By Mary Cunningham
Old Mr.-Thin-Skin-Passive-Aggressive is at it again.
When Donovan McNabb played for the Eagles he was a very good quarterback from 1999 to 2008. Unfortunately, he played here until the 2010 playoffs, in which he failed miserably, and the fans let him have it.
Plus, he had the thinnest skin of almost any pro athlete in town and he held back his true feelings until he could throw someone under the bus like the young players he blamed for that playoff loss at Dallas in 2010.
Then he embarrassed himself and got benched for laziness in DC and melted down in Minnesota.
Now, McNabb calls games for Fox Sports, and he can’t wait to dump on the Birds’ young signal caller, Nick Foles.
In an interview with Harry Mayes and Brian Baldinger on 97.5 The Fanatic Tuesday, McNabb, who will be calling several NFL games with Dick Stockton this season, said that despite Foles’ phenomenal 2013 — throwing for 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions — he does not see the Arizona quarterback as one that carries the “Franchise quarterback” label.
“I can’t answer that but if I had to give a take, I would say no,” McNabb said. “I think what he will do, he won’t do what he did last year, that just won’t happen. I see him being maybe a 25 touchdown, 8-10 interception guy. They’re trying to have in the mind of Nick Foles, you don’t have to take chances all the time.
“There’s nothing wrong with checking down to the tight end, to your running back. It’s not the kind of offense that we’re going to score on the first play of the drive and get off the field. The big thing is, don’t worry about what you did last year.Things are going to change. Defenses are going adjust to you. They’ll try and take away LeSean McCoy but you are the focal point and they are going to make you beat them.”
McNabb also offered up his main criticism of Foles being his lack of speed and ability to execute the read option offense.
“Foles isn’t known for his ability to get out of the pocket,” McNabb explained. “I told him on my radio show, I said to him, ‘Does anyone tell you you have the speed of a turtle?’ But with his size he does a great job moving in the pocket and getting the ball out, getting it to his guys quickly.”
McNabb also addressed another controversial topic Tuesday when he compared DeSean Jackson’s release earlier this off-season to some personnel decisions that were made during his time as the Eagles starting quarterback.
“We’ve all been in that situation where sometimes decisions have to be made,” McNabb said. “I was obviously traded to the Washington Redskins, Brian Westbrook was released, Brian Dawkns walked out the door. Some of the players on the team, it was a try out so to speak.
“They weren’t Chip Kelly’s guys, Chip’s bringing his own guys in because when you’re a new coach you have to set the tempo early, Chip wants to show himself as a disciplinarian and he had to set the tone. If guys can’t obey the rules or follow along with what you’re trying to express, you’re going to see him cut ties with some guys and that’s what you saw with DeSean Jackson.”
Just like the bitter, old passive aggressive McNabb we all remember!
