McNabb questions, answers and links
Are the Eagles really demanding a top 42 pick for Donovan McNabb? Would McNabb really refuse to play for teams like the Bills and the Raiders? Some thoughts on Thursday's news and rumors.
McNabb questions, answers and links
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Update (10 p.m.):
* The Donovan McNabb reports and rumors are getting stranger by the hour. The most recent comes from the Associated Press. A person familiar with the trade talks tells Rob Maaddi that the Eagles would only consider dealing McNabb if they receive a top-42 pick in April's draft. They're not demanding a first-round pick, or a second-round pick. But a top-42 pick?
Seems a bit odd to me. It's worth noting that the Raiders have the seventh pick in the second round (39th overall) and the Bills have the ninth pick in the second round (41st overall).
The thing to keep in mind here is that all sides are going to make demands (especially to the media), but ultimately, they will have to compromise some of those demands if they want to reach an agreement. In other words, it would be ridiculous for the Eagles to demand a top-42 pick and then reject a trade offer for the 43rd pick.
And the same goes for McNabb. He might not prefer to play for a team like the Bills or Raiders, but... well, just read below.
FROM EARLIER:
With so much Donovan McNabb stuff floating out there, let's round up some links and offer some opinions about what's going on:
* Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports that the Bills and Raiders have inquired about acquiring McNabb. However, a source told Robinson that McNabb would be unlikely to sign a long-term deal with either team. A source also told Jeff McLane of the Inquirer that McNabb would be unwilling to play in Buffalo or Oakland. A source told Les Bowen of the Daily News that those would not be "preferred destinations."
That may be how McNabb feels now, or how people close to him think he feels, but I think it could definitely change. Given everything we know about McNabb and his history here, I can't see him putting up a fight if the price is right. Think about it. Andy Reid goes to him and his agent and says the Eagles want to pull the trigger on a deal that would send him to Oakland. Do you really think he'd say no right away? Do you think he'd rather play for a coach and a franchise that don't want him? I don't see it.
More likely, McNabb would realize that he'll be turning 34 next season. He'd realize that signing a monster deal (possibly the final one of his career) would make more sense than risking the possibility of getting injured and playing out the final year of his contract in Philadelphia. In other words, money rules everything in these cases. If the price is right, McNabb will agree to play anywhere. That's what I think.
* At one point yesterday, it felt like there was no turning back for the Eagles. Given Andy Reid's comments and Donovan McNabb releasing a statement, you just felt like a deal was going to happen one way or another, that the McNabb/Reid era was over. But then I remembered him getting benched in 2008 against the Ravens and having that same feeling. A year and a half later, he's still here. For now, at least.
* While the rumored deal with the Rams does not seem imminent, if the Eagles were able to pry the first pick in the second round and a starting safety, they would have to pull the trigger. They could go offensive lineman, defensive lineman, linebacker or cornerback with two of the first three picks, and really improve personnel in some areas of need.
* Some have questioned whether such a move would make sense for the Rams. I say yes. With Kurt Warner retiring, the NFC West is up for grabs, even for a team that finished 1-15 last season. One of McNabb's greatest strengths is his ability to perform under less than ideal circumstances. In other words, even if the offensive line isn't up to par, or the weapons on the outside aren't great, McNabb has still shown he can put points on the board. Is it that far-fetched to think a Rams team that added McNabb and a defensive playmaker with the first overall pick could sniff .500? I say no.
* Several NFL executives tell Jason La Canfora of NFL.com that the Raiders are the team in heaviest pursuit of McNabb. Weren't they rumored to be interested in Terrell Owens a couple weeks back? That would be something.
* One non-McNabb note. At the league meetings, Roger Goodell mentioned the possibility of making all Week 17 games division matchups. And doing the same thing with a lot of the Week 16 games. I like the idea. I don't know if it solves the problem of teams sitting their starters in the final weeks because some division leaders will still have playoff positioning locked up. But it should help. And for better or worse, the excitement around Eagles-Cowboys the last two weeks has been great. Thoughts?
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I wouldn't be suprised if someone from the Eagles purposefully leaked that false Rams deal to Jeff McLane to try and stir up the market a bit— Lemur- Of course the Cowgirls fans like Lonewolf want McNabb out of Philly.....
