Team:
Philadelphia Eagles Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-2 Weight: 240 lbs Born: 11-25-76 Experience: 10th season
Past
three seasons:
Passing
Rushing
Year
Team
G
GS
Comp
Att
Pct
Yds
TD
Int
Sck
Att
Yds
TD
2007
Philadelphia
Eagles
14
14
291
473
61.5
3,324
19
7
44
50
236
0
2006
Philadelphia
Eagles
10
10
180
316
57
2,647
18
6
21
32
212
3
2005
Philadelphia
Eagles
9
9
211
357
59.1
2,507
16
9
19
25
55
1
Career: Donovan McNabb was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1999 NFL
Draft and spent the last nine seasons in Philadelphia. His career began in controversy as
he was drafted over fan favorite Ricky Williams but turned down the critics pretty quickly
with his play on the field. McNabb had a very up and down career with the Eagles mainly
due to injuries. In nine seasons with the Eagles he only managed to stay healthy and start
all 16 games three times. He had his best season in 2004 when he had 31 touchdowns with
only 8 interceptions and led the Eagles to the Super Bowl but lost to the New England
Patriots. In the 2006 season, McNabb was on pace for over 4,500 pass yards and 30
touchdowns but suffered a severe knee injury in week 11 which kept him out for the rest of
the season. It became evident in the early weeks of the 2007 season that McNabb was not
fully recovered yet which led to a a very up and down beginning to the season. Once again
in a week 11 game against the Dolphins, McNabb limped off the field with an ankle injury
which kept him out for two games. McNabb likely would have been a top 10 quarterback had
he not missed two games due to injury and he did seem to find his groove later in the year
as he slowly recovered from his ACL injury. McNabb was an extremely dynamic and
feared player at the University of Syracuse and early in his NFL career but has not had
the opportunity to be that player in the past few years because of constant injuries.
Nonetheless, McNabb is one of the least intercepted quarterbacks in NFL history and it is
one of the reasons why he has been able to take the Eagles to the playoffs five times
since 2000 including an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Supporting Cast: Once again this off-season there have been trade rumors surrounding Donovan McNabb and
although the Ravens seemed to be after McNabb, it is now very likely he will remain with
the team for his 10th season. The Eagles were quite active this off-season on the
defensive side of the ball signing Asante Samuel but have not made any major moves to
improve the offense. McNabb’s main target will once again be Brian Westbrook who had
90 catches last year and is always a threat coming out of the backfield. Last off-season,
the Eagles brought in Kevin Curtis who seemed to click right away with McNabb and had his
first career 1,000 yards season. On the other side, Reggie Brown had a very disappointing
third season and only caught 61 of the 111 passes thrown his way which seems to have
become a trend for Brown. L.J. Smith also had a very disappointing 2007 filled with
injuries but he seemed to be getting on track around week 9 and should have a much better
season in 2008. The most disappointing statistics for this team were the 44 sacks on
McNabb as well as his 50 rush attempts which show that he had to scramble desperately out
of the pocket quite a few times. Those statistics are slightly flawed by the horrendous
week 4 performance when Winston Justice had to sub in for an injured William Thomas and
the offensive line gave up 12 sacks. It’s difficult to understand how this line went
from one of the best in past years to a very struggling one in 2007. McNabb’s lack of
mobility was certainly part of the problem but they still gave up 14 sacks in the last
four games of the season when he should have been recovered from his injuries. The Eagles
are likely to start the same 11 players as they did last year so McNabb and others will
have to step up their game if the Eagles want to be back to the level they were at a few
seasons ago.
Job Security: In the 2007 NFL Entry Draft the Eagles selected Kevin Kolb in the second round out of
Houston which started rumors that McNabb’s years in Philadelphia may be counted.
However, Kolb will not be ready for another few seasons and even though A.J. Feeley has
been good when he had to step in, he is a career backup quarterback. McNabb’s job is
very secure and only another injury could keep him out of games in the 2008 season.
Fantasy Outlook: Although McNabb and his offensive line are aging, they still have quite a few years
left in them and it is hard to believe they will not bounce back after a disappointing
season. McNabb could definetly have used an additional receiver to replace the struggling
Reggie Brown. The Eagles did draft DeSean Jackson in the second round to create some
competition at the position but he is another small receiver and is likely going to be
used as a third receiver behind Curtis and Brown. Now fully recovered from his ACL and
ankle injury suffered in the past season, McNabb is easily capable of reaching 3,800 yards
and 25 TDs. McNabb has the talent to be a top 5 QB but he has never been able to stay
healthy and there is no reason to believe that he will be able to this season. He is a
high reward and high risk player that you should be satisfied with as your number one
quarterback but if you do draft him, make sure you have a solid backup who has shown he is
capable of playing all 16 games in a season.
