Why’s Everybody Always Picking on Donovan?

As a general rule, I do not waste time or sympathy on million dollar celebrity athletes. They neither want nor need it from me, or anyone else for that matter.

Once in awhile I consider an exception.

I have little in depth knowledge about Donovan McNabb. Since he spent most of his career playing for one of my least favorite NFL teams, I’ve generally been vested in his failure. Given that, I can not claim to have the educated perspective on him that I try to maintain for Pittsburgh athletes.

Maybe he is a horrible person, or a bad teammate, or a spoiled entitled athlete who gets by on talent alone. Or maybe he’s a genuinely decent person and just about the unluckiest guy to ever put on a uniform.

Usually the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Honestly, I suspect with McNabb it is closer to the latter. Everything I have ever seen suggests that along with being a pretty good football player, McNabb is also a pretty decent guy.

So I’m at a loss to explain why he has been such a lightening rod for criticism and controversy throughout his career, most of which seems not of his own making.

Back in October, I posted a blog regarding the moronic decision by Washington coach Mike Shanahan to bench McNabb with two minutes left in a winnable game…FOR REX GROSSMAN. If you recall, Shanahan initially suggested that he felt in that situation, Grossman gave him the best chance to win. Let me repeat what I wrote at that time; they have not yet invented a situation in football where Rex Grossman gives you the best chance to win.

Honestly, the entire thing was insulting to McNabb and unfair to Grossman. If Shanahan really believes what he said, and I seriously doubt that, he should have been fired on the spot for rank incompetence. If the ultimate intent was to send a message to McNabb, through whatever means necessary, it was a classless way to do so. Not to mention he cost his team a football game. The minute Rex Grossman walked on that field, the Redskins were over and done.

I wonder if it’s a coincidence that the Skins season fell apart about that time.

Either way I thought the situation had been rectified when the Skins gave McNabb a $78 Million extension. In reality, it was simply a $3.5 Million severance payment. That became apparent when Shanahan benched McNabb for the last three games so he could, “get a look at Grossman and John Beck.”

Let me be absolutely clear on this point. NFL coaches do not need to look at Rex Grossman and John Beck. In fact, most coaches hope to see as little as possible of either one of them. The actual English translation of his comments is, “McNabb is done in Washington.”

Look, McNabb is not the first veteran player to lose his fastball or at least end up in the wrong situation. Forgetting the abomination that is his 2010 season, think of 2009 Brett Favre in Minnesota versus 2008 Brett Favre in New York. Maybe McNabb is washed up. Maybe he’s not willing to become a better QB now that his athletic ability is fading with age. Or maybe he’s just stuck playing for a perfectionist coach and his prodigal son offensive coordinator who are both hoping to rediscover John Elway.

Any of those things are possible. What is not possible is that Mike Shanahan really thinks Rex Grossman is his answer at QB.

Still, could he not have treated McNabb with a little professional class? Is that so much to ask? Which leads me back to my original question. Do these things just happen to McNabb or is he really a bad guy? You know the old saying, “where there is smoke there is fire?” How many seemingly bad things can happen to one guy and still be a coincidence?

I’ll confess I thought McNabb was overrated coming out of college. I came to that impression after watching him implode in the Orange Bowl against a really good Florida team. Regardless, NFL scouts thought he was one of the top five players in the draft. McNabb’s reward for this was to be drafted by Philadelphia and jeered mercilessly on draft day. You remember why; they wanted Ricky “the stoner” Williams who was not even the first back picked in the draft.

To my surprise, McNabb developed in to an All Pro caliber QB in Philly, in spite of mediocre offensive talent around him. He carried the Eagles to three straight NFC Championship games, but came up short each time. His reward for this was to have Rush Limbaugh suggest on national TV that he was overrated and overhyped only because of his skin color.

I remember when that happened. At first the TMZSPN commentators had little to say on the subject. I think they were prepared to let it pass until the rest of the media came crashing down on them. At that point there was suddenly a flood of what seemed like forced righteous indignation from Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin. Frankly it seemed more like protecting their territory then defending McNabb.

And just so we are clear, Limbaugh’s comments were asinine stupidity and should have been shot down on site.

So then Philly goes out and gets an All Pro receiver in Terrell Owens. And we know what happened. Somewhere along the way there was a falling out between the two. After that Owens spent the rest of his time in Philly bad mouthing and mocking his QB. At times it got truly ugly, even when they finally made it to the Super Bowl in 2004.

I have zero respect for Terrell Owens. He has been a loud mouth, locker room killing malcontent for most of his career. You would have to make an awfully compelling case for me to take T.O.’s side over McNabb in this case. It further supports my belief that McNabb is a good guy who ends up on the wrong side of issues.

