McNabb says he is worthy of Hall of Fame
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
McNabb says he is worthy of Hall of Fame
Daily News staff
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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HOF??? I don't think so. You've got to win the big games. But in the long list of Iggles QB's, I think he's one of the best. Not that we have a whole lot of great QB's to pick from..........— bigdaddyG- it's going to be a close call whether people agree with it or not. a lot of times they go off numbers (he has a ton of yards & TD's), stats (low TD-to-INT ratio) and division titles/playoff wins (he has a ton just no ring). from a truly unbiased perspective, you can make a case. i realize that's an unpopular statement here, but no one here has a vote, so it doesn't matter.
- Smiggs needs some help!— BMJ
- mcnabb was a very good quarterback for a time, but i think it's funny when he compares himself to people that were waaaaay better than him. i am so happy he is not our qb anymore.— Phila26
- He's not doing himself any favors comparing his numbers to Brady and Manning. He also did have a lot of success with some terrible talent at the WR position. I don't think he would have approached top QB in the league status no matter how good his WRs were but he would have been better that he was. Maybe one of those years it would have been good enough. We'll never know!— hillbillybirdsfan
- For all you Andy Reid haters, look what he did to cover up the stink that is Donovan McNabb. Look what Mike Shanahan, 2x Super Bowl winner, could not do with Donovan McNabb.— SilliBilli
- Don't disagree with your statement, but Reid is the idiot that drafted him. The team that drafted Ricky at least ended up with a championship, while we wasted over a decade on Low Throw McBlow. — Voytas
- Yeah, and Ricky Williams really ran roughshod over the Colts in that Super Bowl too! The only Super Bowl Ricky ever had was probly kept in a stashbox with some of the stickiest icky known to mankind. — le sigh
- After watching Eli Manning in the playoffs, I wonder how many Super Bowls the Eagles would have if he was their quarterback during the McNabb era. Eli stepped up and McNabb threw up.— zeke128
- Will his likeliness on the bust be that idiotic smile after a low throw, an interceptions or a loss? That was the only thing you were good at Donnie.— Voytas
- McNabb is one of the best QBs in the Eagles history, and they have a very bad history, particularly with QBs. What is interesting now is that McNabb is saying(on the record)what he said AGAIN AND AGAIN off the record: that Peyton Manning wasn't a big game QB(other than winning 1 SB)and that Dan Marino NEVER won a SB(although he was in as many as McNabb was). To me, what McNabb has been doing for a LONG time is trying to make himself look good next to white QBs that have many white fans. Rush Limbaugh had NO business demeaning McNabb's qualities in the early 2000s, but in downplaying Peyton Manning and Dan Marino, McNabb is doing the SAME thing. I think it is WAY past time for McNabb to have that chat with Randall Cunningham that McNabb refused to have at the beginning of his career.— 76erfn
- The more you read his drivel, the more you understand that he was all about personal stats than team achievements. Can't believe I stuck up for this fraud.— SilliBilli
- Stuff like this is why people can't stand McNabb. Put Randall Cunningham in before this clown.— kjuggs77
