Some have him going to Oakland, some to Carolina, some to the CFL, some to the Vancouver Canucks. There are plenty of rumors surrounding where Donovan McNabb might land or should land. There are also about a million different opinions on McNabb and whether or not the Eagles should trade him. Well, one more couldn't hurt.When it comes to trading Donovan McNabb, it all depends on where the Eagles are going. Philadelphia has done very little this offseason to improve last year's team, and they certainly haven't improved enough to overtake the Cowboys in the NFC East let alone become one of the top five teams in the NFL. It looks as though the Eagles aren't "going for it" this season, and that says something.
If the Eagles had made a big free agent signing (such as Julius Peppers), I'd say yea, keep McNabb for one more year and see what he can do with this team. Make the 2010/11 season his last chance with the Eagles to win a Super Bowl. But they didn't go that route.
The Eagles dumped a significant amount of salary this winter (possibly in preparation for the questions surrounding the salary cap and uncertainty of upcoming seasons) and didn't land that big free agent that many fans hoped they would. Their biggest addition this off season may have been Darryl Tapp. Who? Yea, exactly.
It seems like the Eagles may be on their way to a "rebuilding year" (although they would never call it that). And if that's the case, if Philadelphia doesn't plan on competing for a Super Bowl this year, then they should TRADE McNABB.
The Eagles have a large core of young offensive talent in Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, and Brent Celek. If they want this team to be competitive for years to come, they should allow all of the young players, Kevin Kolb included, to grow together. If the Eagles are really looking towards the future and want this team to be successful, they need to let Kolb run the offense and mature as an NFL quarterback.
In the beginning when all these trade rumors first appeared, I said to allow McNabb to have one more chance with this team, but that is not the direction in which the team is heading. They are getting younger and faster, and Donovan McNabb doesn't fit into that equation.
Hey Joe, I am a big fan, read your blog all the time, but you are way off base. Mcnabb has shown that he can play at an elite level in this league and quarterbacks can play forever (Brett Favre). If anything they should resign Mcnabb for 4-5 years and trade Kolb for some picks. You didnt mention Marlin Jackson either, he could play a big part in the secondary and I for one wouldn't be surprised to see him be mentioned as a pro bowl candidate (you heard it hear first). The draft is coming up and is supposed to be one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, the birds could easily get two starters out of their first few picks and add some good depth. The draft provides the biggest influx of new talent a team gets in the offseason, to say the eagles haven't done much at this point just doesn't seem right.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading by the way.
ReplyDeleteI am, and always have been, a huge Donovan McNabb supporter (see my "A Shot in the Ribs" post). He still has the skill and ability to be a quality starter in this league. I even think he's a NFL Hall-of-Famer without an NFL championship. And "if" the Eagles do trade him to Oakland, I will be devastated...for Donovan's sake.
I'm just saying that the Eagles need to go in a new direction. The team is getting younger, especially if they potentially draft two new starters. If Philadelphia (the team, not the city) thinks that Kevin Kolb is the future of the franchise, which they have repeatedly stated, then the best thing they can do is to let all of the young players on the team mature as a group.
The Eagles haven't passed the Cowboys in the division as far as talent goes and they definitely aren't better than the Vikings (with Brett Favre) or the Saints. Not to mention any AFC teams. So I doubt that the 2010/11 season is going to be "our year."
If the Eagles really don't think that Kolb is their QB of the future, then they should definitely get what they can for him through a trade. But Philly brass is pretty high on this guy (first QB in NFL history to throw for 300+ yards in his first two starts), so it doesn't look like he's going anywhere.
It just looks like McNabb is going to be the odd man out. He has never been appreciated in Philadelphia and probably never will be. I hope that if he gets traded he goes on to win multiple Super Bowls with that team. But with the players that the Eagles are going to put on the field next season, I don't think he has the ability to do that here.
"But with the players that the Eagles are going to put on the field next season, I don't think he has the ability to do that here."
ReplyDeleteSee the thing is you dont know who the eagles are going to have for next season. You still have the draft, then there are still cuts. The eagles didnt get T.O. until late in that offseason. Everyone was saying they missed there chance, but bam right before the season T.O. is an Eagle. Levon Kirkland was a cut that ended up starting at middle linebacker for the eagles and he did pretty good. The eagles got Hobbs for like two 5th rounders. The draft is crazy, anything could happen. You trade kolb get those extra picks trade up in the draft and you could get potential superstar players.
I'm not sure if you heard what Marlin Jackson said on Philly sports radio yesterday (here's a link-- http://www.975thefanatic.com/teams/eagles/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10105109). He said something along the lines of--if Donovan comes back, it may be very different around here for him. With all of the rumors and talks of him going here and there, it may be hard for him to come back and be a part of the team.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying what Jackson said is right or wrong, but we have to take what he says into consideration. He's been in the league for six or so years, so he knows what he's talking about. These kinds of things (intense trade rumors) take a toll on a player. Donovan has had to deal with them for basically his entire career, but it has been taken to a new level this year.
You said that if the Eagles trade Kolb they could get potential superstars through the draft. But, according to the Birds, Kevin Kolb has the potential to be a superstar.
We won't be able to determine if trading McNabb is the right decision or if keeping him is the right decision for some time though. If the Eagles keep McNabb for this season (and beyond) and he wins a Super Bowl this season, whoever said to trade him would have been wrong. But if the Eagles do decide to part ways with Donovan, it will take a couple of seasons to see if the trade was a success and if the Kevin Kolb experiment worked.
This is no doubt an extremely tough decision for the Eagles management. Donovan has been the face of the franchise (along with the departed Brian Westbrook) for some time now, and if the Eagles take the field for the first time in 2010 and No. 5 isn't on the roster, it's going to be very, very strange.
Even more news to prove a rebuild...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csnphilly.com/04/02/10/Eagles-Ready-to-Deal-Brown-Gocong-to-Cle/landing.html?blockID=208790&feedID=704
They're getting rid of all the veterans to make way for younger players. It would only make sense for McNabb to follow suit.