Donovan McNabb’s future is at stake in Saturday’s playoff game. But, he won’t be banished from the Eagles because of the inaccuracy of his passes or his failure to run a hurry-up offense. McNabb will be the first franchise quarterback to lose his job because of insecurity.
During and after Sunday’s horrific loss to the hated Cowboys, Donovan Mc-Nabb proved again that he has one fatal flaw that will haunt him until the final play of an otherwise excellent career. His biggest problem is himself. He simply can’t stop himself from making the wrong play, and then saying the wrong thing.
This time it was his overthrow of DeSean Jackson early in the game and his errant pass behind Jeremy Maclin a few plays later that set into motion his latest downfall. His fumble of a snap by new center Nick Cole didn’t help matters, either.
But a bigger issue arose after the game, when McNabb was asked to explain such a terrible loss after six straight victories. He could have said he had a bad day; we would have understood that. Instead, he laid the blame at the feet of his young receivers — much like the throws that had preceded his comments.
The young players didn’t have a great game in Dallas, but they weren’t the biggest problem. The biggest problem was McNabb. Don’t take my word for it. Ask Troy Aikman, the Fox broadcaster who pointed out McNabb’s failings for three gruesome hours. Check with the fans, who watched the game.
Yes, McNabb has since clarified his controversial comments, but when it counted he pointed the finger at his young teammates because he wasn’t willing to shoulder the blame himself. And that is why he will be traded if he loses Saturday in Dallas.
With McNabb, the drama never ends. Either he’s admitting he does not know the overtime rules, or he’s denying that he threw up at the Super Bowl. He calls himself a great leader, and then he blames the young players for his own failures. Heck, he’s still whining about the booing at the draft.
Much has changed in the past 10 years, but not McNabb. He never changes. He was an enigma when he got here, and he’s more of one now.
– Angelo Cataldi is a Metro columnist and host of WIP’s Morning Show.
