McNabb says he is worthy of Hall of Fame
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McNabb says he is worthy of Hall of Fame
The debate about whether Donovan McNabb is a Hall of Famer raged at times while he was with the Eagles, and after he left the Eagles and now that he is out of the game, at least for now.
During an appearance on the FoxSports.com show “The Barfly,” McNabb said his career is not over. He also said he wished he could have stayed with the Eagles instead of being traded to Washington and then spending the early part of last season in Minnesota. He said he expected things to be better for him in Washington in Year 2 after having a season for new coach Mike Shanahan to settle in. Of course, there was no Year 2. In Minnesota, he again was with a new coaching staff, but said he understood why the Vikings decided to play first-round pick Christian Ponder after the team got off to such a bad start.
“I would have loved to have stayed in Philadelphia,” McNabb said over a meal with show host Mark Kriegel and NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen. “But one thing people don’t talk about is it’s a business decision. I was in one of the last years of my deal and the three quarterbacks that were in that situation were me, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Being slotted the way, obviously, we’ve had all of our careers go, there’s a lot of money supposedly being thrown around that they wanted to go to their young guy, Kevin Kolb, who they drafted in the second round. Things didn’t work out as well as they expected to.”
The most interesting conversation concerned McNabb’s chance at the Hall of Fame.
Kriegel: “If you had won a title, there would be no discussion about whether Donovan McNabb belongs in the Hall of Fame.”
McNabb: “What happens a lot of times is we look at what the list says, so we talk about the five NFC Championship Games, the six Pro Bowls and then we come to the end, ‘well, he never won the big game. Well, Peyton never won the big game until he won the Super Bowl. Dan Marino never won the big game. Does that mean his career is a failure? No, not at all. If we want to sit and look at numbers for certain players then we need to look at the number for all of them.”
Kriegel: “What makes a Hall of Fame quarterback?”
McNabb: “First of all is his numbers. How many times has he led his team to the big game? The big game still is the NFC Championship Game, the game to lead you there, and most importantly of all, did he make the players around him better? In his time, in his era, was he a top 5, top 10 quarterback in the league?”
Kriegel: “You were top 5.”
McNabb: “Definitely.”
Kriegel: “Would you vote for you for the Hall of Fame?”
McNabb: “Absolutely. One thing people don’t realize, I never played the game to make it to the Hall of Fame. I played the game because I love it. I played the game to win because I’m a competitor. When I step out on the field, I feel like I’m the best player on the field. Even these last two years, and people may look at it and say, ‘Oh, he’s done.’ I’m 34, 35 years old but I still played at the pinnacle, at the highest level of my career. I played there. I would vote myself for the Hall of Fame and I played with probably two or three Hall of Famers. When you sit and look at the numbers and that’s what it is when it comes to the Hall of Fame. My numbers are better than Jim Kelly, than Troy Aikman and a lot of guys in the Hall of Fame, but the one thing they have is a Super Bowl.”
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what a chump.— steven q urkel- Call him what you like, but like he says, the numbers don't lie and he did it with lesser talent at the WR position.
- you're a chump for talking about his numbers. his only number is 5, as in 5 passes in the dirt per game.
- So, your saying he had great numbers. But his receivers had no talent? Just how did he get good numbers? Did he throw the ball to himself? You are a moron of the oxy variety. — Voytas
- Thanks for making that point, Voytas. I was prepared to make it myself. A little detail many prefer to conveniently overlook. — essell
- Game footage don't lie either...neither do most of the fans' memories who actually watched them live. I remember Chad Lewis, Deuce Staley, and LJ Smith catching 75% of his passes within 5 yards. Tom Brady had 'lesser talent' at WR and passed for 50 TDs and 5000 yards one year. Numbers can be misconstrued sometimes.
— kjuggs77 - You want to tell us what great wide receivers Brady had while winning three SBs? Or the great receivers Marino had? How come 5 keeps talking about the 6 Pro Bowls when he was only elected to one. All the rest he got picked after three other Qbs bugged out. — mike l
- Well Brady has a very good coach, McNabb was asked to throw over 50 times in the SB. That was bad game planning especially when there's a Brian Westbrook in the back field. Brady had clutch WR's also, who do you remember being at that position for McNabb? We all saw his WR's, Thrash and Pinkston get man handled at the line of scrimmage and couldn't get into their routes and the line just laying down half the time. Don't try to call Freddy Mitchell and his one catch as a talented WR. He's in prison now isn't he? We saw McNabb's numbers go through the roof once he got talent at the WR position, see Owens and Jackson. Get over your hate or racism and see that the man was a decent QB who just happen to play for a coach who was pass happy but didn't believe in having talent at WR. Everyone wants to put JJ on demigod status but I remember seeing Belichick and Brady rip that defense apart. Remember Brown catching that TD pass because Lito got caught daydreaming on Brady instead of playing his man? Yeah put that on McNabb. What about the same screen pass all the way to a TD. McNabb put up points but the defense couldn't do anything to stop NE from scoring.
- You people are so pathetic. This guy brought the Birds from obscurity to annual competitor in one year. Yes, they should have won a few bowls with those teams, but they didn't. Philly is so pathetic though. I doubt Dan Marino and Jim Kelly get abused as much as this guy does in their cities. Numbers-wise, Donovan is a Hall of Famer, and so is Randall. But unfortunately, Bowls are extra important in this team-game sport. So, it will be tough for them to get in. Also, I was in AZ in the end-zone seats, surrounded by Cardinals fans when McNabb brought his team back from down 18 points, only to have JJ and Brian Dawkins defense choke. Then on 4th and 10 with the game on the line, watched McNabb throw a strike 12 yards down the field only to have it bounce off his chest. That would have been enough for a game-tying field goal, had David Akers not choke that game as well. But no-one remembers that game.
- **Bounce off Kevin Curtis's chest that is....anyways...my last point is all three of Donovan's teams got progressively worse after he left them/stopped starting for them...
- From the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV, I would diagnose DM with 297.1 - Delusional Disorder with a Grandiose Subtype. That is the only possible explanation for his perception.— BMJ
- Maybe than put a plaque up of his vomit from the Super Bowl.— Justaschmuck
- He is also very modest! He is out in space if he actually believes that he played at a high level with the Redskins and Vikings.— HappyBob
- Donovan McNabb is truly a legend is HIS own mind!?!— RunningTheBases
