Andy Reid & Donovan McNabb: Repeating History of George Seifert & Steve Young

"Sometimes you have to step back an inch to step forward a mile."

- Andy Reid, Head Football Coach, Philadelphia Eagles

"I won't say the benching is to blame for my play (as of late), because I don't agree with the benching."

-Donovan McNabb, Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles

We all know the story.

Week 12, in a game against the Baltimore Ravens that seemed to be do-or-die for the birds of Philly, Donovan McNabb was benched at halftime.

The benching had been something in the works since the week prior because of McNabb's poor play against the Cincinnati Bengals. In that game, he threw three interceptions and had a lost fumble in a game that resulted in the first tie in six years.

Then the following week, McNabb started the Baltimore game 8-18 with two interceptions and a fumble lost.

With more turnovers (seven) than quarters played (six) in the last two weeks, Reid decided to sit the ineffective McNabb in favor of Kevin Kolb.

What resulted was a blowout. The Ravens' defense manhandled the Kolb-led Eagles' offense, with the only Eagles' touchdown coming on a 100-yard kickoff return by rookie Quentin Demps.

Since then McNabb has been lights-out, throwing only two interceptions and 10 touchdowns.

The only question remaining is, has his play been a result of the benching or did McNabb simply get back into a groove?

Before we get into that, let's reveal the link that these four men (Donovan McNabb, Andy Reid, Steve Young, and George Seifert) have with one another.

Rewind to 1994.

Young has established himself as the new face of the franchise for the San Francisco 49ers, and the 'Niners were sitting at 3-1 in what looked to be a very promising season.

That is until, oddly enough, the Philadelphia Eagles came to town.

After taking a beating for nearly the entire game, Seifert decided to bench Young.

Seifert later admitted that he felt the game was out of reach and that keeping Young in any longer seemed useless to him and the team. He said getting Young hurt would have done nothing but hurt the season further.

Unlike McNabb, who kept a calm demeanor on the sideline throughout his humiliating benching, Young was livid and let Seifert know about it.

Young was seen on the sidelines, pacing back and forth while shouting obscenities at Seifert, his face a visible bright red.

The team was getting a lot of media attention at this point because, even though they were at a manageable 3-2, the two losses had been a humiliating blowout to Philadelphia, and a loss to their former quarterback and the Joe Montana-led Kansas City Chiefs.

A poll conducted by KNBR, a San Francisco radio station, showed that a majority of the Bay area wanted Seifert fired.

After Young's benching in Week Five, the 49ers went on to win 10 games in a row, dropping their season finale in what turned out to be a meaningless game against the Minnesota Vikings.

The San Francisco 49ers went on to win the Super Bowl that year, with Young leading the way.

Philadelphia Eagles of 2008: The team was in peril, Reid's head was being called for, he benched McNabb seemingly as a scapegoat, and now the team is heading into the Divisional round of the playoffs looking to make an improbable run of their own.

Also, the 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys to get into the Super Bowl, while the Eagles had to beat the Cowboys to get into the playoffs.

While the differences are obvious, the similarities are difficult to ignore.

Young, the same way McNabb has, denied that the benching had anything to do with his increase in production.

But did it?

Quarterbacks are prideful people. They would never admit that a benching actually helped them to reevaluate and play more effective football.

So is it a mere coincidence that these two quarterbacks just happened to perform better after being benched?

No, it's not. But not in the way that the coaches had intended.

The benching of both these players did not cause the quarterbacks to have some sort of epiphany and realize what they're doing wrong.

It's much more likely that they just began playing with a chip on their shoulder.

Now, in the case of McNabb, he's been playing with that chip ever since draft day.

The only difference now is it's simply gotten bigger.

The only way to knock it off? Swing a Lombardi trophy at it.

History has a way of repeating itself. The NFL is no exception to this and it seems like history may be coming back in full force.

Watch for the Philadelphia Eagles to be in Tampa, FL.

Riding the wings of No. 5.