Promote your business or product on 700level.com. For
more information about advertising with us CLICK HERE!

if you think he is or is not a leader really depends on how you feel about the player in general. if you don't like #5, then he's not a leader. if you do like him, then you probably think he is. it's an exercise in futility.

He's a leader because of what he does on the field.

NOT just because he says so.

Not at all, you're just way too protective of him. Time to cut those strings, f-d.

Some QBs come to mind (Sheli, Brooks, Harrington, Carr even), but I can't say for sure because I don't have XM or Sirius.

So, 3 guys who suck? I disagree with the assessment anyway (nobody knows Brooks exists, Harrington was a complete BUST who gets no press, and Carr lkabors in obscurity), but Sheli could eventually reach McNabb's level of criticism (warranted and un-warranted).

He's the guy who could grab the torch from McNabb in 5 years if things go as I expect.

And Elway got TONS of crap for the way HE handled his whole draft situation.

If McNabb didn't act so much like a baby dork, he'd see how much the fans care for him. But because he acts like a baby dork, he doesn't.

Phil Sheridan checking in:

Phil Sheridan | QB pressure: McNabb has always faced unfair criticism.
By Phil Sheridan
Inquirer Columnist

MIAMI - Now that Donovan McNabb has cleared things up, it will be nothing but smooth sailing for the Eagles, their quarterback, their fans and the media.

It was actually impossible to type the previous sentence without laughing out loud. It is far more likely that next January, in Phoenix, McNabb's annual Chunky Soup news conference will be a forum for clearing up a whole new crop of issues, rumors, gossip and misunderstandings. There is the preseason, the season, the postseason, and then mopping up at the Super Bowl.

What McNabb and the city of Philadelphia need is a good marriage counselor. This relationship has been dysfunctional from the beginning, and that is, unfortunately, not likely to change. Too much has been said, too many wounds have healed improperly, for McNabb and the city ever to truly embrace one another.

And that's a shame. It really is. It didn't have to be this way, but it is.

"He's a tremendous football player and a tremendous person," said Fletcher Smith, McNabb's agent and longtime family friend. "For me and his family as well, it's difficult to hear the amount of criticism he receives on a pretty regular basis."

Smith is paid to advocate for his client, but that's a pretty fair read on the way the McNabb camp sees things. We're not talking here about criticism or analysis of McNabb's on-field performance. We're talking about the often nasty and very personal stuff that swirls around this particular athlete for some inexplicable reason.

People complain about athletes who are selfish, who are thugs, who get into legal trouble, who are bad role models. McNabb is a perfect example of the kind of person fans say they want an athlete to be, yet he has been the target of some of the strangest criticism, and critics, in memory.

Every time the Eagles lose a game, I still get e-mail that starts, "Rush was right." No matter what numbers McNabb puts up, no matter how many games he wins, there remains this seething resentment from some quarters.

Oh, and by the way, Rush Limbaugh was dead wrong. So were the geniuses who stirred up Ricky Williams mania before the 1999 draft and who clamored for A.J. Feeley when McNabb went through a slump during the 2003 season. McNabb is not perfect, but he just happens to be one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Whatever agenda prevents some people from seeing that - whether it's race or the need to drive up the Arbitron ratings or something else - is their problem. Unfortunately, it becomes McNabb's problem and therefore the Eagles' problem.

"That's why Andy [Reid] brought him here," Smith said. "When Andy looked at Donovan and Tim Couch and Akili Smith and Daunte Culpepper, what he saw in Donovan was the kind of person that could persevere through situations like this."

Yesterday, McNabb did a good job of addressing the various issues, real and imagined, that were swirling around. Some people will choose not to believe him. Having watched him closely for the last eight years, I thought he was being about as honest as he felt comfortable being while also trying not to start another controversy.

After his official news conference, McNabb made an interesting remark about his mother's controversial blog entry. Wilma McNabb, you'll recall, wrote that it was "bittersweet" to see the team win with her son injured and worried that he would be "crucified" by the fans and media if Jeff Garcia took the team to the Super Bowl.

"I'm sure everything else she said is happening," McNabb said. "When she said it, everybody had a problem with it, but now that it's happening, I guess people understand where it was coming from."

It's true. Trade rumors. Speculation that McNabb was jealous of Garcia and wanted him gone. A belief by some that the Eagles would be better with Garcia, who turns 37 this month, than with McNabb. It's all out there.

Are the McNabbs too sensitive to all this? Maybe. But they're human, and the amount and the intensity and the sheer irrationality of much of this would get to anybody.

It would be pretty to think we can get to a point where McNabb's successes are appreciated, his failures are fairly criticized, and this cycle of mistrust and suspicion can be broken. Call off the game of Gotcha. Start over with a fresh slate.

"I'm a Philadelphia Eagle, and I will continue to be a Philadelphia Eagle, hopefully, for years and years to come," McNabb said. "Hopefully, I'll retire as an Eagle."

That ought to be good enough. In a lot of cities, it would be. In Philadelphia? With this quarterback? Try saying yes with a straight face.

If McNabb didn't act so much like a baby dork, he'd see how much the fans care for him. But because he acts like a baby dork, he doesn't.

I know...I wish that fuckin' pussy and his fat cunt mother would just understand we, as a city, embrace him.

Yes, all of philly feels that way. That's why his is the #1 jersey sold and seen everywhere

So, 3 guys who suck?

Hold on.

