In the wake of the latest one-two punch against Donovan McNabb — a fresh round of withering (albeit misguided) criticism from boxer Bernard Hopkins and a report that McNabb refused to wear a wristband containing the offensive plays last season in order to preserve his image — one writer who covered McNabb’s up-and-down tenure in Philly has offered up an intriguing take.
At a time when many assume McNabb will simply land with a new team for 2011, Geoff Mosher of DelawareOnline.com believes that McNabb career could be kaput.
“Perhaps there is no worse sign for McNabb than the fact that the Vikings, coached by former Eagles assistant Leslie Frazier, almost tore a biceps tendon reaching for Christian Ponder at 12th overall,” Mosher writes.
And then there’s this observation: “NFL teams are forever getting younger, more athletic and more coachable at the game’s most important position — not older, injury prone and with an ego the size of Texas.”
Though we’re not yet ready to drop a shovel of dirt on McNabb’s 12-year NFL career, it’s a possibility that we no longer would regard as shocking. McNabb will demand being installed as the Day One starter, and he’ll want the kind of financial package that inherently will demonstrate that the Eagles were wrong to trade him and that the Redskins were wrong to dismiss him. At this point, we can’t think of a team that will do it — and we can’t envision McNabb accepting any lesser terms in order to continue playing.
Much can change between now and whenever the lockout ends. But those changes possibly will have to come as much from McNabb’s view of his current abilities as they will from the needs of the teams who are trying to decide what to do at quarterback in 2011.