McNabb says he is worthy of Hall of Fame
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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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Great point, on getting to the Super Bowl, or not getting there. That's more due to over achievement on the part of the Eagles. Outside the year TO played for Phila, the Eagles never had the guns to contest for a Super Bowl.
They were never willing to make the financial commitment. What Andy Reid achieved was magnificent on a shoe string budget.— Dexter- wow so much hate for the best QB this franchise has ever had. I cant go back as far as Sonny so...What did you expect him to say here, of course he thinks highly of himself, no big deal really. Fans should have more respect, all he did was help this team win, to me, the most entertaining Eagles football in my lifetime, how easily we forget. Also, someone claiming Saints were better off taking Ricky???? just wow. And we wonder why people think our fans are the worst, look no further than this thread.— peteike
- The Phila Quarterback never had to be Great to be better than the line of Quarterbacks who played in Phila since Sonny Jergensen. Football in Philly, save a couple of Buddy Ryan teams have been dismal if you followed the history of the Phila Eagles.
Eagles who made the HOF went in wearing other team uniforms and won what accomplishment they received with those other teams. Chris Carter comes to mind. That was a talent that was squandered in the Phila offense under Buddy Ryan.
— Dexter - If Donovan had one ring he would be a HOF'er. But he doesn't and that matters. I am the biggest McNabb guy ever. Best QB this city ever had, including Randall. Won 9 playoff games, made 6 Pro Bowls, 2nd best TD/INT ratio in NFL history. Almost 40,000 pass yards and 3,500 rush yards. Dude did a lot, except win the big one. Yeah, I know he says some things that make you scratch your head, and being a "LEADER" like is so important to some people wasn't his strongest suit, but I'll always be grateful for him in this town. Thanks Donovan. You do have fans here.— Eaglenation5
- Peteike, you said it best. I never thought I'd say this, but I can see why some people think "Iggle" fans are idiots. Shame.— Eaglenation5
- Irving Fryer from Camden, he's another top talent that played receiver for the Eagles who's career fell off playing with the Eagles.
McNabb was the best and winning-est Quarterback in Phila in the last 50 years despite getting knocked out of a few season due to the dismal play of the offensive line.
— Dexter - Jim Johnson's Defense was the exact reason the Eagles loss to New England in that Superbowl. Who was the linebacker that Brady torched every time he was on the field.
What's his name. The Guy who went to Washington for a Year, he could not defend against the pass. Oh yea, Trotter...... Review that game and see what Brady strategy was. It was simple, Taking advantage of Trotter every time he stepped on the field.
— Dexter - My other point, just my opinion. McNabb doesn't deserve a ring. McNabb was more interested in what NFL Fans thought of him than sacrificing for the good of the team.
I will always respect McNabb, but I could never be a McNabb fan he lacked mental toughness.
— Dexter - McNabb is correct about his career stats - if you go to the Hall of Fame website and compare the QBs in there, you simply cannot argue with the figures. If he does manage to get in - it will in fact be mathematically justified.— CTL
- everyone is basing his entire career on every big game loss. I get that it is important per HOF etc, but just in reference to his career theres no need to bash him so hard. Marino is praised beyond belief and never won as are others. He may be the best we had for a long time to come, leave the petty bitterness over his personality alone already, its okay, no really, he doesnt play for us anymore. Lets not pretend he did nothing to get the team far in all those good seasons. Its always a team effort minus the few greats that rise above the rest.— peteike
- Great QB, but HOF worthy? His best throws were the ones where he tossed his team mates under the bus.— Norton
- Twice McNabb proved why he shouldn't be considered a HOFer: After two games against Green Bay and watching Favre thread the needle between several Bird defenders for touchdowns, 5's response was, "I wouldn't even try a pass like that." Now you know how he has that great TD to interception ratio. He only threw to open receivers. Afraid to take a chance.— mike l
- Egg-zac-lee! Which is the reason he held onto the ball so long, for-ever-and-a-day, waiting for a receiver to get wi-i-ide open, and then take the sack rather than advance it by running, Vick-like, for a few yards. When, at the end of his career here, he DID decide to start running again (as we all know, he didn't want to be known as a RUNNING quarterback) he'd get caught from behind by a DT or DE because he was slowed down by his pumped up physique, and subsequent weight gain, to the point where he was no longer effective as a "running quarterback" either. — essell
- "The big game still is the NFC Championship Game"...That tells you all you need to know about this misguided loser.— Bob1
- Whether or not he belongs in the Hall of Fame (and he doesn't), he's an absolute tool for talking about himself belonging there. Even if someone asks you the question, you show some humility and deflect the question. But I guess that's what separates the real Hall of Famers from the wannabes: They don't have to talk about themselves because their careers were the only statements needed.— riles1875
