Bernard Hopkins rips McNabb (yes, again)
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Bernard Hopkins rips McNabb (yes, again)
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Back in November, we wrote a blog post titled Hopkins rips McNabb (again).
The entry came after Bernard Hopkins slammed Donovan McNabb on Comcast SportsNet, something that has been commonplace in this city over the years.
So the mere fact that he ripped into the Eagles' quarterback once again Wednesday afternoon probably isn't worth writing about anymore.
But this time, there was more -- a theory about where the criticism might be stemming from.
Hopkins joined Howard Eskin on WIP Wednesday afternoon and spoke at length about his constant bashing of McNabb.
When discussing McNabb's newly reworked contract, Hopkins said the fans will have to suffer for two more years. During the interview, he called McNabb a lapdog and a frontrunner, said he has no heart and suggested the team should have given serious thought to replacing him with Michael Vick.
"I think he plays for the moment, whether it's winning or losing," Hopkins said. "I think he plays to win, but I don't think his demeanor and I don't think his personality fits to win tomorrow, to win the next week and to win with any means necessary. There's a difference than wanting to win and showing that you want to win. I think that most athletes go in the ring or in the court, basketball or football, go in there with the intentions of winning until something is different that they feel that they don't want to deal with, understand or just be in the mix. Some people just want to be in the mix, Howard. And if they get lucky and be like 'Oh I can win this' then they'll go ahead and they'll show their swagger. But at the end of the day, you got frontrunners and you got runners, and he's one of the greatest frontrunners I've ever seen in the NFL."
One of the more interesting parts of the interview was when Eskin laid out his theory for why Hopkins always hates on McNabb.
Per Eskin, Hopkins once went to an Eagles practice, and while McNabb said hello to the ex-middleweight champ, Hopkins felt like the Birds' QB blew him off a little bit and has held a grudge ever since.
Hopkins denied Eskin's theory, but when he recalled the situation, it certainly sounded like McNabb rubbed him the wrong way when they crossed paths.
"When I did go to the NovaCare Center with my team, was he like everybody else? Like the rest of the players? Was he giving us respect, giving everybody respect, my trainer, myself and all that, just coming over, sign this, sign that or whatever? No, he sort of ran into a little room and locked the door and came out every now and then to peak his head out to see if we left yet," Hopkins said. "But that just tells you he's not a social guy."
"When a guy is uncomfortable that the light is not actually on him, then you have some people that can't take it," he continued. "And look, the bottom line is if you want the light to be on you, you gotta do what champions do. You win, you win, you win, you win and you win the big one."
Eskin and Hopkins took calls from fans, a couple of whom could not understand Hopkins' stance. One even suggested that if Hopkins feels McNabb lacks the intensity and heart necessary to win a title, why not help him?
Hopkins predicted the Eagles would win seven games this season, and made no bones about the reason why.
"He don't have the heart," he said of McNabb. "He don't want to fail so he don't want to try."
