Peter King dedicates about 1000 words to the case for trading/trading for Donovan McNabb in his MMQB column. Most of his talk rehashes everything you’ve heard before, so I don’t have a ton to say on it. Just a couple notes.
This is a good opportunity to bash this recurring dialogue:
I think the Eagles should go with Kolb and make the best deal they can for McNabb this offseason, because, basically, it’s Groundhog Day in Philadelphia. Every year’s the same, and I don’t see McNabb getting Philly over the hump and into another Super Bowl.
There are plenty of reasons to argue for a McNabb trade. But this one is just stupid, largely because it gets repeated so often. It comes from this desire to change something, anything. And since people realize Andy Reid isn’t going anywhere, McNabb is the next best thing.
Having consistency is good. Having great players who keep you in the hunt every year is good. Has McNabb been good enough for the Eagles to win a Super Bowl? Absolutely. Could he be good enough next year for that? Absolutely. The idea that McNabb should go just because he’s been around and the team’s never gotten over the hump is silly. If you think McNabb should go, say why the team would be better without him. Don’t call for change for change’s sake.
Also, King lays out the case for sending a 1st round pick for McNabb:
So why would I want to pawn him off on another quarterback-needy team when I don’t think he’s a top-five quarterback? Simple. Because he’s a top-10 or top-12 quarterback, and they’re too hard to find to let one pass when he’s just sitting there for the taking. McNabb would shore up any team’s most important position for the next half-decade. Some team’s going to take Jimmy Clausen between, say, the fourth and 20th pick in the first round, and whoever takes him is going to have no idea if he’s the long-term solution at quarterback.
We can debate about whether McNabb’s really a top-10 or -12 quarterback anymore, but you can certainly make the argument. I sincerely doubt any GMs listen to Peter King for advice, but the Eagles front office must be happy that their demands for a 1st round pick are finding acceptance in the mainstream media.
Finally, an interesting note about a guy the Eagles may be targeting in the middle rounds to groom in that third QB spot:
Fordham University, not exactly a football hotbed, had its pro day for NFL coaches and scouts Friday in the Bronx. Fordham has a late-round quarterback prospect, John Skelton. The Eagles were at the workout with not one coach but two — quarterback coach James Urban and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. Maybe it means nothing, but it’s pretty rare for two coaches to be looking at a late-round quarterback — especially when you’re as packed at quarterback as the Eagles are.
The Eagles are obviously in the market for a long term prospect, since all of their QBs don’t have contracts past this year. But that does seem pretty amazing that they’d send two of their top offensive minds to go look at this guy. Tommy Lawlor has the briefest of scouting reports on him.
Update: Don’t miss KSK’s always hilarious takedown of MMQB here.
Also, tune in later for the explosive third part of the “How Good is McNabb Really?” series. You don’t want to miss this one…