- Cuso great point! Wish my other Negadelphia brethren would look at it that way!— BammBamm
- Why aren't Miami and Tampa Bay interested?— Sgerat
- Sgerat - why are you asking that on every single story? Miami has Henne, Pennington, and White...Tampa is rebuilding with their young QBS.— EaglesBleedMoney
- i think donovan would actually do well on a strong running team like the vikes, at lesat better then this precision offense in philly. he neesd a deep ball team... the raiders would actually be interesting to see. if they had any WRs— sasquatches
- McNabb gets traded. Vick stays around for one more year. Eagles draft a QB in the late rounds or sign an undrafted FA this year. Eagles draft another QB next year after Vick departs. Where in the draft would depend on Kolb's performance. This will come to pass.— Rick Wise Guy
- Home field advantage in the playoffs should be tied to December record. For instance, regular 1-6 seeding stays the same, but if the 5 seed wins and plays the 1 seed in could be in the 5 seeds park if they went 3-1 in December and the 1 seed went 2-2 (tanking a game). If both are 3-1, the 1 seed gets the home game. Peyton would have played harder against the Jets in December if he thought the Championship game had a chance of being played in a snowstorm.— Relocator
- WOW!!!...We might get...(gulp!)...waaaaaait for it..JAMARCUS RUSSELL!! Oh JOY!!...Oh fabjurous day!! Oh that stud is gonna look SOOO good rushing the passer on third down from that DT spot when the other team....what?...very funny, now as I was say...really?? He is really and truly a guy drafted AS a Quarterback? Naaahhh, come on maaaan, I don't think ....what?...Are you SURE?? Well, OK if you say so but...c'mon now! who'd be dumb enough to draft him AS a QB, I mean...Al Davis did that?? Is he getting senile or something? Geeze, hold on here a minute...NOOOOOOO...Donovan! COME BAAAAACK!!!!— TBear
- If McNabb is traded, I hope the childish - or simply ignorant- haters on this board like lonewolf are prepared for what they will reap. I live in Texas. I have seen Kevin Kolb play high school ball and at the University of Houston. He has some talent. And he will make a great career backup in the NFL. Keep one thing in mind, folks. Kolb put up great college numbers in four years as a starter at UH... and won one conference championship. Yes, the level of talent around him certainly impacted his record. Kolb, however, played in Conference USA. That put him against such "powerhouses" at SMU, UAB and Tulsa, with a non-conference schedule that regularly included the likes of North Texas or Sam Houston State. For those of you that point to McNabb's playof record, Kolb is 0-3 in mediocre bowl games. Simply put, he has never put his talent against even or superior talent and won. I hear a lot about Kolb's total yards and touchdowns in college. He also threw a lot of intereceptions. And his total career touchdowns ties him with Bruce Gradowski and Andrew Walter. How did they fare in the NFL? He is a system QB with lots of INTs Kolb's two games last year were against a terrible KC team and a New Orleans defense that had secondary questions even going into the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah, and the Eagles lost that game. If McNabb - the greatest QB in Eagles history - leaves, this team is destined for mediocrity. We will spend the next 10 years trying to find another franchise QB. How ironic that, as Donovan is leaving, we finally have something he lacked - decent receivers to throw to. And soon, we will have no one to throw the ball to them. Lonewolf, for as long as I've read the Philly.com boards, you've been spouting your inane bile under various guises. You either enjoy being the provocateur or are ignornat and racist. Which, I guess is redundant. To #5, thanks for being a class act and giving this town some great football... which we never really had before.— Corsair42
- If you keep McNabb, you have to make a big push to solidify the o-line and add a few pieces defensively. I don't think one offseason is enough to get all that done. He's a great QB and we can win a SB with him if we had more depth... but b/c it may take a couple years to fill those voids at other positions, it may be the best move to get extra picks for him now and start Kolb.— brimo8
Comment removed.- All of you McNabb haters I simply don't understand. Yes McNabb has his faults, but I remember the bad old days prior to his arrival, when we didn't even SMELL the playoffs. When all we had was the hope of beating Dallas ONCE during the season! Most of you don't know what it is like, year after year KNOWING you're going to have a losing year and looking forward to the draft in September. I hope McNabb stays, but if they trade him, the past will be the future.— southern eagle fan
- I don't know what it is with my hometown. Why we eat our own. We ran Mike Schmidt away from Philly and he was the best third baseman in the history of baseball. Ran Charles Barkley away when he was in his prime with the 76ers. Now we are getting ready to run the best quarterback in franchise history away. We didn't like him from the day we drafted him and all he did was play his heart out. Philly, all of you wanting Kolb, you don't know what you're asking for. Sometimes wanting is better than getting. It will be interesting to see the posts once Kolb isn't what you thought he was! Hope the management of the team is a little more "in tune" with what they are risking.— southern eagle fan
- Lonewolf, I'm neither an apologist nor a Kolb-hater. Never even met him, though I've seen him play -- apparently more than you. I'm a realist. I won't dispute your made-up stat about 75% of fans wanting to see Kolb. There's no doubt a certain lethargy has set-in with the current dynamic, so I would assume a good number of fans want change simply for change's sake. As I said, if you really think Kolb is the answer, you're possibly delusional. I love Jaws. Gave us three to four great years. And Youngstown, even way back yonder, played in a conference with a much tougher and more talented reputation than the woeful C-USA. Even the despised Tony Romo came from a smaller conference with better talent than the C-USA. If Kolb was ever the "real deal" it was coming out of Stephenville HS -- and he was barely recruited. Kolb's career record is 26-24. His completion rate was just over 61% and for roughly every two touchdowns he threw... he also threw a pick. That's in college. In a terrible conference. Small school QBs like Rothliesberger/Romo/Jaws didn'thave those kind of stats. Kolb is probably a good guy, like most Texans. He might even do well in Reid's system. But he is an average, systems QB who cannot read progressions or identify defenses. I would also assume, since you have such man-love for Kolb, you really wouldn't want him to start this season. The offensive line is terrible.. maybe the worst since McNabb was a rookie. If Kolb does indeed have NFL caliber talent, he's never going to be able to showcase it with the current line. Wouldn't you prefer to spend the season letting McNabb take the hits, drafting and grooming OL? That, of course, was just a sap to help you through what will be a difficult realization. Kolb isn't the answer.— Corsair42
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