The McNabb HOF Debate

Posted: May 24th, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on The McNabb HOF Debate

Donovan McNabb is one of the best players in Eagles history.

Donovan McNabb is not one of the best players in NFL history.

That is the most simple answer I can give to the question of whether McNabb belongs in the Hall of Fame, a subject he brought up recently.

https://twitter.com/YahooSportsNFL/status/1131981018750021632

The Eagles had great success with Ron Jaworski as the QB in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Then came Randall Cunningham, The Ultimate Weapon. He was amazing, even if that didn’t result in the desired postseason success.

1995-1998…four long years. The team had success for the first couple of seasons, but QB play was highly erratic.

McNabb came along in 1999 and changed everything. He was a terrific player. He was the face of the franchise. The team won games and even had postseason success. Life was good.

McNabb had multiple injuries in 2005 and 2006. The Eagles got nervous about his future and spent a second round pick on Kevin Kolb in the 2007 draft. That was the beginning of the end.

2007-2009 weren’t bad years by any stretch, but there was a different vibe. McNabb was a huge part of the Eagles family up to that point, but the relationship wasn’t the same. The Eagles traded McNabb in April of 2010.

You can make a case that McNabb was on pace for a HOF career at that point.

Unfortunately, there was a terrible second act. McNabb publicly feuded with the Shanahan’s in Washington. He was benched and then went to the Vikings. He struggled there as well.

Kurt Warner played his way into the HOF by what he did in Arizona. He posted big numbers and led them to their first ever Super Bowl appearance. Warren Moon was a star for the Houston Oilers for a decade. He then spent time with the Seahawks and Vikings, adding 95 TDs and 15,000 yards to his totals. That helped him get to the HOF.

McNabb was a major bust outside of Philly. He’s not solely to blame for that, but it kills any chance he’s got of getting to Canton.

I hope Eagles fans embrace McNabb for what he did for the team. I can’t explain to you the difference in going from Koy Detmer as the starting QB late in 1998 to McNabb as the starter late in 1999. The English language is an amazing thing, but I just don’t know the appropriate words exist to explain that.

I don’t blame McNabb for pushing himself for the HOF. I totally get that. I don’t think he deserves to get in and more importantly, I can’t see anyway he does get in. We’re going to have a slew of great QBs heading to Canton in the coming years. Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are locks. Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Matt Ryan can make compelling cases. McNabb just isn’t on their level.

Remember that the argument isn’t about talent. We’re trying to find out who had the best careers.

Whether or not McNabb ends up in Canton really doesn’t matter to me. I’m just glad he came to Philly.

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Domo wrote a good piece on McNabb as a HOF candidate.

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I forgot to mention this the other day.

Means is a guy we should all love. More effort than talent. Does everything he can to keep a job. You see guys like Randy Gregory and David Irving that are far more talented, but aren’t willing to make sacrifices to stay in the league. Means is the ultimate grinder.

I hope he gets better and is back for 2020.

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