Paul Domowitch: Should Eagles deal McNabb? No time like present

THIS IS A good time to trade Donovan McNabb, for a couple of reasons.

One, the Eagles quarterback's trade value will never be higher than it is right now. He's coming off one of the best statistical seasons of his career. Was seventh in the league in yards per attempt, eighth in interception percentage and 10th in touchdown percentage.

His 92.9 passer rating was the third-highest of his career. Threw for 3,500-plus yards for only the third time. Completed 60-plus percent of his passes for only the fourth time.

At 33, he's not yet considered a "descending" player. Thanks to the recent success of such geezers as Brett Favre and Kurt Warner, 40 is the new 35, and 33 is the new 28. A first-round pick for the guy is a very reasonable asking price.

Two, it's a seller's market, baby. Nearly a dozen teams will be shopping for quarterback help this offseason, and it's not every day you have a chance to acquire a five-time Pro Bowler who also can play a mean air guitar.

Another plus is that two of the potential suitors - the Vikings and Browns - have direct ties to McNabb and Eagles coach Andy Reid.

While history has taught us it's never a good idea to assume Favre is retiring, there's a pretty good chance the Vikings quarterback will really, really call it quits after this season, regardless of whether his team wins the Super Bowl.

If he does retire, the Vikings will need a quarterback. And nobody appreciates what McNabb brings to the table more than their head coach, Brad Childress, who coached the guy for 7 years in Philly. Childress is well aware of McNabb's accuracy flaws. But he's a big "respect-for-the-football" guy, who always has loved the fact that McNabb won't throw a lot of interceptions.

Then there are the Browns, whose new general manager - Tom Heckert - is the Eagles' old one. The Browns were the worst passing team in the league this season. Finished last in passing yards, last in yards per attempt and last in completion percentage. Didn't finish last in touchdown passes, but that's only because the Raiders were dumb enough to give JaMarcus Russell nine starts.

Think Heckert wouldn't prefer McNabb over Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn? The minute the Eagles put the word out that McNabb is for sale, Heckert will be dialing up Reid.

"It's a throwing league," Heckert said. "That's how you score points. Running the football, playing good defense and controlling the clock is great, but you do need to throw the football."

* Tom Heckert has no gentleman's agreement with Andy Reid regarding hiring away members of the Eagles' scouting staff. So expect a few of them to eventually join him in Cleveland, though it probably won't be until after the draft. Scouts' contracts generally run through the end of May or June. To leave before then, they would need the club's permission. Heckert hired all of the team's current scouts, including college scouting director Ryan Grigson and pro personnel director Jon Sandusky.

* Troy Aikman was shocked at the way the Cowboys totally dominated the Eagles the last 2 weeks, outscoring them, 58-14.

"The gap, from what we've seen the last 2 weeks, is pretty significant," said Aikman, the former Dallas QB star who now is a Fox analyst. "Which is pretty surprising to me. I called the game in Week 17 and expected it to be a heckuva game. But Dallas did pretty much whatever they wanted to. Last week, I expected Philadelphia to come back and play a lot better. But it ended up being a carbon copy of the week before. I don't think the gap, looking at the talent on each sideline, should have been that big. And yet Dallas had their way both weeks. But every year's a different year. We know what happened at the end of last season with Dallas [a 44-6, season-ending loss to the Eagles]. A lot of the questions that were being asked of the Cowboys then are now being asked of the Eagles."

* Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier appears to be the front-runner for the Buffalo head-coaching job after Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer declined to be interviewed. Frazier was interviewed by the Bills last week.

* An NFL-record 10 quarterbacks threw for 4,000 yards this season. Seven of those 10 made it to the postseason. Nine QBs had a passer rating of 95.0 or better. Twelve threw at least 25 touchdown passes.

"I remember not so long ago being asked, "Where have all the great quarterbacks gone?' " said Aikman, a Hall of Famer. "Now, man, there are a lot of them out there and they're playing at a high level. Just consider the year that Drew Brees had and he didn't even win the league MVP. Consider the year Tony Romo had - well over 4,000 yards and just nine interceptions, and he doesn't even make the Pro Bowl. And Philip Rivers. And Brett Favre. It speaks to what a great year it was for quarterbacks. I don't know that there's ever been a better year or better play as what there's been this year by the number of quarterbacks.''

* "He's not a guy who's going to get you 5 yards through a 5-yard hole. If you block it the right way, he's got the ability to hit the home run. I think he's become more of a vision runner. If you give him a crease, he can turn on the jets and change angles on the defense. Any defense that you're talking about is trying to prevent those explosive runs, and he's had a couple.'' - Vikings coach Brad Childress, on Cowboys running back Felix Jones.

* "I was disappointed I didn't get MVP. I won't lie. I don't think anyone had a season like I did. I feel like you can put my season up against all those people who got votes for MVP, and my season would be better.'' - Titans running back Chris Johnson on not winning the league MVP award.

THUMBS UP

To Jets coach Rex Ryan, who gave game balls to the team's entire scouting staff after Saturday's 24-14, wild- card win over the Bengals for their role in the drafting of quarterback Mark Sanchez and running back Shonn Greene. Sanchez, the team's first-round pick, completed 12 of 15 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals. Greene, the third-rounder from South Jersey, had 135 rushing yards and one TD.

THUMBS DOWN

To the NFL's Rooney Rule. It was a great idea, but I agree with those who think it has outlived its usefulness, or at least needs to be taken into the shop for repairs. It was an absolute joke watching both the Redskins and Seahawks conduct sham interviews with minority "candidates" before hiring Mike Shanahan and Pete Carroll. Redskins owner Dan Snyder conducted his Rooney Rule interview with the team's former secondary coach, Jerry Gray, more than 2 weeks before he even fired the guy (Jim Zorn) Gray was supposed to be replacing. And the Seahawks offered their head-coaching job to Carroll, then told him to hold that thought while the team's CEO, Tod Leiweke, flew to Minnesota and spent a couple of hours on Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier's couch to comply with the RR.