Turning the Page

I find myself, really, at the same place with Eagles QB Donovan McNabb that I was with Head Coach Andy Reid 14 months ago.

Done.

Now, you'd think that the run to the NFC Championship last year, and an 11-win season this year, would make me back down from the Reid assessment. It actually hasn't, but since management has committed to him for another three years, the point is moot. Reid will be on the sidelines next year; it's a given.

But it's not true of his quarterback.

It's sad -- hell, I'm wearing the man's jersey as I write this -- but the plain and simple fact about Donovan is that he's (a) not getting any better, (b) the only real trade asset that the team would consider moving, and (c) highly unlikely, given his own salary and the holes this team has, to ever win a Super Bowl in this jersey.

And yes, it's simplistic and over the top, and a terrible way to reward a man who has returned from injury, had a fine year until he ran into the Cowboys juggernaut, and kept his head despite the Vick Sideshow, Kolb's good play, and the terrible play-calling that sent them down for the Raiders game that set the stage for the whole Dallas trap... but I'm no longer convinced that the team's best chance to win next year involves McNabb under center.

The man looks too heavy and fatigued on scrambles. He's never quite had enough touch or accuracy on short passes. He spends too much time trying for the big play when it isn't there, especially against good defenses. When the Eagles faced playoff teams in the regular season (Dallas twice, New Orleans and San Diego; it wasn't actually a murderer's row that led to that 11-5 record), the score was Opponents 123, Eagles 61, and the won-loss record was 0-4.

If you needed a team to score big against doormats, the Eagles were aces. But if the opposition was good enough to stay in the frame with Jackson, Maclin and Celek, the good times were over. Especially if they fell behind, or didn't get off to a hot start.

Now, to be clear -- things are not going to be sunshine and puppies if they go to Kevin Kolb next year. There will be setbacks, more turnovers, and in all likelihood, real issues in road games. Since the team is probably going to move on from RB Brian Westbrook, blitz pickup is going to be an adventure, and if Kolb goes down, with Michael Vick also likely to be moved on, the controls will be in the hands of someone not currently on the roster. Your chances of a losing season go up a lot if McNabb is gone.

But when the team needed plays today -- when the highly flawed defense made enough plays and got off the field with no score -- the offense went three and out on the first drive, and would have done the same on the next drive if not for a defensive flag that had nothing to do with the play. After the lightning strike from Vick to Maclin tied the game, there was another drive that, but for the charity of the defense, was a three and out.

When it was still a game, the Eagles offense was no threat to anyone, and by the time the starting QB actually completed a pas for a first down to a wideout, it was 24-7 Cowboys, with less than two minutes left in the first half. While you can fault the defense for not getting off the field, stopping the run, or doing much at all in the way to put the fear of unpleasantness in the Cowboys offense, it's just not realistic for any defense, let alone a speed and finesse outfit on the road, to be able to pick up for a three and out outfit that's playing hurry-up.

While you can point the finger at DeSean Jackson for doing his Fred Mitchell Super Bowl Talk And Fail routine, and fullback Leonard Weaver for having his worst game as a pro, the QB wasn't much better.

And while you can also say that it's just one game, against a team that ran roughshod over his offensive line, you can also say that it looked like a lot of other bad McNabb games and bad Eagles losses. The slow start, the too-late stat padding, the sense that once the avalanche started, there was no turning it back; we've all seen this game before. And once it started, even after they somehow got it back to 7-7, there was no real sense that things were going to end happy.

Now, before the Donovan haters get their hopes up, the most likely thing is that McNabb has the job in 2010. This organization does not react to public pressure or knee-jerk moves. But if they could, say, move him and their #1 pick to move up and get a true impact player...

Well, the rumors have it that St. Louis would be in the market for a QB and might move the #1 pick to get one, and it's not like McNabb would ever haunt them from St. Louis. Which would give them consensus #1 DT Ndamukong Suh, a real run-stopping presence for once. Maybe they go after a top tier safety, not that they'd take Eric Berry from Tennessee in the #1 slot. The Niners have two first round picks and an unfortunate history with QB Alex Smith; maybe you can get one of their picks without giving up yours, and get a hold of ILB Rolando McClain from Alabama. I can't see them dealing McNabb in the division, but if they are that nuts, Washington has a need and the #4 pick; Seattle would also be a possibility with the #6 pick.

As anyone who watches the games knows, there aren't enough quality QBs in the league. The Eagles have two; one that is older, more expensive, and appears to have reached his ceiling as a non-championship player. The second is younger, cheaper, and could be special. It's time to see what they've got, rather than what they have.

Because if we've learned anything else from the last two weeks in Dallas, it's this. What they have is clearly not good enough. By a long shot.