they’ll play him in front of me, totally proving me theory that lousy quarterbacks have it harder than good quarterbacks.”

[PlantPage55]

“There’s a definite track record there, a certain mindset, and that is difficult to overcome,” said McNabb. “Look at the Hall of Fame, for example – only good quarterbacks are in there: Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Warren Moon. The rest of us are excluded. No one can tell me there isn’t a double standard there. If you’re not good, no one respects you.”

[Carolina_Packer]

DILL-icious!

[BallHawk]

Wait a second....

You mean that only good players are supposed to be in the Hall of Fame?

Ahhhh, so that's why Tony Mandarich isn't in there......

[the_idle_threat]

This is absolutely perfect!!! LOLOLOLOL!!!

[Scott Campbell]

I sure hope McWeenie gets an opportunity to read this.

[superfan]

Nice!

Interesting... From the Onion, dated September 13th.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/eagles_fans_give_mcnabb_three_week

Eagles Fans Give McNabb Three-Week Deadline To Win Super Bowl

PHILADELPHIA—Frustrated with the Eagles' last-second 16-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers last Sunday, and with quarterback Donovan McNabb's failure to single-handedly score three touchdowns, prevent two of his teammates from muffing punts, or block any of Green Bay's field goals, thousands of Philadelphia fans demanded that McNabb win an NFL championship for Philadelphia sometime within the next three weeks.

"For the last time: How much longer do we have to wait for McNabb to get off his ass?" Eagles fan Jacob Wilkerson said of the five-time Pro Bowler in one of over 1,500 messages addressed to the quarterback left on the Eagles' voicemail Monday. "Come on McNabb, it's time to finish the job. We've been really lenient up to this point, but it's time to hunker down and throw the ball. If you think you need to take the whole three weeks, that's fine, but we would really like it by next Wednesday."

While many football analysts agree that McNabb has done a phenomenally good job in a less-than-ideal situation for the last eight years, blaming Philadelphia's failure to advance to the Super Bowl on such varied areas as undisciplined offensive execution, inconsistent defense, excessive penalties, lackluster pass protection, and almost criminally bad play-calling, fans say they are tired of people making excuses for McNabb.

"So what's our crybaby quarterback going to blame next, the NFL schedule?" fan Ed Cooke said in a call to Radio 610WIP's Howard Eskin. "He's the quarterback. If the team sucks, it's his fault. I think McNabb's lucky we're only asking for one Super Bowl in the next few weeks, because what he owes us is a three-peat by December."

Although he felt McNabb performed respectably, completing 15 of 33 passes for 184 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his first game back since tearing his ACL last season, Eagles head coach Andy Reid pointed out that his quarterback would have to put up much better numbers if he expected to put them in the position to win it all by the end of Week 4.

"This organization expects a lot from Donovan," Reid told a group of angry fans Wednesday. "After all, we did use the second overall draft pick on him eight years ago, and while he's done really well considering we made him run the offense for years with bargain- basement wide receivers and running backs that couldn't stay healthy, I agree that now is the time to finally get something back on our investment."

"Donovan promised us—the Eagles organization and fans alike—great things," said Eagles owner Jeff Lurie, who promised season ticket holders he would sit down with McNabb and make fans' wishes known. "You have all really been great through all of this. No one could ask for a better, more caring, more patient home crowd. The amount of restraint you have shown by not, say, throwing McNabb off the top deck of Lincoln Financial Field is nothing but admirable."

"For my part, I can promise that on Sept. 30 I will make sure that Donovan has the Lombardi trophy on my desk no later than the end of the day," added Lurie, noting that he thought the Eagles' fans were the best fans in the world.

McNabb, whose plans for this week include extra time working with his receivers on timing, studying his playbook, and watching film, said he would be working as hard as he could for the foreseeable future.

"Eagles fans are a passionate group who love their team," said McNabb, "if not the actual players. It's not like winning a Super Bowl before the first month of the season is the hardest thing they've ever asked of me. That'd be all those times they asked me to go kill myself."

"If I work hard and play my game, I'll be fine," McNabb added. "I just hope the fans realize that."

[superfan]

I especially like this line, considering the date of the article and McNabb's comments.

"So what's our crybaby quarterback going to blame next, the NFL schedule?" fan Ed Cooke said in a call to Radio 610WIP's Howard Eskin. "He's the quarterback. If the team sucks, it's his fault. I think McNabb's lucky we're only asking for one Super Bowl in the next few weeks, because what he owes us is a three-peat by December."

[Carolina_Packer]

I saw a clip from his press conference on Sports Center at 6 and he said he stood by what he said, but was also playfully defensive with the folks asking the questions, like, "It doesn't matter what I say, it's going to be scrutinized."

If you are McBlabb's advisor, someone should tell him to just shut up, work through his rehab, suck it up and know that he's probably going to struggle this year until his knee feels well enough and he regains his accuracy.

I was really surprised how much they put on McNabb the other night and how little they seemed to feature Westbrook by comparison. You figure Westbrook could take some pressure off of McNabb.

[mraynrand]

Re: More Crap from McNabb

“They’re trying to blackball me just because I’m not a top-flight quarterback,” said McNabb. “I bet if this kid proves to be better than me, they’ll play him in front of me, totally proving me theory that lousy quarterbacks have it harder than good quarterbacks.”

This sounds more like it came from the Onion article. ?'Lousy quarterbacks have it harder than good quarterbacks.' Gosh, I sure hope so.

[Zool]

Gallo actually writes almost all of the Onion sports articles as well as the Sports Pickle and some ESPN page 2 stuff.

[4and12to12and4]

I would never want to be an athlete in Philly. Period. Those fans are nuts. Passionate, but nuts. I do, somewhat feel for Nabby, he has to read the Philly papers everyday.

It reminds me of when Big Z got booed at in Wrigley and went off to the media about it. I was on Big Z's side. With all the wins he's given us, he didn't deserve that. Every Cub's fan knows he gives 110% when out there and giving up runs bothers him more than us, so why berate him while he's down, that's when he needs our encouragement. He later apologized for his comments, which I thought was unneccessary. But, hey, fans can be assholes, look how we rip on guys like Fergy, etc. These are real people too, and are TRYING to succeed. The only time we should boo a player is if we feel he isn't giving one hundred percent. If Bears fans don't want Grossman boo Lovey, not Grossman. Wrex is trying, Loveys the idiot leaving him in there.

[mraynrand]

Gallo actually writes almost all of the Onion sports articles as well as the Sports Pickle and some ESPN page 2 stuff.

That makes sense. The tone is exactly the same. Very funny stuff. I bet Rich Campbell is bitter about not making the HOF too.

[Merlin]

I feel bad for the NFL that two high-profile QB's, McNabb and Peyton Manning, are the two biggest crybaby whiners in the sport.