The Atlantic - Latest Comments in CHHF on Monday Night

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

SpottieOttieDopaliscious — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:08:53 -0000

Yes, McNabb has never had great receivers aside from the year with T.O., but I think this might be his best crop yet.

DeSean Jackson looks like a mini-Steve Smith at first glance, premature TD celebrations aside. Jason Avant is an excellent possession receiver, Greg Lewis is good in the slow and if he ever gets healthy, Curtis is an ideal number two.

yes they lack the type of big, physical, fast number one receiver that teams love to have, but so do a lot of squads. I think McNabb has more than enough weapons this year once you throw in Westbrook; the onus is on him to produce.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Justin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:50:10 -0000

Look, I love McNabb, and I also love the Steelers, which makes me think that if there's a statistical category that Neil O'Donnell leads, then it's probably a bogus statistical category. My head understands the importance of not throwing interceptions, but my heart can't fathom that Neil O'Donnell is nearly peerless in an important statistical category.

Or, maybe I should think about it this way...how many of those 68 interceptions came in the fourth quarter with the difference in the game less than a touchdown? I would guess 67.

Am I being too harsh on the guy?

Have I said too much to finish by saying that McNabb's phenomenal and that people who hate him are idiots?

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

ebg2465 — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:28:05 -0000

I'm from Philly and racism certainly plays a role, particularly with the South Philly types. But Donovan is not a is not a Hall of Fame quarterback. He's very good, but he is terrible in the clutch, holds the ball too long and makes poor passes in critical situations. If one reads the Philadelphia sports media it would be discovered that this is the basic perspective on McNabb. Racism is a reality. But every criticism of a Black athlete is not racism.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Just Karl — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:20:55 -0000

The one year McNabb had a legit #1 option, he made the Super Bowl, and only lost because Owens got hurt.

Owens had something like 9 catches for 120 yards in that Super Bowl. The Eagles lost the Super Bowl because McNabb choked. Owens was chased off the Eagles because he said as much.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

DivGuy — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:40:15 -0000

Yeah, it's a damned shame that T.O. is so unstable.

On top of TNC's point - that TO is one person and was only in Philly for a year - the Eagles made the Super Bowl the year that McNabb got to throw to TO, and if Owens has been healthy for the game, the Eagles would have won.

The one year McNabb had a legit #1 option, he made the Super Bowl, and only lost because Owens got hurt.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Just Karl — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:42:26 -0000

Man if this dude had ever had a stable, real receiving group.

It wouldn't matter, the guy chokes in the clutch. Also, I think his stats are a little padded because he throws to Westbrook in the backfield so often. Hard to intercept those passes.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

BubbaDave — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:34:14 -0000

Hey, but don't you know, Favre is a "gunslinger." His INT's are fine because he just loves playing the game, and has so much fun out there!!

Favre is a guy who can take over your 5-11 team and make it 9-7. And he can take over your 11-5 team and make it 9-7. Give me McNabb over Favre in a heartbeat, says this Cowboys fan.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Justin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:28:03 -0000

Or, maybe I should think about it this way...how many of those 68 interceptions came in the fourth quarter with the difference in the game less than a touchdown? I would guess 67.

Am I being too harsh on the guy?

Have I said too much to finish by saying that McNabb's phenomenal and that people who hate him are idiots?

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Groove — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:41:29 -0000

I've always identified with McNabb. It's embarassing that so many Cowboy fans think he's average when he's kicked our butts and played so well against us. But Monday night's game was not about him. It was about Romo. He overcome his mistake to win the game. McNabb didn't. It was his fumble that lead to his team's demise. Without that fumble, the Eagles win. No doubt about it.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Joe Klein's conscience — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:00:26 -0000

Ta-Nehisi:

Blame Andy Reid(aka Big Red) for the lack of receivers for McNabb. For a guy coming from BYU, he doesn't seem to think they matter(James "Trash" Thrash and Todd "Stinky" Pinkston, anyone?). Living in the Philly area, I could go through the whole list of sucky receivers McNabb has thrown to. Where I will question McNabb is why doesn't he stand up to Reid and tell him to get Donovan some good WR's. Jackson looks like a very good one but it has taken ten years(not counting T.O.).

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

SeanH — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:45:26 -0000

He'd have led the Pats every bit as capably as Brady

I appreciate McNabb as much as anyone else around here, but no. There are several QBs with the pure ability Brady has, but nobody playing today is the clutch QB Brady is.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

really? — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:35:44 -0000

He'd have led the Pats every bit as capably as Brady because, like #12, he plays within himself and has turned out to have real pocket discipline.

