McNabb a franchise QB?
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McNabb a franchise QB?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Any time we write about Donovan McNabb here at MTC, it usually results in the comments section being flooded with insults, name-calling and personal attacks.
But we're going ahead with this post anyway.
Matt Bowen of the National Football Post writes about a topic that Eagles fans have argued about in this city for years: Is McNabb a franchise quarterback?
Here is Bowen's definition of the term:
In my definition, a franchise quarterback can walk into any huddle in the NFL, pick up a football and have immediate success. By saying that, these guys aren’t defined by the system they play in because you don’t have to build a system around them to make them effective. They do it because they can make any throw, run any offense and succeed with any coach and with any type of offensive personnel around them.
Bowen lists five guys he considers franchise quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer and Philip Rivers.
So where does McNabb rank? In the next group of guys "on the fence" behind Ben Roethlisberger. Here's Bowen's justification:
McNabb is great because he plays in the west coast system in Philly. However, I don’t see him having the success — or the ability to make all the throws — in another offensive system. His accuracy is always a concern, and I question if he could thrive in a vertical attack.
Other guys in the 'On the Fence' group: Kurt Warner, Tony Romo, Eli Manning, Matt Hasselbeck and Jay Cutler.
I would argue that McNabb belongs among the franchise quarterbacks. Before I get to the reasoning, let's take a look at the other guys on Bowen's list.
There's no question that Tom Brady and P. Manning belong in a class of their own. Any team in the league would swap QBs with the Patriots or Colts and immediately improve. That's just a fact.
I'm a big Brees guy, and he certainly has an edge over McNabb when it comes to accuracy. But Brees also throws a lot more interceptions. He and McNabb belong in the same category.
I don't think Palmer has a place among the upper tier at this point in his career. He played in four games last season and threw 20 interceptions the year before. While Bowen excludes winning from his criteria, it's tough to ignore the fact that Palmer has never won a playoff game. Maybe the 2005-06 version of Palmer would be up there, but not the 2009 version.
There are a lot of things to like about Rivers. He takes care of the football. He makes plays without a great receiver (although he has good weapons at RB and TE). And he had a monster 2008 season. But if you put him on the Eagles right now, would you confidently say they'd have a better chance to win in 2009 than they do now? I'm not so sure. And that's what Bowen's definition of a franchise quarterback would indicate.
As for his evaluation of McNabb, I think we can all agree that he'll never be among the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. Bowen argues that McNabb might struggle in a vertical attack, which I disagree with. The Eagles ask McNabb to make plays down the field every week. He completed 52 passes of 20 yards or more last season. That was the third-best mark in the league. McNabb has success stretching the field, when he has the weapons. It's the short slants and screens that give him problems.
The first part of Bowen's definition says the QB should be able to walk into any NFL huddle and have immediate success. I think you could say that about McNabb, which is why the rumors of him playing elsewhere seem to emerge every offseason. If the Birds decided to cut ties with him, several other teams would be interested.
So, based on Bowen's definition listed above, what do you think? Is McNabb a franchise quarterback?
McNabb is on the downslope and has been for several years. He is unfocused and out of shape. Just accept it. Come on guys, join reality with me....it's fun!— chrissmith- "these guys aren’t defined by the system they play in because you don’t have to build a system around them to make them effective. They do it because they can make any throw, run any offense and succeed with any coach and with any type of offensive personnel around them." How could we possibly know this about Manning or Brady? One team, one system each. End of stupid discussion. McNabb has done more with less than any other QB in his time. It takes a team to win and not everyone does. Dan Marino anyone? Probably the best QB in my lifetime...no Super Bowls.— paulie
- Donovan by all different statistics seems to be ranked about 10th in the league. This seems about right, this is 4 spots ahead of Big Ben statistically. DM just needs to win a couple games himself, haven't seen this in many years (and to not lose it in the biggest of games). He has a good chance again this season. #5 was taking good care of the ball and not forcing things after he came back from the benching, hope he continues this mixed in with some playmaking.— MidGreen
Do you think it's a factor that the "franchise" QBs listed have had the benefit of some actual offensive help? What year did any of them have to deal with the lack of help that DM has had to deal with his whole career? Answer: zero. Think PManning would be as highly rated without Harrison, Edge, Wayne, Addai, Gonzales and Dilger? NO! Same for the others which is to take nothing away from any of them but lets consider all the circumstances. These lists are fun to discuss but in the end are just somebody elses opinion. It's also interesting that 3 of the 5 have never been to a SB let alone won one.— tpizza- Hey Donkey, he was discussing a list compiled by another writer and the standards he used to evaluate franchise QBs - that's not plagiarism. I strongly suggest that you look up the word and find out what it means before you use it again.— catnameddomino
- #5 is definitely in the top 5. His stats put him there. Get the SB ring and it's a lock.— MJPD345
- Carson Palmer is 0-1 lifetime playoff record and has only had one really good season. The only reason Carson Palmer is on the franchise list is because of his prototypical size & potential but so far in his career he hasn't done anything with 2 Pro Bowl WR's. Drew Brees hasn't been to the playoffs in 2 years and last year he 4 games in the clutch. But this list is bogus anyway as they have Ben Roethlisberger on the 2nd tier list which is ridiculous.— Nothing but the truth
- How in the sweet heavens above can you say Peyton Manning and Tome Brady(maybe) can be in a class by themselves.. Manning just recently won a Superbowl.. he doesn't always make the crisp passes and for that matter neither does Brady. Both are great QB's but put Donovan in another offense and he will flourish.. as a side note, how can you mention Jay Cutler in the same breath as McNabb?— komplex2005
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- Any definition of franchise QB that excludes #5 is ridiculous.— ahab
- Any definition of franchise QB that excludes #5 is ridiculous.— ahab
- Bowen needs to go back to Hockey because when it comes to NFL he has no clue.I can't beleive he talks about McNabb's inaccuracy when he has no power running game, no #1 WR in 10 years except T.O. who helped us get to SB or a head coach who thinks a #2 or 3 WR is good enough to do the job.Beleive me read between the lines here. If MCNabb didn't finally come out publically and say to Reid "get me some offensive weapons" before the draft we would be seeing a DL or an OL instead of Maclin and McCoy.As for McNabb accuracy please look at his TD pass to Int ratio. It is the best in NFL History and all done with mirrors. SO Bowen bug off. I feel this QB's pain. He is contantly ridiculed by all walks of life yet still fights to win in every game.I hope he stays healthy long enough to have better WR's.I pray that the players we just drafted get us and him to the SB and a WIN.— Bubba
- Given the criteria, I don't think that Donovan is a franchise QB because of his inconsistency. There have been stretches where he has been horrible, and there have been stretches where he has been awesome. To me, a franchise QB rarely costs you a game and I don't think you can say that about Donovan. While I like Donovan and think the Eagles can win with him at QB, he has come up small in too many important games over the years for me to consider him a franchise QB. Until he wins a Super Bowl he is a good, not great, but good QB. Go Eagles.— flyerdup
- Paulie, Bubba and others. That is exactly the point. Put Pmanning or any of the others and you can bet that none would have had the success that DM has had. I doubt any could have taken the pounding. 10 years in and he finally is getting a little help. Imagine Westbrook, T.O. for 21 games and.....? Ridiculous. ARs biggest mistake IMO. He finally did something about it this year.— tpizza
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