Is there hope for the 4-5 Eagles?
Rich Hofmann : Survival mode and can't blame him
LANDOVER, Md. - The Eagles trailed the Washington Redskins by 12-7 at the half yesterday. To that point, Donovan McNabb had missed a couple of open receivers and not made a noteworthy or memorable throw. That is not picking on him, but rather pointing out the reality.
Warming up for the second half, McNabb said his arm just didn't feel right. He didn't know if it was because he had been slaughtered near the end of the second quarter by Redskins safety LaRon Landry on a blitz, or what. But McNabb said there was "a little soreness."
DAVID MAIALETTI/Daily News
Donovan McNabb and Hank Baskett celebrate Brian Westbrook's 57-yard TD reception.
Eagles coach Andy Reid remem-bered it like this: "He started throwing after we came out at halftime and he said, 'Doggone, this thing feels weak right now.' "
Sore, weak, whatever - there was a consultation on the sideline with trainer Rick Burkholder and, soon after, backup quarterback A.J. Feeley put on his helmet and began warming up. "We didn't know," Reid said. And, with that, an interesting laboratory test was being set up.
What might Feeley do against the Redskins in the second half? What might that tell us about McNabb's role in the ongoing struggles of the Eagles' offense? This question - how much to blame Donovan - had dominated Philadelphia for the previous few days after McNabb had agreed last Wednesday to take his share of the blame, but not an ounce more. Suddenly, at least a partial test of the hypothesis was being set up before us.
Nine plays later, the Redskins kicked a field goal that upped their lead to 15-7. After the kickoff, all eyes were on the sideline as the Eagles' offense ran onto the field.
Which quarterback?
McNabb.
"There was no question," he said.
What followed will never be mistaken for grandeur. The Eagles and McNabb seem to be beyond that possibility, at least for this season. This was about hanging around and hanging in there and little else. It was about looking at the stat sheet after the game and being shocked that McNabb threw for four touchdowns and had a passer rating of 138.5 - because this just did not seem like that kind of a game when it was happening. It was not about numbers. It was about dignity and it was about digging in.
"Games like this, where you have to continue to dig deep and fight to win the game at the end, that says a lot about this team," McNabb said, after they somehow beat the Redskins, 33-25. "That says a lot about our coaching staff and just kind of the work we've been putting forth."
The soreness at the start of the half was not the low point for McNabb. That came later, in the middle of the fourth quarter. Trailing by 22-20, the Eagles' defense finally came up with a turnover. Five seconds later, McNabb gave it right back when he held the ball too long and fumbled while being sacked.
It was McNabb's second fumble and fourth turnover in two games, a brutal play. But was he down? "Not at all," McNabb said. "You're just looking for that next opportunity to get back out on the field."
Which sounds like hokum, except that McNabb has played most of his career that way - and he did come back out onto the field, recognize a blitz, show some physical courage by hanging in against that blitz, and deliver the screen pass to Brian Westbrook that turned into the game-winning, 57-yard touchdown.
Whatever skills he does or does not have anymore will be an eye-of-the-beholder thing for as long as McNabb is with the Eagles. There can be little question, though, that he has moved into survival mode. His decision last week not to Donovan-speak his way through the questions about blame - taking his share, but no more - suggests that (even if people criticized it). So did his play yesterday.
"Donovan's been under the microscope here a little bit and he comes out and has a gutty performance," Reid said. "He didn't hesitate at all throwing the football, and he had a couple of nice runs that were huge for us, and he just keeps getting better. My hat's off to him for his perseverance through some of the things that have gone on."
It is the man's greatest skill at this point - perseverance. That, and his ability to rise above controversy. His big game earlier this season against the Lions followed the HBO interview during which he said black quarterbacks had it harder than white quarterbacks in the NFL. This game followed his guest appearance on Philadelphia's favorite game show, "The Blame Game."
"I haven't had a bad week," he said. "I'm sure you guys have had some information to write articles and talk about on TV, but it doesn't bother me. When I step out on that field, I've always said . . . my main focus is to help this team win and do whatever I have to do to do that. I don't get caught up in what he says or she says or whatever you guys write. My focus is to continue to be prepared [to come out here] on Sundays, having fun in the process, and trying to win games."
Which he did yesterday. The blame, and the hypothesis-testing, will have to wait. *
Send e-mail to hofmanr@phillynews.com.
For recent columns, go to http://go.philly.com/hofmann.