Lack of INT != pocket discipline.

McNabb is a lost yardage machine, even if he doesn't throw picks.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Jim — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:07:45 -0000

Brett Favre is nothing more than the Dave Kingman of the NFL... Lots of homers, lots of strikeouts..

Easily the most overrated QB of all time..

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Shawn — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:07:33 -0000

I'm nervous Donovan & Co. are gonna be mad as hell and super-motivated this Sunday. Couple that with Big Ben's bad wing and an iffy secondary and I'm thinkin' that this is gonna be a bad road game for my Stillers.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Stacy — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:05:41 -0000

"McNabb's not a winner. He just isn't."

Very interesting analysis!!

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

ed — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:00:04 -0000

McNabb's not a winner. He just isn't. Joel above makes a good point about taking sacks (especially late in the game) which feeds into the misleading low interception rate (i.e., he's trying too hard not to get any interceptions so much that he's throwing incomplete passes and taking sacks).

But McNabb could probably use better receivers. And a coach who know squat about clock management.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Joel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:41:22 -0000

McNabb is a great quarterback, and likely hall of famer, but not by a first ballot measure. The big strikes against him are relatively low completion rates and high sack rates. The latter is especially bad in McNabb's case, because he's kind of a Drew Bledsoe "hold the ball" quarterback. Needless to mention, he's a much better decision maker than Bledsoe was.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Charlie — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:19:02 -0000

talk about apples to oranges.

For a baseball player, there are a lot of things you can do that are worse than striking out: double plays, poor fielding, not working the count, etc. To strike out, at least you saw at least 3 pitches. It's not the end all be all of the game

For a QB, interceptions are the worst thing you can do. It takes a combination of other good things (high pass %, TDs, yards per attempt) to make up for a high INT rate

I agree with all of that. My only point is that it does McNabb no favors to highlight his impressively low interception rate by comparing him to a quarterback who, for all his other virtues, throws a ton of interceptions. It's a great way to take a shot at Favre but it has little to do with McNabb's virtues. It's like saying that he's cooler under pressure than Vince Young, or kinder to animals than Michael Vick.

Now, if the idea is to say, "McNabb's huge advantage in this category makes him a better QB than Favre," I don't necessarily think that's preposterous, but you'd have to actually crunch the numbers and make that argument.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

drjimcooper — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:15:56 -0000

To return to a recurring theme on this blog, much of the criticism of McNabb is explicitly racist (or at least racialized). I am a transplanted Marylander (Redskins fan) currently living in South Philly, about a mile from the stadiums. Last summer (2007)well after the football season was over and well before training camp was set to begin I was awakened from sleep by a man walking down my block screaming "McNabb is a f--ing n---." I couldn't see or hear anyone or anything he was responding to. He just screamed it out, apparently unprompted. This was the day I decided that I needed to save up my money to move out of the neighborhood as quickly as possible. Keep this in mind when you hear Philly natives critcizing McNabb.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Incertus — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:10:42 -0000

If McNabb isn't a first year Hall of Famer, then something is seriously wrong with the voters. Yes, he's that good, and that's in spite of an openly hostile fan base who never believed he could be a passing quarterback. Until the Saints got Drew Brees three years ago, I'd have killed to have had McNabb as my team's QB.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

TT — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:53:11 -0000

Let's face it: Andy Reid's always been a big part of the problem. I think if McNabb had had the chance to play for Dungy, Belichick, or Holmgren he'd have at least one ring by now, maybe two or three. He'd have led the Pats every bit as capably as Brady because, like #12, he plays within himself and has turned out to have real pocket discipline.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

JimS — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:46:09 -0000

Wow, I had McNabb on my fantasy team for several years, and while he often carried the team, I never realized how few picks he threw. I've never understood Philly fans not absolutely loving him. Please send him to the Lions anytime.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Stacy — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:36:24 -0000

Just to clarify, Westbrook didn't have a really good seaon until the last year. He had been on the team for a few, though...

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Stacy — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:35:11 -0000

Hey, but don't you know, Favre is a "gunslinger." His INT's are fine because he just loves playing the game, and has so much fun out there!!

Seriously, though, McNabb gets so much shit its ridiculous. He took his team to a Super Bowl and four straight NFC championship and people are going to talk about him not being a winnner And three of those were without T.O., or Westbrook. Give me a break.

Re: CHHF on Monday Night

Joel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:23:36 -0000

I was hoping the Iggles would trade McNabb to the Vikings, if only to placate my future father-in-law, who's a diehard Vikes fan. I also feel that New Englanders owe a little something to Minnesota (thanks for Ortiz, Moss, and Garnett!)