Since that point, McNabb has been mocked for apparently running out of gas in the Super Bowl and mocked for losing four NFC championship games. He’s suffered the indignity of being traded within his own division and had his physical conditioning questioned by his current coach and former teammates. Oh and Philly replaced him with a convicted criminal who seems to be more beloved than McNabb ever was in that city. It’s unreal.

Seriously, what exactly did this guy do to cause so much strife?

My honest feeling about McNabb is he is actually too classy a guy. That was my take on the Owens situation. McNabb wants to be the better man and take the high road which is great. Unfortunately T.O. is a bully. He attacks anyone he perceives as a threat to him and does not respect anything but having it put right back in his face. McNabb may indeed have taken the high road but he paid for it.

Beyond that, I think he’s taken heat for never being quite as good as he was expected to be. He ultimately suffered for being a very talented, very good quarterback who never quite became a true franchise superstar. Philly fans could not forgive all those championship game losses; and McNabb became the on the field face of that pain.

That’s a laymen’s opinion of course. And I admit I could be flat out wrong.

As for his troubles in Washington, I can only speculate. And since it’s my blog, I will.

I read a great interview with former Denver QB Jake Plummer (aka Grizzly Adams Jr.) on Yahoo sports after my last Shanahan/McNabb blog. In the article, Plummer said basically that he hated playing for Shanahan. He called Shanahan an over the top perfectionist and said that he was desperately seeking another John Elway. That’s not hard to believe considering Shanahan’s mediocre coaching record without Elway.

My guess is that’s what happened in Washington. Shanahan was hoping McNabb would finally give him his Elway type QB. Instead, McNabb either did not or could not play the game the way Shanahan wanted. It would not shock me if the rumors about McNabb not getting along with Shanahan’s kid were true as well. Again, I’m siding with McNabb. Nothing good ever comes out of nepotism in sports. Parents can not hide their blind spots for their kids, even when millions of dollars are at stake.

And yet even if I’m right, how does this keep happening to one guy? Honestly, I just do not know.

Truth be told, McNabb is better off leaving Washington, as dysfunctional a franchise as there is in the NFL. He will get another opportunity in some other quarterback desperate city. He has already requested his release but I'm guessing that the Skins will not give it to him. Might as well grab some draft choices for that $3.5 Million severance payment.

Here's hoping the drama ends at his next destination. Here's guessing it does not.

Good Rex, Bad Rex, and Really Bad Shanahan

Every once in awhile I see something in an NFL game that leaves me shaking my head in utter disbelief. It’s something that for the life of me I can not explain or comprehend on any level.

You would think after three decades of watching football I could say I’ve seen it all. Clearly that is not the case based on what occurred last Sunday in Detroit.

The Washington Redskins got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining, trailing the Lions by 6. When you think of great moments in NFL history, you often think of this scenario. Just two years ago, we watched Big Ben take the Steelers to victory in a comparable situation in the Super Bowl. Joe Montana, John Elway, and Dan Marino were famous for winning games on the final drive. It requires a mix of talent, composure and veteran savvy to win in these circumstances. This situation is the reason that a perennially losing team trades for a quarterback like Donovan McNabb.

So you’ll excuse me if I thought I had taken leave of my faculties when I saw Rex Grossman trotting on to the field for Washington. Fortunately, it was not me who had taken leave; it was Skins coach Mike Shanahan.

Let’s forget about the Grossman part for a moment and just consider this. What team would bench its starting QB in the final two minutes of a game down by one score?

We’re not talking about benching him at halftime or even after three quarters. We’re talking about pulling the plug with two minutes left, down by one score…AGAINST DETROIT. It’s akin to the Lakers getting the ball down by two with 20 seconds left and putting Kobe Bryant on the bench, for somebody who had not played the entire regular season…AGAINST THE CLIPPERS.

And that’s before we get to the Grossman part.

About the only thing more baffling than the decision was the explanation offered by Shanahan after the game and then his offensive coordinator (and son) the next day. I’ve heard more coherent and logical explanations from U.S. Congressmen. They vaguely mentioned injuries and something about “cardiovascular fitness” but the one that really got me was this…we thought Rex gave us the better chance to win in that situation.

HUH ?

Look I lived the Grossman experience in Chicago for five years so I can make the following statement without any pause or concern. They have not yet invented a situation in football where Rex Grossman gives you a better chance to win.

At some point in his career, Grossman was a reasonably competent NFL QB, saddled with a Jay Cutler like penchant for throwing the ball to the wrong team. Bear fans pondered weekly whether they would get "Good Rex" or "Bad Rex." That ended right after Super Bowl XLI. Be it due to loss of confidence or the entire NFL simply figuring him out, "Bad Rex" took over and never left. Now, Grossman is one of those guys that exists somewhere between carrying a clipboard and the Canadian Football League.

