McNabb insists he'll be back
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
McNabb insists he'll be back
Bob Brookover
Donovan McNabb remains convinced that he will remain an Eagle.
Furthermore, he insists that's exactly what he wants.
After practicing with the other players on the NFC roster this morning at a Fort Lauderdale High School, McNabb was surrounded by a large media gathering here to cover the Pro Bowl.
In a later one-on-one interview with the Inquirer, McNabb said he takes Eagles coach Andy Reid at his word when he says he will return next season as the team's starting quarterback.
"That's all that matters," McNabb said. "I heard it when he said it to you guys, but I heard it before anyway. I think a lot of people look too far into things with all the assumptions about what could happen. (Reid) told everybody I'm going to be there and I'm his guy. I don't see anything that anybody else should look into."
McNabb also said he wants to be in Philadelphia even though he's about to endure another offseason debate about whether or not he should remain the Eagles' quarterback. He said that doesn't bother him in the least.
"It really doesn't," McNabb said. "What's wild about it is when you go somewhere, that's what everybody brings up: 'Hey, man, where you going to be?' "
McNabb said his answer is always the same: "Uh, Philly."
"It would only affect you if you allow it to," McNabb said. "This isn't my first go-around with it. I've been going through this the last three or four years."
Unlike a year ago after the season ended, McNabb is not lobbying for a contract extension or alteration even though he's about to enter the last year of his current deal.
"I don't think we should really focus on that," McNabb said. "I love playing the game and that's what it comes down to. I am under contract for another year. We don't know what's going to happen in 2011. We just don't know. If I have to come back and play (in Philadelphia), hey that's great. I would love to. I love this team and I love being around these guys and competing. I think good things could happen for us."
McNabb insisted that he has never given much thought to playing elsewhere.
"No," he said. "I let other people think about that. For me, the grass being greener is really what field you're playing on. When you're in Philadelphia, obviously, there are ups and there are downs. I've been a part of it for 11 years, so I don't let it affect me."
Even though the Eagles' season ended with consecutive lopsided losses to the Dallas Cowboys, McNabb believes this team could still be a Super Bowl contender in 2010.
"We're not far away at all," McNabb said. "We went on a six-game winning streak, we made good things happen with an explosive offense, the defense came around, everybody started playing well and then those two games hit, which was unfortuate. But it happens. It happened to us against the Cowboys, it happened to the Cowboys against Minnesota and to Minnesota against the Saints."
You can read more about McNabb and the other Eagles at the Pro Bowl in tomorrow's Inquirer.
Uh Don - Minnesota lost to the Saints in OT alot different than getting drilled 2 timesin a row buddy— bsaw- Well, if McNabb's right then I predict Kolb is gone. Kolb hasn't shown any interest in being a benchwarmer another year.— tacklinjoe
- Minnesota against the Saints? The Vikings dominated the game and lost because of TOs. The Eagles were dominated by the Cowboys. Twice. And McNabb was a reason for that domination (especially in the first game) -- though I have to admit I blame the defense and O-line more. Does McNabb really believe all the stuff he says?— fgdavis
- Let the rage-filled, slightly insane posting begin -— mjb
- What a joke that Reid is even considering bringing McNabb back for another season of frustration and underacheiving. Banner and/or Lurie better step in and insist that the Kolb era begin and to let McNabb look for work elsewhere next season. The Eagles will never win a super bowl with McNabb as their QB— drjimmy
Comment removed.- Wow. It's gonna be embarrassing for Donovan when he gets traded.— soulman386
- Donovan is in denial. The Eagles have put up a wall of silence about him since the end-of-year news conference. That clearly indicates they're considering trading McNabb. If they had decided that McNabb would be the QB next season they wouldn't let him twist in the wind. Andy Reid and Joe Banner would talk to the media and squash all doubts about McNabb's future with the team.— soulman386
I think this is part of why many fans don't like or trust 5. No matter what is going on down on the field, no matter what lousy results get posted, no matter how glaringly obvious it is that the team is not nearly good enough to win a championship, it's always the exact same thing from McNabb: "We're right there, we're just a break away, we're on par with the best teams", etc. No candor, and possibly no hard connection with reality.— 1980- WTF was the reason for gettin Kolb in the first place... Hope Andy's response to keeping McNabb is smoke and mirrors and not the organizations true stance on McNabb!! We are guaranteed anothe year of mediocrity or better yet outstanding year as he put it but only to get crushed on the playoffs.. when the hell does spring training start?— nixman101
He's trying to raise his trade price.— Richard Saunders- These Eagles are losers and will be until both these clowns are gone (McPuke and Hamburglar Reid)...— tralala
- 5 is a failure, unfortunately he isn’t going anywhere.— Mike977
- Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it---enough said---his history speaks for itself---keep drinking the kool-aid Iggle fans— will_wonders_never_cease
- Find me the quote where Andy said Donovan would be the "starting QB". Andy said "Donovan will be back". Two completely different things.— GOOMBY
