Bad sports, good sports: Stephen A. Smith is wrong about Donovan McNabb
The big news in the NFL this week involved the Philadelphia Eagles and Donovan McNabb. The team appears ready to trade its 11-year veteran quarterback and move on with young Kevin Kolb. According to Stephen A. Smith, this is apparently a crime of some sort. Smith is a long-time sports columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer who also works for Fox Sports. He worked for ESPN for a number of years until leaving in mid-2009. He had actually been let go by the Inquirer in 2008, but returned this year after an arbitrator ruled that he should be reinstated. He may be on a new go-round in Philadelphia, but from what I can see, it’s the same old thing. Rant, rant, rant, regardless of whether his point makes any sense.
Donovan McNabb has long been a touchy subject in Philadelphia. He has had a successful career for the Eagles, but has often been a topic of debate for the team’s fans. This is for several reasons, in my estimation. First, eleven years is a long time to spend with one team, especially in a position that gets as much attention as quarterback. Second, although they have gotten close a number of times, the Eagles have not managed to win a Super Bowl. Third, McNabb, although a solid citizen and a good man, by all accounts, invariably says the wrong thing when it comes to discussing his job, his team, and his role with this franchise. McNabb never seems to get the fact that we are not looking for someone who is infallible. We are looking for someone who is human, yet still manages to win. Before last season, he was asked if he felt pressure to perform based on the presence of Kevin Kolb, his backup, and the fact that the previous season had included a game in which he had been benched in favor of Kolb at halftime. McNabb said he felt no pressure. Wrong answer, Donovan. Of course there was pressure, and owning that pressure would have gotten him respect. Instead, he chose to tell a story that we didn’t want to hear. Acting like he was entitled to the job, regardless of performance, didn’t make him any fans.
Smith feels like the organization and the city owe McNabb something. Sure, they owe him thanks for a good career. Beyond that, he has been paid many millions of dollars to play here, and has had the undying loyalty of Head Coach Andy Reid for almost all of those eleven years, even when the fans were ready to move on. Smith argued that the Eagles would be a stronger team in 2010 with McNabb under center, as opposed to what would happen if Kolb were given the reins. What Smith fails to understand is that most of us are not saying that the Eagles would clearly have a better record this season with Kolb. What we are saying is this: Donovan McNabb was never a perfect fit for Andy Reid’s version of the West Coast Offense. The whole thing is predicated on timing, quick decisions, and accuracy. These have never been the strongest parts of McNabb’s game. When he was younger, his athleticism could save him in many situations. Now, at 33, that is no longer the case.
Now, his deficiencies are magnified regularly. I firmly believe that Donovan can go elsewhere and be very successful. Possibly more successful than he ever was in Philadelphia, and I am okay with that. What I know is that unless Andy Reid is going to change his offense to match McNabb’s skills, which he is not about to do, the Eagles will not win a championship with McNabb. The fan base knows this as well. This is why it is time to move on to Kevin Kolb. We don’t know if he can do it either, but it is time to find out. There are a lot of unknowns with Kolb, but that’s the point. We already know the Eagles will not win with McNabb.
So lighten up, Screamin’ A. Smith. No one is mistreating your friend Donovan. The fans and also the team, it appears, are ready to move on. This does not make us ungrateful. It makes us football fans who hope to win a Super Bowl someday.
Bad sports, continued:
2) The NFL made what I think is a big mistake this week. Starting in the 2010 season, playoff games will have different rules for overtime. If the first team to get the ball scores on a field goal, the other team will get a possession of its own. I don’t have a problem with the rule itself, necessarily. What I hate is the fact that the new rule only applies to the playoffs. If they are going to change the rule, they should change it for all games. The way they are doing it is amateurish. It reminds me of the silly rule changes NASCAR seems to implement every year. Consistency never seems to be a factor.
3) Andray Blatche sat out most of Washington Wizards’ game against Charlotte on Tuesday, despite having been a bright spot for the Wizards all season. Why did he sit out, you ask? It appears that he told coach Flip Saunders that he “just didn’t want to play.” Awesome. I guess that was easily arranged. The NBA continues to be a shining beacon of goodness.
OK, it’s all bad sports this week.
4) Have you ever heard of a professional athlete being hurt while eating? Neither had Cubs first basemen Derrek Lee. Until it happened to him, that is. During a team meal on Wednesday, the chair Lee was sitting on collapsed, hurting his back. Surely someone caught this on video. Anyone?
5) Kendall Berry, a running back at Florida International, was killed on Thursday when he was stabbed on the university’s Miami campus. A former member of the football team has been arrested for the murder.
6) Jim Playfair, a minor league hockey coach, had a classic reaction to the ejection of one of his players on Saturday. Check out the video. Someone needs anger management training.
Bad Sports, Good Sports appears every Monday
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Hilarious that guy’s name is “Playfair”—what a maniac (although it was a shitty call)
@Alan:
Only semi-related, but certainly of interest to other WFTC sports aficionados: any interest in doing a collaborative NFL mock draft post prior to the big day? With our combined expertise, we can pummel Mel Kiper and restore order to the draftnik galaxy.
Michael – I wish I felt qualified enough to do a real mock draft. I study the draftable player list in greater detail than most, I’m sure, but I don’t know if my predictions for the draft, or my decisions on which player would be best for which team, would provide any more value than the endless stream of pointless mock drafts already available to readers, I agree that Kiper is a nudnick. Todd McShay is worse, if that’s possible. In the end, though, anyone who attempts it is just guessing. If any of us were good enough at this, we would be employed by an NFL team, and even those guys get it wrong more often than not. I would love to read your predictions, though.
@Alan
For my money, the only good draftnik was Pro Football Weekly’s Joel Buschsbaum, who passed away in 2002. In terms of beat guys who rely solely on the opinion of scouts, though, there is nobody better than Bob McGinn at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
I like Kiper, but only in the context of what he is — a motormouth who is good on TV. I put zero stock in his prognostications or player evaluations. He’s fun to watch and listen to on Draft Day, though.