Maybe if you spend a week devising the right game plan, Grossman can be your starter…for a game or two. The idea that he can drive a team to a game winning touchdown in the final two minutes is ridiculous. The idea that he could do if coming in to a game cold and having not played all season, is incomprehensible. I’m pretty sure that even Lovie Smith would not have done that, though admittedly I’m not positive.

I’ve heard numerous explanations for this over the past few days. The most interesting is that Shanahan is unhappy with McNabb and used this situation to call out his star QB. I have a better explanation, he’s lost his mind.

I give Shanahan credit for how he’s dealt with the Albert Haynesworth debacAL. And I get the Skins are really not that good. I’m also aware that there are mixed feelings about McNabb around the league. There are some who think he’s one of the great QBs of this era. Others think he’s a great athlete who stumbled in to the perfect system in Philly and can’t win the big game. As always, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.

That being said, there is absolutely no plausible reason for Shanahan to do what he did on Sunday. What he ultimately did was cost his football team any chance to win the game. As it played out, Grossman did what he usually does. He did not feel the pass rush, took a hard hit and fumbled the game away. Maybe the exact same thing happens with McNabb behind center. We’ll never know.

Let’s get beyond the fact that Shanahan just called out and embarrassed his (supposed) franchise QB on national television. McNabb has demonstrated remarkably thick skin over the years so maybe he can handle this. How do you explain to a locker room full of warriors that you sold out any chance to win the game just to send McNabb a message? And that’s assuming that is really what happened here. It’s far worse to think that maybe they really believed Grossman gave them the best chance to win.

I would not bring Joe Montana off the bench cold with two minutes left in a game. It’s a completely unfair position to put any QB in. That being said, I could possibly understand if the Skins had a stud back-up or maybe if the situation were reversed and McNabb was coming in. The idea of bringing in Grossman, well coaches have been fired for a lot less.

Shanahan is a fascinating fellow. He is universally lauded for being a great coach and yet if you look at his pre and post John Elway resume its not very good. Yes he won two Super Bowls and you can not take that away from anybody. At the same time, Elway retired after the 1998 season. Since that time, Shanahan has coached ten years. In that decade, he made the AFC Championship team once where his team got blasted by the Steelers. And as my old buddy Porky Pig used to lament, that’s all folks.

Many of Shanahan’s teams missed the playoffs. At least two others served as launching pads for Peyton Manning’s most impressive playoff showings. In short, this guy has done nothing in his last ten years accept repeatedly cut 1,000 yard running backs and introduce the football world to Jay Cutler (coaches have been fired for less than that as well).

I was shocked at the indignation that took place when Shanahan was fired in Denver. How many other coaches would survive more than ten years where they did not even sniff a Super Bowl? Unless you’re Barry Trotz, constantly missing or losing in the first round of the playoffs gets you canned.

Even with that, I’m not suggesting Shanahan was a terrible coach, just a tad overrated. Again, the man did win two Super Bowls. I had absolutely no issue with him, until last Sunday. After that, I’m not sure the man is any more qualified to coach in our nation’s capital than Steve Spurrier or Jim Zorn.

Week after week I listen to angry Steeler fans bash Mike Tomlin. I continue to be astounded by this. Not because Tomlin is a perfect coach, he certainly is not. I’m astounded because on the whole, Tomlin has done what was expected in the Burgh. He’s posted a 39-20 record and won a Super Bowl in his first 3 ½ seasons, all before the age of 40. That’s pretty impressive.

And yet I’m told he’s not as good a coach as a guy like Jeff Fisher, who has somehow lasted 15 years in spite making just one Super Bowl, and losing (what is it with Nashville coaches) and now taking on the locker room disaster that is Randy Moss. And I’m pretty sure that most neutral footballs fans would call Shanahan a better coach than Tomlin.

So I ask you this, do you think Tomlin would have pulled Big Ben if the Steelers got the ball down one score with two minutes left…for Byron Leftwich. Keep in mind that Leftwich, along with being just as mediocre as Grossman, has not played all season. The answer is obvious, of course he would not. And if he did, I can’t even fathom the backlash he would face from the Steeler Nation.

Again, I’m not trying to evaluate McNabb or what’s going on in Washington. Maybe the Skins really don’t think he’s the good. That’s their call. I’ll just say this; regardless of what anybody thinks of Donovan McNabb, he’s a heck of a lot better than Grossman. Maybe Shanahan thought there was little chance of winning with McNabb. Whatever it was, it was 100% greater than his chance of winning with Rex; good, bad, or indifferent.