Donovan McNabb Is a Redskin and Andy Reid Believes He Can Beat Him

Seldom are key players, especially quarterbacks, shipped to bitter divisional rivals.

That maxim is true if a coach believes the player is skilled enough to be a potential problem when facing his old team, and system, twice a year. 

It's happened before. Drew Bledsoe was dealt by Bill Belichick to the Buffalo Bills. Belichick believed Bledsoe and the Bills were very beatable.

Belichick, as he tends to be, was right about the Bills Bledsoe marriage. The Patriots, with superior talent, generally handled their old quarterback rather easily.

McNabb is not the first, nor even the best, quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles sent packing to the boys of the Beltway.

In 1964 the Eagles sent future Hall of Fame signal caller Sonny Jurgenson to the Skins for Norm Snead and a corner-back called Claude Crabb.

The Redskins went to a Super Bowl with Sonny and he went to Canton while the Eagles went into a double decade tail spin.

McNabb is closer to the end than the beginning and in his best days he could not bring the big ring to the city of Brotherly Love.

And for Andy Reid to make such a bold bid must think that McNabb has flown the Birds as far as he could.

Andy Reid must believe his Eagle defense can grind down his old Bird buddy twice a year.

The Redskins lack the skill position players the Eagles have. Washington also has a poor offensive line, particularly a left tackle abyss, that most be addressed or else McNabb with be bloodied in the pocket.

Bloodied or not McNabb pockets a pile of Danny Snyder's cash, likely his last big windfall as a player, and steps onto the field twice against his old buddies in green.

This time Gang Green will be going hot and hard for him.

Andy Reid upped the ante in a very big way in a very bitter rivalry.

But Reid must believe he has a good enough hand to put away the Skins twice a year even if they have his old signal caller behind center.

Reid looked hard at McNabb and said I can beat that.

In fact Reid believes he can beat what McNabb brings not once but twice a year.

Reid must believe he can beat McNabb like s drum.

It will be sweet for the Birds if they beat their old superstar and force Danny Snyder to drop another big bundle of bucks on a fading star with his best years behind him.

But if McNabb bites the Birds it will be bitter times for Big Andy in the City of Brotherly Love.

It will make for an interesting fall classic.

And the Eagle faithful will be howling for blood, either Andy Reid's or Donovan McNabb's.