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lone wolf and phillies are cowards......and dumb donkeys as well...pin the tail on lone wolf...hopkins is mad cause mcnabb didnt gawk over him at the novacare prospect but mcnabb is a baby...he disrespected him....didnt give him props....booo hooo...go get a tissue hopkins you paper champ...— montymiller
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- 2 shut all this talk about how mcnabb isnt good enough and doesnt have heart and he will never win a SB and all. if the defense would have stopped NE wen mcnabb took the lead we, wouldnt even be having this discussion so get of donovans back.the D didnt get the job done n the clutch, point blank.— philly sports
- everyone knows mcnabb has no heart and will never win the big one— FireAndyReid
- BHop is a fraud and a selfish punk. A friend of mine met him at the Juvenile Center where he used to work and doesn't speak to well of him. He is also a convicted felon, who got into a fistfight with a contractor who built a deck in his Delaware home. Apparently, Hopkins didn't want to pay him. What a character.— EL Zorro
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People really need to be talking about Cry Baby No Pro Bowl Sheldon Brown.- wow. Some of yall really hate mcnabb. yall expect him to snap the ball to himself...throw it to himself...get on defense and rush the opposing teams qb, cover the likes of randy moss and steve smith, and stop the run on defense..i mean really. football is a TEAM sport. in the last nfc championship game who throw those touchdown passes to bring them back....and who gave up the the go ahead touchdown on the cardinals last drive....also who dropped a pass that hit him in the hands? I guess we can blame mcnabb for that too. mcnabb isn't very accurate...but he is a very streaky passer. I seen some say eli better...r u kidding me? that hail mary pass he threw..eli didn't make tha catch and pin it against his helmet. that was not skill that was pure luck!! i bet if mcnabb had buress he would win a championship too. we never had a true #1 wide receiver. Hopkins need to take an english class and go share jail stories with michael vick.— bigjay215
- it is amazing that certain qbs have to demonstrate they are tough guys. qbs play the softest position in sports. the nfl is making rules where you cant even touch the qb. if tom brady gets sacked legally they have to change the rules. mcnabb is of a different breed and of course is stereotype different from other qbs.he has to be tough like a linebacker because once again he does not fit the profile of the qb you want protected and sitting back with all day to throw. you want him beat up to prove how tough he is..hypocrites..— mongoS
- Media bias AGAINST McNabb? Give me a break already! Where OTHER Philadelphia athletes are raked over the coals, McNabb gets treated with kid gloves! You think they rip McFlabb the way they rip Carter or Richards or Utley or Howard or Dalembert or Iggy? Something tells me NO! He's been in Philly HOW long and he STILL hasn't achieved anything? Hopkins is right, McFlabb has NO heart and unfortunately, that Eagle fans are too blinded to see it! McNabb, Reid AND Banner are ALL jokes and until those jokes are replaced, nothing will ever improve! And unlike McNabb, Hopkins HAS won championships!— PhillyHockeyBuff
- philly sports - I agree 100%. McNabb teammates let him down, but its his fault. Super Bowl the line for got to block and he got killed that whole game. The defense did not play all that great as well, and then this past season McNabb got us the lead and the defense let Arizona march right down the field. Then everybodies boy Curtis drops a first down catch. Oh but McNabb can not get it done. Everyone is calling for the Kevin Kolb aka Bobby Hoying era to start. The losing era.
- You have to admit...he is a professional athlete who speaks his mind (while most others don't). He probably has insight about heart that most of us don't. I kind of see what he means (aside from the Vick comment).— Dtownfan
- crustynerd....its a proven fact that you SHOULD be a hater because whoever would have a name such as yours should hate life. Your other name wouldn't happen to be 5isaBeeyatch, would it??
- Let me preface this by saying i love B-Hop as a boxer. i think he is one of the best. Having said that Bernard is totally off base with this Mcnabb hating. Howard got to the bottom of why he hates mcnabb so much which makes it even more silly. And for ALL OF YOU MORONS THAT SAY MCNABB HAS NO HEART, UNDERSTAND THIS MCNABB HAS HIS SHORTCOMINGS AS WE ALL DO BUT AS FAR AS A CONSUMATE PRO ATHLETE MCNABB IS THAT AND MORE. HE HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO WIN THE BIG ONE WHICH I HOPE WILL SOON BE CORRECTED, BUT THIS CONSTANT HATE FOR THE GUY IS RIDICULOUS WHEN HE HAS DONE NOTHING BUT WIN. I AM NOT EVEN GOONA TOUCH THE LUNACY THAT VICK SHOULD COME IN FOR MCNABB WHICH IS ABSOLUTLY CRAZY AND SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE BERNARD HAS WHEN IT COMES TO FOOTBALL(STICK TO WHAT YOU KNOW B-HOP). The people(i wont call them fans)that constantly criticize Mcnabb wont be happy until he is gone, and we go back to the years of 4 and 5 win seasons, because after Mcnabb there is a steep drop off in talent.(dont see Kolb ever being that pro caliber QB we need). ALL I WILL SAY IS THIS BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT. Remember the days before Reid and Mcnabb got here? thats what you are wishing for. As hard as it may be for some of you to wrap your minds around it... As Mcnabb goes so go our beloved Birds.— trelle
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