This goes back to the whole "QBs get more blame than normal because it's part of the job" argument that (somewhat) diffuses the whole "McNabb is hated by everyone in the city" argument. You can't say one without recognizing that QBs get the majority of the right and wrong stuff thrown at them.

And Carr does NOT suck. He's in a situation where he almost had no chance whatsoever to succeed. The ranking of his performance to this point is what I'd call "unfair".

Ah, another paragon of the "no agenda" print media, stepping to the fore, to once again, declare Victimhood for one Donovan McWhine.

Super.

No, check that- SUPAH FIVE!!~


Um, FD- you're the misguided one here and it is PERHAPS because at the time, Elway was gettin all his crap, you were maybe too young or somethin > I dont know.

HE was essentially CRAPPED upon in Denver, couldnt stay there in the offseason, etc.
Called a choker. Called a runner/not a QB (and he's WHITE!). LEadership questioned.
Ex teammates saying they did not like him.
Labeled "Coach killer". Branded a pussy. Rumors of debaucherous nites on the town. Rumors of alchohism running rampant.

STOP.

Yes, all of philly feels that way. That's why his is the #1 jersey sold and seen everywhere

That's not a display of love. It's a display or ignorance and fiscal responsibility. If someone wants a jersey for their dumb kid or loved one, they get "the superstar" jersey.

He's also been here for 8 years and will be here for 7 more, so you can stretch that dollar.

And he had a used car lot. SO some if it might've been true.

That's not a display of love. It's a display or ignorance and fiscal responsibility. If someone wants a jersey for their dumb kid or loved one, they get "the superstar" jersey.


And yet people came out in droves to get the Ricky Watters limited edition "For Who? For What?" jersey.

Wow, wasn't aware you also had access to the motivation of people's spending habits, ie. football jerseys. Kudos.

I kinda see what FD is sayin there- these days you gotta be careful who's jersey you get.

1st step- see who I HAVE and steer clear.


But seriously, I think the jersey sales stem less from smart financial planning and more from a NATURAL LOVE FOR THE QB OF YOUR TEAM- ITS GENERALLY ASSUMED HE'LL BE A STAR AND A GOOD PLAYER.

Um, FD- you're the misguided one here and it is PERHAPS because at the time, Elway was gettin all his crap, you were maybe too young or somethin > I dont know.

HE was essentially CRAPPED upon in Denver, couldnt stay there in the offseason, etc.
Called a choker. Called a runner/not a QB (and he's WHITE!). LEadership questioned.
Ex teammates saying they did not like him.
Labeled "Coach killer". Branded a pussy. Rumors of debaucherous nites on the town. Rumors of alchohism running rampant.

STOP.

How is any of that different than what McNabb deals with? The only potential difference is McNabb rarely gets called out for being hated by teamates who hate him (because they don't) and doesn't get in trouble for crazy nights on the town...because he doesn't do them.

Not misguided in the slightest. I hope Elway had slurs shouted at him and beer dumped on him when he left the field after a tough loss, too.

Those had to be a pleasure...I just got to watch them on TV.

Wow, wasn't aware you also had access to the motivation of people's spending habits, ie. football jerseys. Kudos.

I didn't know this was news. The QB jersey is the "best seller" in every town with a "franchise" QB. Just the way it goes.

I doubt when the fan base hates the QB, they continue to buy the jersey and wear it.

I'm not sure how the fact that Elway got shat on makes it right that McNabb gets shat on.

Not a ton of Joey The H. Jerseys in Detroit when he was there, Im guessin.

Dino- I was asked directly to provide 1 example of a QB who took worse crap.

Fair enough. Hopefully the people dumping on McNabb will be proved just as wrong as the Elway haters were.

I doubt when the fan base hates the QB, they continue to buy the jersey and wear it.

First, I didn't say the fan base didn't respect him as a player in a lot of ways. My argument from the beginning is how could McNabb ever be expected to udnerstand it, given the way things are.

The jersey thing is the same story in each town. The biggest star in town sells the most jerseys.

FD:
Im with you bro, ive given up trying to defend Mcnabb on the 'level. The Majority here simply dont like rooting for the guy and rather than get behind him choose to dissect every aspect of his life and shed it in a negative fashion. Give up bro, I have.

Seth:
"FD- did you ever poke fun at the dork in your HS Caffeteria? Ever make fun of the last kid picked for teams, or the kid who would bring his baseball card collection to school with him, who was into D&D etc?

Its human nature to laugh at dorks.

Your boy is, sad to say, believe me, rather dorky."

Take a step back and listen to what your saying. The guy is a national celebrity/sports athlete. He has a $100+ million contract, and an INCREDIBLEY gifted athlete. If we had as much pussy as he has gotten (or couldve gotten had he not married his college girl), our cocks would look like a beaten snake. We sit here typing on our computers, at a 9-5 job and most of us out of shape, dissecting every aspect of this football team from what color jerseys they wear on game day to 7th round draft picks and their upside potential. Now WIlly beamen, Mcnabb is not. But lets be honest and a tad self reflecting, 5 is no High School dungeon and dragons geek.

Fair enough. Hopefully the people dumping on McNabb will be proved just as wrong as the Elway haters were.

He won a title. That's the only way McNabb can get the nay-sayers off his back.

McNabb's agent weighs in. It's hard to disagree:

Asked whether he thinks controversy and speculation wear on McNabb, Smith said: "I'm sure it does. He's human. He's a football player first, and wants to play football. It's unfortunate when so much of what's written about him is on what occurs off the football field. In this instance, most of it, if not all of it, had nothing to do with what he said or did or did not do."

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11  12 13 14 15 16