McNabb facing bleak future

[tr1]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/473377p-398268c.html

The Eagles are right back where they were last year when Thanksgiving arrived. No Donovan McNabb, which is bad news; no T.O., which is good news; and no shot at the playoffs, which makes this another lost season in Philly.

McNabb is one of the good guys, popular on his team and around the league, but his body has betrayed him again before he even turns 30 on Saturday. He can't stay healthy.

The Eagles are used to life without McNabb, their leader on the field and conscience in the locker room. He has now suffered major injuries in three of the last five seasons, all of them in November: broken ankle, hernia, ripped-up knee.

He was having one of his best seasons until he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee in the first minute of the second quarter in Sunday's loss to the Titans. He was throwing on the run and was no more than lightly bumped by Tennessee's Kyle Vanden Bosch as he went out of bounds.

McNabb fell down and was soon seated on the dreaded cart, taking the Eagles' season with him. They are 5-5 and on the way to no better than 7-9 with the Colts, Panthers, Redskins, Giants, Cowboys and Falcons left to play in a difficult last six weeks.

Andy Reid called it an eight-month-to-a-year injury, which means the Eagles will be fortunate if they have McNabb back for the start of the 2007 season. And to compound matters, McNabb yesterday visited orthopedist James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., and learned that he'll have to wait at least 2-3 weeks to have surgery to allow swelling to reduce around the knee.

McNabb is young enough to come back, of course, but it's too soon to say if he will ever be a dominant player again. He has been to one Super Bowl in the eight seasons since the Eagles made him the second overall pick in the 1999 draft, but now you must question if the Eagles ever will be good enough and McNabb ever will be healthy enough to win it.

The Eagles don't need to panic and take a QB in the first round, but they must do better than Jeff Garcia and A.J. Feeley behind McNabb. Reid has not said who will start Sunday night against the Colts, but who cares? Philly is not winning many games with either of them.

Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder, asked yesterday about McNabb's career prognosis, said, "The track record with other athletes that have played the position and have had ACL tears, they've done okay."

Cincinnati's Carson Palmer tore his left ACL in January and started this year's season opener. Daunte Culpepper tore three right knee ligaments, including the ACL, last October when he was with Minnesota, then started the Dolphins' opener this season but clearly was not ready. He had no mobility and was benched after four games. So much of McNabb's game is based on his ability to move around. He is one of the league's most dynamic players when healthy.

"I don't see a bright future," one GM said yesterday. "I don't think he ever realized his true potential. Now it will be difficult to do. He was putting up a lot of numbers this year, but wasn't leading them to victory. I don't doubt he will be back. I think he will be less, not more." So the NFC East, which was supposed to be the best division in the NFL, has been reduced to a two-team race between the Giants and the Cowboys.

Their Dec. 3 rematch in the Meadowlands will provide the same drama as last year. when they met in a first-place showdown. The Giants won it and went on to win the division. The Cowboys, after ending the Colts' undefeated season Sunday, play the lowly Bucs in two days on Thanksgiving, and then will have 10 days to get ready for the Giants.

The Cowboys have been energized by Tony Romo sits to pee, who outplayed Peyton Manning on Sunday. "I think Dallas is going to take the Giants," the GM said. "Dallas is going to win the division."

Last year, coming off a Super Bowl, McNabb missed the last seven games with a hernia injury that required surgery. The Eagles were 4-5 - T.O. already had been put in storage by Reid - when McNabb was hurt, and they won just two of their last seven without him. He missed the final six games of the 2002 season with the broken ankle. The Eagles won five of them, McNabb returned for the playoffs, beat Atlanta then lost to the Bucs in the NFC title game.

Whether Reid promotes Garcia or hopes Feeley can recreate his magic from 2002 when he went 4-1 after McNabb was injured, the Eagles still are done. Garcia is 36 with little left. He was 1-4 in his starts for Detroit last year. Feeley had a chance to be the man when he was traded to Miami in 2004, but was 3-5 and couldn't hold off Jay Fiedler the first year, and then the next year was Gus Frerotte's backup. That says a lot. He hasn't played a down in 23 months.

McNabb went into the Titans game with a 96.6 rating, sixth in the league, with 17 TDs and five INTs. But the Eagles, who got off to a 4-1 start, have since lost four out of five, three times on the final play of the game. "I don't see it going anywhere positive," the GM said.

