The A-Rod of the NFL

Five years ago I wrote about the problem with Alex Rodriguez. I gave A-Rod two pieces of advice:
"1) You can't please everyone, so you gotta please yourself
2) When you try to please everyone you end up pleasing no one"

Seems like those lessons could apply to Donovan McNabb as well. In the last 2 years, McNabb has burned bridges with 3 NFL teams. The biggest reason of course is his poor play. But there's something about McNabb that is incredibly unlikeable: he is a phony. He tries to say what he thinks everyone wants to hear, and instead his act is very transparent, and even more annoying.

After he was cut loose by the Minnesota Vikings, he did a couple interviews, ESPN, NFL Network and seemed even more unlikeable. He refused to say he wanted to be released to go play somewhere else, instead saying he want to give Christian Ponder room to grow. Not wanting to seem selfish, he didn't say he requested his release to go play somewhere immediately, he said he wanted to "clear his head."

Some desperate team may make a bid for McNabb. But I have feeling they won't be happy with his play or his personality.

Upon Further Review

ESPN completely blew its initial reporting on Donovan McNabb's new contract causing me to overreact.
Turns out the $40m guaranteed figure was completely wrong. The only thing he is guaranteed is $3.75m. They paid him that money for the right to lock him in at $12.5m for next season. But if this year ends in disaster (seems quite possible) and they decide to part ways, they can. If not, they pay him a $10m bonus and another $2.5m in base salary for 2011. After that they can cut him at any time, like any other NFL contract. If not, his salary is about $13m per, not including incentives.
So while the deal is bad, and especially ill-timed it is not the franchise killer I feared when I read ESPN’s initial erroneous reporting.

This Makes No Fuckin Sense

Many of you who read this blog do so because you want my unique perspective on things. So I assume many of you are wondering what I think of the news that Donovan McNabb has been given a 5 year $78 million dollar extension by the Redskins.
I think Dan Snyder must be fuckin nuts.
And I think Mike Shanahan must not be running the show.
Shanahan rightfully benched McNabb for being terrible, and it's like Snyder felt the need to apologize. I have no idea why this happened now, with no one interested in his services for next year and the possibility of a lockout looming.
Maybe Snyder thinks he can salvage this season by making McNabb happy.
But he can't McNabb isn't good anymore. He's the 25th rated QB in the NFL. You can easily replace that.
Colt McCoy is better than him right now, why wouldn't we dump McNabb and try to get someone else in the draft.
This is why all my teams suck. An ownership unwilling to bite the bullet and suck, instead choosing the path of expensive contracts for old shitty veterans.
In about a year, the Redskins will be wanting to do to McNabb what they wanted to do to Albert Haynesworth in the summer, ie cut him and pay him $40m guaranteed for one year of service.

Should I Pre-Order My Jersey Now?

The Redskins finally have a quarterback I can root for. Not since Heath Shuler have I been this excited about a Redskins QB. They gave up only a 2nd round pick this year and a conditional 3rd or 4th next year.

Normally I would be against a bad team acquiring an old quarterback but McNabb only has 1 year left on his contract (at $11.2m) and there is no cap and likely no season the following year so the commitment to him is minimal. That said, I hope they don't sign him to a big extension, which I don't think they will because of the labor uncertainty beyond this year.

It brings up an old question: if your team is not good enough to win the Super Bowl (World Series, NBA title) should you still look to acquire talent to get better now? Is it worth the price to get McNabb to make us into an 8-8 team? Normally I would say no, but for Donovan I am willing to make an exception. Would you rather lose with guys you like than with guys you hate?

My only worry is that Donovan will get killed behind a very weak offensive line. I also wonder what the Redskins will do now with the 4th pick in the draft. There are three top players (Bradford, Suh and McCoy) putting the Skins in a tough position. I think they may draft Jimmy Claussen and let him learn behind Donovan for a year.

If ever a team deserved to be cursed by a certain player it would be the Eagles after their fans’ horrible treatment of McNabb. They booed him the minute he was drafted and spent the next 12 years trying to convince themselves he sucked so they would be right. I hope they never win another game. At the very least if the Redskins go 2-14 this year I hope they win the two against the Eagles.

Somebody Call the Hearse, Cuz We Be Killin Em

Donovan McNabb picks up the phone on the Giants sideline during the Eagles 23-11 win over the Giants.
It wasn't the most sportsmanlike act, but I don't consider it a big deal. I think it was a show of his goofy sense of humor, not his brash arrogance.



The win over the Giants improved McNabb's playoff record to 9-5 all-time, he just never pieced enough of those wins together to win a Super Bowl.
But still Eagles fans won't accept him. They have turned on him three times (when he was drafted, after the Super Bowl including his feud with Terrell Owens, and then again this year when he was benched against the Eagles). And every time McNabb came back and ignored the ingrates.
I think Eagles fans who booed him on draft day have been looking for reasons to hate him so they never have to admit they were wrong.


Here's the video of the phone incident and McNabb's reaction to it:

Wilma is Worried

Wilma McNabb is worried about her baby boy. While Donovan has been hurt, Jeff Garcia has caught fire and led the Eagles into the divisional playoffs against the Saints.
On her blog she said she is rooting for the Eagles but is worried about how the fans will treat Dononvan if they should go to or even with the Super Bowl with Jeff Garcia.

Eagles fans went crazy over this, because Eagles fans are dicks.
And Wilma is right, because Eagles fans are dicks.
Eagles fans booed McNabb on draft day because they wanted Ricky Williams. Now they were proven wrong, but instead of admitting it, they find a reason to criticize Donovan even though he has led the team to a Super Bowl and three other NFC title games.

Dress Like Donovan

Donovan McNabb will launch his own line of casual men's clothing under the Reebok label. He hosted a fashion show to introduce his "Super Five" apparel.
"This is very near and dear to me," McNabb said. "I took a lot of pride in the design, the comfort level and the look."
While models strutted down a makeshift runway inside the RBK Concept Store on South Street, McNabb described the clothes they wore with intimate detail. He seemed to know as much about materials and textures as he does cover-2 defenses.
The "Super Five" line ranges from T-shirts and fleeces to knit sweaters and vests. And, sizes go up to 5XL.
"I've always wanted clothing that was casual and comfortable, but had a more refined look and feel," McNabb said.