Donovan McNabb: The Disrespected Quarterback

“I’ve been kind of revived, I guess,” McNabb said. “They’ve thrown me out, they ran over me, they spit on me, but you know what? I just continue to prevail.”

The superstar quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles has been greatly disrespected by the Philadelphia fans for years.

Along with Tom Brady, McNabb is the only quarterback in NFL history to ever take his team to five Conference Championship games. With career numbers of 29,300 passing yards, 194 passing touchdowns, 90 interceptions, a 58.9 completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 85.9,  he is the greatest quarterback in Eagles history.

Donovan McNabb is without question one of the greatest players to ever wear a Philadelphia Eagles jersey. McNabb was also a great runner in his early years with career rushing numbers of 3,109 yards and 26 touchdowns on 536 attempts.

McNabb holds the franchise records for playoff victories at nine, most touchdowns at 194, completions at 2,534 and the most wins in franchise history for a quarterback.

One of only six players to have 25,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards, McNabb is the only quarterback besides Peyton Manning to lead his franchise in touchdowns, attempts, yards, and completions, not to mention completion percentage and quarterback rating.

Donovan McNabb ranks first all-time in interception percentage at 2.09 percent and became the fourth fastest quarterback to reach 50 wins needing only 71 starts.

McNabb has 27 three-hundred yard games and is fourth all-time in playoff rushing yards while second in rushing touchdowns. The five-time Pro Bowler is also one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL today.

The fans of Philadelphia haven’t respected Donovan McNabb since the day he was drafted. All Eagles fans remember is McNabb being booed in the 1999 draft after the Eagles selected him over Ricky Williams—who was much preferred by the Philadelphia fans and was supposed to be one of the greats at running back.

This pick turned out to be one of the greatest decisions ever made by the Eagles' front office.

Ricky Williams left the NFL in 2005 after violating drug policy and losing heart for the game while McNabb turned out to be the franchise saver. He is the man who puts people in the seats yet every year, but when the Eagles do not make the playoffs, he is blamed.

I hope the Philadelphia fans remember the quarterbacks before Donovan McNabb.

To name a few, there were Rodney Peete, Bobby Hoying, and Ty Detmer. I’m sure most fans don’t remember what was happening with the Eagles before McNabb was drafted in 1999. There is a reason why the Philadelphia Eagles had the second overall pick.

The city of Philadelphia should be naming streets and building statues of him. Instead, you have fans calling into 610 WIP (AM), the local radio station, discussing trades for McNabb and what the Eagles would be able to get for the superstar quarterback.

The talk has recently died down because of the season McNabb had after November, where McNabb didn’t know the NFL's overtime rule and when Donovan McNabb was benched in favor of Kevin Kolb. Kolb didn’t do much better by posting similar numbers and thus failing to take the job for good the next week.

McNabb returned to his starting role on November 27th, with an outstanding game on Thanksgiving Day.

McNabb went 27-39 and had 260 yards, a 69.2 completion percentage, zero interceptions and a quarterback rating of 121.7. He then played his best football for the remaining four games going 3-1. The Philadelphia Eagles made the playoffs by a half-game.

The disrespect McNabb gets from Eagles fans is uncalled for and the way he simply can smile at the disrespect is something you have to admire. McNabb never shows that these comments get to him and he always tries to show up and please the fans on the football field. Ultimately, that’s where it counts.

I will now end this with a famous quote by Vince Lombardi. “It's not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”