The Redskins dropped out of the NFC East race weeks ago. The Eagles have joined them. It's down to the Giants and Cowboys, as expected, just earlier than anticipated. :doh:

[Big Weirdo]

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[Pocono]

Eagles are in trouble because their starting QB is injured and can't play and the Giants are in trouble because their starting QB isn't injured and can play. Maybe NY writers should concentrate or the second part of that statement.

[Tom [Giants fan]]

Eli Manning for whatever reason is stuggling right now. It is something mechanical that he needs to work out and may be part mental. Does it mean he is going to be awful for the rest of the year? Not at all. He may come out next week and light up the Titans. Roethlisberger went through a rough period this year and he has picked it up. I am sure Eli can do the same. The media lives for the here and now. It is their time to voice their opinions which don't really matter because they don't know what they are talking about anyway. I'll put my money on Eli fixing his problems rather than the media being right about him.

[Fred Jones]

If the skins were playing the same as last year they would make the playoffs and compete for the division title. Unfortunately, the skins can't beat anyone and thus will compete with the Birds for last place. The Birds need to draft a QB for the future. Not to come in next year, but take over down the road. The Birds have a couple of years to draft this QB.

[RedskinsNation]

With the McNabb injury and the way the Giants are playing if we had beaten the hapless sorry no good for nothing Tampa Bay Buccaneers we'd be 4-6 and actually have a heartbeat.

Thats what makes the Giants downfall and the Eagles situation that much WORSE.

We arent gonna be able to even take advantage.

[Fred Jones]

']Eli Manning for whatever reason is stuggling right now. It is something mechanical that he needs to work out and may be part mental. Does it mean he is going to be awful for the rest of the year? Not at all. He may come out next week and light up the Titans. Roethlisberger went through a rough period this year and he has picked it up. I am sure Eli can do the same. The media lives for the here and now. It is their time to voice their opinions which don't really matter because they don't know what they are talking about anyway. I'll put my money on Eli fixing his problems rather than the media being right about him.

The puke game will define Eli's season. If he chokes and the Giants lose he will prove all the critics right. If he comes out and torches the pukes he proves them wrong for the moment. Winning in the playoffs will silence them for good. In less than two weeks we will know the answer.

[robotfire]

This whole division is just falling apart. Unfortunately, the Cowboys don't want to cooperate.

I have to say I'm a big fan of McNabb, even if he plays for the enemy. He's just so much fun to watch.

[christopher44]

Philadelphia has always had a bleak future.And while I dont wish injury to another man the fans of Philly are getting everything they deserve.

Fly eagles fly on the road to injury...........:laugh:

[dockeryfan]

']Eli Manning for whatever reason is stuggling right now. It is something mechanical that he needs to work out and may be part mental. Does it mean he is going to be awful for the rest of the year? Not at all.

... I'll put my money on Eli fixing his problems rather than the media being right about him.

In the Jax game the defense shut down the run and the game became one dimensional. Then Eli was up against a wall. It wasn't as bad as it seems.

Don't take outings like that and make a blanket statement (not you Tom I mean the fans sports writers etc.) Yes, Eli looks bad at times, but take it in context.

If it is mechanics, that's very fixable. Unfortunately, I've seen enough of him to think he'll actually be a pretty good QB.

[NoCalMike]

The problem is the media gets behind young QBs was too soon. They think five games is enough to proclaim a young QB the next franchise phenomenon.

IMO, it should take at least 2 full seasons of QB play before you can judge what you at QB. You can look at Eli Manning in 2005, and can easily say that he heavily benefitted from Tiki Barber having one of his best seasons ever, and really carrying the offense on his back. So now in 2006, people automatically assume Eli has gotten better merely because of an offseason, yet Eli's play on the field isn't showing it. Eli Manning isn't horrible, but thus yet in his career, he isn't doing anything above and beyond what a typical NFL Starter can and should be able to do. He hits open WRs, wow big freaking deal, I used to watch this league called the NFL where that wasn't considered something special. Lets face it, Eli Manning's decision making is STILL horrible, I know he is still young, but he throws a lot of passes that make you scratch your head and wonder what the hell he was thinking.

I am not saying Eli Manning won't pan out, all I am saying is that the media jumped too hard and too soon for him, and Romo sits to pee, and many other young QBs that either don't even have a season under their belts, or barely have over a season under their belts.

There have been PLENTY of QBs in the history of the NFL that have had 2-3 productive seasons under their belts and then you never hear from them again, because thery were merely acceptable at the QB position but nothing special.

I just wish the media would shut up sometimes about how this guy or that guy is the next big thing and give them time to either develop into that, or go away and fade into NFL trivia games.