Donovan McNabb was not a popular choice when he was selected in the 1999 draft with the #2 overall pick.  He played in nearby Syracuse, but for some reason Eagles fans had their hearts set on Ricky Williams.  It is somehow fitting that since that critical pick, the Eagles have ranked near the bottom of the league in average rush attempts per game, but have also been one of the most successful franchises in the league, largely in part to McNabb’s efforts from the quarterback position.

Andy Reid made no secret of the fact that he preferred a passing offense, as was evidenced when he introduced the West Coast Offense to this traditionally smash mouth, run it up the middle NFC East brawler of a franchise that had limited success under Rhodes, Kotite, Ryan, Campbell, Vermiel, and so forth, with the normal claim to fame being a dominant defense.  This was a team that was in the top ten in scoring only 6 times over the thirty years prior to McNabb, but has been in the top ten in scoring 6 times in the 10 years WITH McNabb, including setting new records for point production in 2002, 2008 and 2009.   Reid, with the help of  defensive guru Jim Johnson did not abandon the teams defensive roots, and has ranked in the top 5 league wide in points allowed five of the past ten seasons as well while making this upgrade to the offense.

McNabb has become the franchise leader in career wins, pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns, passing notables such as Ron Jaworski and Randall Cunningham in the process.  Still, in this city, the toughest place on the planet to play professional sports, and being a starter at the toughest position, McNabb has never gotten the respect I feel he deserves.   This year may be the year he gets his revenge as he has led the Eagles to a mid season 6 game winning streak and now holds the chance to win at Dallas this wekeend and clinch the 6th NFC East division title in his 10 years behind center.

Ricky Williams ?  11,000 yards and 69 touchdowns, in 114 games rushing and receiving, certainly not bad for a running back in this league.

But McNabb ??  32,000+ yards passing with 240 touchdowns including passing and rushing, and the owner of the all time lowest interception ratio in league history. Even at 6′2″ and 240+ pounds, McNabb has been somewhat injury prone, only starting every game in 5 of his ten+ seasons, but this is not a conditioning issue, more his style of play. Simply put, McNabb leaves it all on the field.

Remember also, McNabb for the majority of his career has had little support. Until this year.  Only Terrell Owens in 2004 and Kevin Curtis in 2007, have reached 1,000 yards in a season, and only Owens had more than 10 touchdowns in a single year.  But McNabb still holds the yardage and touchdown records here.  In his draft class, he is third best behind Manning and Brady who had top receivers like Marvin Harrison and Randy Moss to throw to for years.

He rushes less now but still has over 3,000 career rushing yards and 25 touchdowns which ranks him in the top ten of quarterbacks all time.  More importantly, he led the team to 4 consecutive NFC East Championships and a Super Bowl.

He also created some of the most famous plays in Philadelphia sports history, including the now infamous 4th and 26 play against the Packers with 1:12 to play in the 2003 NFC championship game and no timeouts, when he scrambled for nearly 6 seconds before converting on a pass to Freddie Mitchell, and the nearly as famous 2002 game against the Cardinals that he finished with a broken leg and a 103.8 QB rating completing 20 of 25 for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win.

McNabb has long been known to be as dangerous a passer when flushed from the pocket as anyone to play the game, and may actually be a better quarterback once he leaves the pocket, a fact that has frustrated and stymied many defenses since he arrived in the league.   He also seems to possess a 6th sense that tells him at times when a defender is appproaching, allowing him to create plays outside of the regular playbook.

Even if he never wins a Super Bowl, he will leave the team as the leader in nearly every statistic possible.

This may be the year for McNabb to finally get his ring.    He has 4 of the best recievers he has ever had playing at one time, DeSean Jackson has surpassed 1000 yards, has a league leading yards per catch average and could break the 10 touchdown barrier with one more long catch, Brent Celek is nearly as good with 875 yards and 8 touchdowns, and Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant and Reggie Brown round out a very strong recieving corps.  McNabb also has the best support on the line of scrimmage he has seen in his career, with Westbrook, McCoy and Weaver combining for a powerful 1-2-3 punch the likes of which the team has never seen.  All three backs are also available for screens, which constitutes a large part of the Eagles playbook.

If the Eagles beat the Cowboys next week, they may carry the two seed in the NFC into the playoffs, get a bye, and a home game, and have only one real contest that will challenge them before going to the Super Bowl.   This may be McNabb’s best shot to get it done.  He is sore and has some hamstring pain and tightness, but overall, he is in the best shape of his career at this stage of a season with the strongest supporting cast behind him I can remember.

One thing is certain, if McNabb acheives the ultimate, bringing a Super Bowl trophy to Philadephia, the fans will have to finally accept his greatness and give him that respect he has sought since he entered the league.  And maybe then we can forget about Ricky Williams, and Michael Vick and the wildcat, and all the other distractions, and just enjoy a great champion quarterback for a change !