Donovan McNabb was a hot topic on Twitter tonight.

Dan Graziano of ESPN”s NFC East blog wrote a nasty post that ripped McNabb for some comments that he made in regard to RG3. Derek from Iggles Blog took umbrage and went after Graziano.

Here is the source material that began the whole deal, an interview from a Washington Post writer.

Graziano thinks McNabb can’t be taken seriously in regard to RG3, due to some comments he made about RG3 not being a good fit for the Shanahan offense last spring. Graziano thinks McNabb is still bitter at Shanny and is getting in digs at him.

Derek’s point is that Dan is speculating about McNabb’s comments and is being completely unfair.

This argument doesn’t get me too fired up, but the state of Donovan McNabb does bug me a bit. That’s Donnie Mac. That’s #5. And he’s trying to get a meeting set up where he and his dad can talk to RG3 and his dad to offer some advice. I like the sentiment, but it just feels weird to me. McNabb mentioned it a couple of times in the interview in the article, as if this was the modern version of the Yalta summit. Is he that bored? Is he that arrogant? Is he just that damn nice?

I’ve been a big Donovan McNabb fan since he first beat UNC in the late summer of 1995. That was the first game of his career. I watched it and probably have it on tape somewhere. I’d never heard of McNabb before then, but he impressed the heck out of me. 4 years later he became the Eagles QB and led us to a great decade.

Did I ever get frustrated with McNabb? Sure. There were plenty of times he drove me nuts. That would have been true of just about any QB, though. You think Packers fans didn’t get mad at Brett Favre after some of his INTs? You think Colts fans didn’t get mad at Peyton after some playoff meltdowns?

Mostly, I loved the McNabb era. For every bad moment, there were 5 good ones. Maybe more. Not only was he a good player, McNabb was a good guy. He was a family guy. He smiled and had fun with his job. It drives me crazy that some pro athletes look so miserable, despite the fact they are living out their (and our) dreams.

Things changed in April 2007. The Eagles drafted Kevin Kolb and McNabb was never the same. He simply did not handle that well. Andy Reid had been as much mentor as coach, but now Reid was choosing a new QB. Donovan saw the writing on the wall and that changed his relationship with coaches and the team forever.

We didn’t know this at the time. Reid and McNabb said the right things publicly. The team was 8-8 that year, almost got to the Super Bowl in 2008 and then went 11-5 in 2009. That’s a good run for an unhappy QB.

Reid traded McNabb on Easter of 2010. He sent McNabb to a team that he wanted to go to. Donovan would finally get to play in a run-heavy offense. His mobility would be perfect for the bootleg plays and Shanahan was a wizard at getting production from lesser skill players. Life was going to be good.

Oops.

McNabb, like many veteran players, had gotten accustomed to doing things a certain way, the Reid way. McNabb did not want to learn the Shanahan way and they clashed. That led to McNabb being demoted to the #3 QB spot. In 2011 McNabb went to the Vikings, a team run by a former Reid protege, Leslie Frazier. Donovan was back among family. Life would be good.

Oops.

The Vikings staff tried to get McNabb to work on his mechanics. He would hear none of it. McNabb started 6 games that year and was cut in December.

McNabb does have some wisdom to offer young QBs, but it is more than a little funny that he brought about the end of his career because he was uncoachable. McNabb did not want to adapt to new coaches and systems. He did not want to fix errors in his mechanics. Maybe 2010/2011 McNabb could have used an older McNabb to come back from the future and tell him to pull his head out of his ass. Has anyone done a sequel to Looper yet? We’ve got the football version right here.

Donovan seems to be in no-man’s land right now. His career is done, but it didn’t end well. And the messy ending was public. That had to diminish his media standing. McNabb seemed like such a natural for TV a decade ago. It was a no-brainer. I’ve seen him a few times and it is awkward. I think that is as much his role as him. In time I hope he settles into a role and becomes fun to watch. For the love of god, get him more air time and take it away from Jamie Dukes.

More than anything, I want Donovan to come home and be a more active member of the Eagles family. He is going to retire as an Eagle in September. That will be cool. Hopefully it will lead to him being more comfortable with being around the organization. We (us and him) need to embrace his career and remember the good times.

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