Donovan McNabb's Real Quarterback Problem

Donovan McNabb has had a long and outstanding career in the NFL, all with one team.

This is quite an accomplishment when playing at the most widely scrutinized position in the game.

His individual statistics boast numbers of envy for the vast majority of NFL quarterbacks.  He is No. 1 all time in interceptions per pass attempt, and Andy Reid likes to throw the ball.  He is third among active quarterbacks in winning percentage, behind only Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

In spite of all of this, Donovan McNabb has a quarterback problem.  And this problem is not Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, or any potential draft picks squeezing him out of Philadelphia.  It's Donovan McNabb.

How could anyone say this? Surely, the 33-year-old, 11-year veteran has plenty of solid seasons ahead of him.  This must be the case, especially after watching the likes of Kurt Warner and Brett Favre play at very high levels in (and in Favre's case, through) their late thirties.

Whether McNabb has productive seasons left is inconsequential.  His problems are intangible, and they are manifested in a disconnect between himself, Philadelphia, and their supposedly common interests.

Philadelphia is a rabid sports town.  Anyone who thinks that the Phillies winning the World Series satiated any championship hunger is dead wrong.  If anything it made the fans crave more.

In many ways the Phillies' success has highlighted all of the Eagles' failures.  The people of Philadelphia are not interested in any "solid" years that McNabb has left, they are interested in championships.  Donovan will always lead a competitive team, nothing else.

But it goes deeper than that.  His general aloofness has periodically pestered his fans as he has, on more than one occasion, raised the collective ire of a stadium and a city with nonchalant body language during big losses.

He is supposed to be the front man of the team, representing not only the organization but the area as well.  Philadelphia is a blue-collar town, filled with people who work hard and care about their jobs and their families.  When fans see McNabb's disinterested smirk on the sidelines, they feel as though he is disrespecting his own job and family.

The city was energized by Jeff Garcia when he stepped in for an injured McNabb in 2006.  He was a vocal leader who won with a fiery and emotional love for the game.  The Eagles were defeated in the playoffs that year, but backup quarterbacks do not warrant high expectations.

McNabb does.  Do not tell the city of Philadelphia about Dan Marino, Warren Moon, or Fran Tarkenton, and all of their greatness without a championship.  Do not tell them about Donovan's injuries and how they have hindered his "what could have been" years.  These are excuses.  Flirting with greatness is not greatness; the city wants a ring and nothing less will do.

This is not in any way about bringing along Kevin Kolb.  No one knows if he can be consistent in this league.  This is about McNabb and his apparent lack of passion, desire, and a killer instinct.  His talent alone has gotten this team to the playoffs many times, and could again for years to come; but that is not enough.

Perhaps this season McNabb can put it all together and win the big one.  He has enough skilled players around him, and a Super Bowl victory would mean so much to the people of Philadelphia and the franchise.  Given his great career, it would only be fitting for him to finally lift the Lombardi trophy wearing Eagle green.

However, patience is growing thin on McNabb and, to further his burden, the Eagles are not usually in the business of allowing aging players to hang around (see Brian Dawkins and Brian Westbrook).  Whether it is this year, next year, or the year after, watching him don another team's colors will be tough to bear.

In the end, though, this may be the inevitable path for a superstar and a city that never completely meshed.