Donovan McNabb Scouting Report: What Can Interested Teams Expect from Aging Vet?

The Donovan McNabb era in Minnesota lasted slightly longer than the Randy Moss era, but not by much. ESPN's Adam Schefter passes on news that the Minnesota Vikings will cut the veteran quarterback, exposing him to the NFL waiver wire tomorrow afternoon. What will NFL teams find when they put a bid in on McNabb's services?

At 35 years old, McNabb was both good and bad this season for the Vikings. He started off slowly before slowing building up to what was at least decent play on the field. It was McNabb's mechanics and the presence of a rookie quarterback that eventually led to his being benched in Week 7.

It's expected that the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and maybe the Dallas Cowboys will put in a claim on McNabb's services when the waiver wire runs tomorrow.

What will they be getting? Let's take a look at McNabb's game and how it can help these franchises for five more weeks.

Accuracy

Accuracy problems doomed McNabb early this season—resulting many times in ground balls or passes sailing too high. The Vikings staff hinted at mechanical problems with McNabb's footwork, and I have to agree.

In the video above, we see very little pressure from the Chicago pass rush and a wide open tight end flashing across the field. McNabb never sets his feet, though, and the pass sails high. All McNabb had to do here was set his feet and step into this throw, but he doesn't do it. Watch once to see the play, then play it again to see his feet. 

Arm Strength

Having a rocket of an arm was never Donovan McNabb's thing, but early in his career, there was enough velocity and juice on the ball to get it in tight spots. That's no longer the case. Whether from over-use or simply aging, McNabb no longer has the arm strength to spin it further than 15-20 yards consistently.

Arm strength is a natural talent, but it's tied to your mechanics. If a quarterback throws off his back foot consistently, he's taking away the natural momentum of following through on the delivery to put more juice on the ball. The video shows this perfectly, as McNabb completes a pass but again fails to set his feet and throws off his back foot. The pass is under-thrown and almost intercepted before the receiver makes a great play on the ball.

On the flip side, when McNabb sets his feet and steps up in the pocket, he can deliver a 30-yard strike downfield, as shown here. The problem with Donovan is that he's too inconsistent in his footwork to be trusted to do this every down.

Mobility

One area where McNabb hasn't declined as much is his ability to move around in the pocket and make plays. Placed behind a better offensive line, such as in Houston, McNabb would be able to stand in the pocket and deliver the football behind a wall of protection. Overcoming his early-season jitters behind a horrible Viking offensive line will take time, though, and expecting McNabb to be a quick fix at the position isn't realistic.

Much like his problems setting his feet in the pocket, McNabb seems to have adopted bad habits here, too. The clip above shows Julius Peppers bearing down on McNabb, but he doesn't try to throw the ball away, he doesn't look downfield and he can't out run Peppers. 

Experience

When compared to Caleb Hanie or T.J. Yates, Donovan McNabb is an interesting option for his experience alone. This is a quarterback who played in four straight NFC Championship games. He's seen everything a defense can throw at you. His experience not only helps at quarterback, but it gives the other 10 players on offense an added layer of confidence in the guy under center.

Whether he deserves it or not, McNabb still carries an air of talent among NFL players. The players in Houston or Chicago will believe in his ability to get the job done.

Best Fit

While the job of quarterbacking the Houston Texans seems like the best landing spot for McNabb, he's also a good fit in the short passing offense of Chicago Bear offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Martz's offense asks the quarterback to take quick drops and deliver the ball on short timing routes. The Texans aren't the Don Coryell San Diego Chargers, but they do want to get the ball down field to Andre Johnson, and I'm not sure McNabb can do that consistently any more.

The added bonus in Houston is that the offensive line is among the best in the NFL and there are two great running backs to hand the ball off to. 

McNabb won't have his choice on where to play; whichever team lowest in the waiver wire order claims him will be his new home, but the best fit for McNabb the rest of the season would be to play in Houston behind that massive offensive line.