When Donovan McNabb played quarterback for the Eagles, the Eagles never went bonkos when it comes to collecting talent. This year, the Eagles are like the fat kid at a bake sale who found a wallet in the parking lot.
And McNabb has noticed. More importantly, McNabb has opted to say something about it.
“I was there for 11 years, and the biggest thing we brought in was T.O.,” McNabb told Clark Judge of CBSSports.com. “Now they’re getting the so-called ‘Dream Team.’ It’s amazing, but I look back on my career and what they’re doing now . . . that’s great; that’s excellent. But you’re seeing another side. You’re seeing Andy [Reid] taking that chance. It’s not just taking that chance on one guy. They’re taking a chance on a bunch of guys. And they’re spending money. That’s amazing. Ever since the lockout [ended], teams have to spend money.”
Actually, no specific team has to spend money until 2013. That’s the biggest misconception arising from the new labor deal, and the fact that players don’t understand the issue demonstrates how widespread the misconception is. (Then again, it’s coming from the guy who didn’t know regular-season games could end in a tie.)
McNabb also thinks that the Eagles are embracing high expectations without acknowledging the possible problems that may arise.
“With T.O.,” McNabb told Judge, “after the first two or three weeks of training camp we felt like we had something. But you never say, ‘Aw, we’re going to win the Super Bowl. Fans say that. Radio says that. But now they expect them to win.”
McNabb is right; team president Joe Banner has said that the Eagles are “all in,” and he told PFT Live on Monday that this season will be successful only if the Eagles get to the Super Bowl and win it.
"[Y]ou’ve got to worry about DeSean [Jackson],” McNabb said. “When he comes back are you going to give DeSean the ball or throw it to [Jeremy] Maclin? Remember, you have to give LeSean McCoy the ball, too. And then at the end you still have to pay Mike Vick. They have more problems than people are looking at.”
The biggest problem, in our view, is getting all these new parts on the same page, quickly and without the benefit of an offseason program. With five new faces on defense alone in Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, and now Jarrad Page, converted offensive line coach Juan Castillo will have an even harder time pulling the defense together on the fly, especially with the sudden mandate to be better than the Packers, Falcons, Saints, Cowboys, and the eventual AFC champion.
From the Vikings’ perspective, it probably would be better if McNabb didn’t worry about the Eagles. Or, at a minimum, that he quit talking about them. Though getting to the postseason could be an uphill climb for the Vikings, they’ll possibly have to face the Eagles -- and it will be harder to beat them if they are pissed that McNabb tried to rain on their premature parade.