Does the 'McNabb Flu' story change your view of the Super Bowl?

[WilliamPitt]

Reports have surfaced that describe Donovan McNabb as having been really sick in the huddle towards the end of the game. One report has Freddy Mitchell calling a play because McNabb couldn't really speak, and another report has McNabb dry-heaving in the huddle.

A lot of people are bagging on McNabb for the turnovers in the game, despite the fact that he put up 300+ passing yards. Does the flu story change your perspective on the game and the way it came out?

My perspective, fwiw: Tom Brady had a 103 degree fever the night before the Steelers playoff game, and went out and won. In the days before the Super Bowl, his grandmother died and his father was hospitalized for what may have been a heart attack, and he went out and won. So...

[beyurslf]

1. It changes nothing. Why did they not use a no-huddle offense when they

were down by 10 with 5 minutes left? Unacceptable and the blame lies with the offensive coordinating staff.

[Quakerfriend]

5. Exactly!

I am an Eagles fan, but I was jumping up and down when at 5 minutes they seemed to care nothing about the clock!!

[Ravenseye]

42. Yeah

My wife and I were watching it and kind of looking at each other saying "What the hell are they doing?" and we weren't even really invested in the game.

I can't imagine what I would have been saying if I was an Eagles fan.

[rinsd]

2. Not really....

If he had won, it would have added to his feat alah Brady and his Pittsburgh flu.

[AndyP]

3. ummmm for 4 million a season

I'd go out there naked in Green Bay and play. Hell I don't like him but TO played with a not-fully-healed foot. I don't like excuses, sorry.

[Calico Jack Rackham]

8. Hey AndyP

that Novak sig is funny as shit. Haven't seen that one since Jon Stewart called him that. :thumbsup:

[progressiveBadger]

4. No excuse....

As a Packer fan, I have a nice example. After Brett's dad died Christmas of 2003, he had one of the greatest performances of any quarterback ever.
I think McNabb is overrated.

[lancdem]

23. Overrated? Thank you, Rush

Favre won one Super Bowl and lost one. McNabb has plenty of time to match or exceed that.

[progressiveBadger]

I take offence at that

I'm hardly Rush. Many people think that he is overrated. Not because of his skin color, but because he didn't even look like he could hit the broad side of a barn on Sunday.

[lancdem]

29. At least he got there

That's more than most QBs can say. Overrated quarterbacks don't throw for 356 yards in the Super Bowl against a team with a great defense. Hardly an example of "not hitting the broad side of a barn."

[progressiveBadger]

35. That is true

and he had some amazing passes into coverage. Maybe I was over exaggerating about him being over rated. If it were the Packers in the Eagles position, I would be pissed if someone said something like that about Favre. It's not fair of me to judge someone that I've paid very little attention to for most of the season.

[ProfessorGAC]

43. Huh?

He completed 60% of his throws, had 3 TD passes, and couldn't hit the broadside of a barn?

He, without TO, gets to 4 straight NFC championships, and he's overrated?

There's seems to be a lapse in logic here.
The Professor

[SpiralHawk]

6. THIS is the way it IS in football

When the game starts, you play the best you can with the best team you can field. When it is over, it's over. Whoever won, won. There is no whining about who had bruises and injuries or the sniffles, and who could not play, or play at their "best." The Patriots had their share of injuries and illnesses, too. That's the nature of the game.

You just have to do your best, and then go on. McNabb and the Eagles played beautifully in the Super Bowl. I salute them. The Patriots played better.

[1gobluedem]

41. You go into the game with the team you have...

...not the team you want. :-) Wait -- have I heard that somewhere before?

[MikeG]

7. No. What about the other 10 lolly-gaggers?

[BlueJazz]

9. NO..It's up to the people that run the team..

(including the Quarterback) to have the resources to compete in any game.
If you only have one decent Quarterback than that's YOUR problem.

[ProfessorGAC]

44. See Chicago Bears!

I read your post and thought immediately of the braintrust of my Bears who went to battle with Grossman as starter, but Quinn and Krenzel as reserves. Grossman hurts knee; season over! Dumbasses!
The Professor

[MADem]

10. Look, his team is the second best this year

I don't think he has anything to apologize for, but I won't cut him any slack for having the flu either. He did his best, his team gave it a good effort, a valiant one, in fact, and made it a nailbiter of a game.....but the best team won.

Making it to the show IS an acomplishment, even if you come in second. His team is better than all of the others, save one.

[Hobarticus]

11. That's why it's called "pro" sports...

TO played against doc's orders, fer cryin' out loud.

[TwilightZone]

12. Hmm, in the same game where Mr. Owens and his broken ankle shined?

I think not. What Owens did was truly remarkable; it just wasn't enough to overcome mediocre play elsewhere.

McNabb played inconsistently from the beginning; the big hit he took didn't seem to alter his play much at all.

The Patriots find ways to win the big games. Every big game.

The Eagles, however, find ways to lose them.

They had plenty of opportunities to win it, barf or no barf. ;)

[MrSlayer]

13. No, sick or not we still beat ourselves anyway you look at it.

It should have been 21-0 in the first quarter on the way to a romp but D-Mac's extremely uncharacteristic poor throws killed them. Even with 4 turnovers they still only lost by 3. This game was ours for the taking regardless of how sick Donovan was. We beat ourselves. That's the most disappointing thing. It sucks when you should win but do not. We'll be back next year.

[Career Prole]

14. Sick in the huddle towards the end of the game? Excuse? Ha!

Reminds me of the way Kurt Warner always came off the field after throwing a pick shaking his throwing hand and staring down at it like it alone had betrayed him (same as my brother does when he bowls a gutter ball :eyes: ).
T.O. played a hell of a game on a pieced-together ankle, yet McNabb can't run, throw, or even speak because of a poo-poo tummy?
He's a better man than that...is that coming from McNabb himself or Freddy (Mitch the Mouth) Mitchell, AKA Freddy One-Catch?
The Iggles will be back...they don't need to be making up pissy little alibis like that.

[lancdem]

15. McNabb would never make excuses

I heard Hank Fraley mentioned this problem on talk radio. McNabb's no whiner.

[Career Prole]

18. I didn't think so...dude's tough.

He was hiding his nerves well too!

[lancdem]

21. He is very tough

He just didn't bring his A game. Part of that is attributable to the Patriots, of course.

[Career Prole]

26. Now that he's got the feeling of the biggest of the big games

he'll be that much tougher.
Now if they could just do something about Mitchell's mouth...
:D

[lancdem]

31. I'm pretty sure Mitchell won't be with the team next year

Not because of his mouth, but because of his lack of production. Maybe he'll become some other team's problem. :)

[bigwillq]

16. Not one bit. The Eagles choked again!

Yay, Pats!:bounce:

[lancdem]

19. Bullshit

You lose by 3 points to a team favored by 7.5, and you call it choking? I'll bet you thought the Pats were going to blow the Eagles out. Practically everyone believed the Eagles had no chance, and they proved them wrong. I'm proud of how they played, but they should've won, flu or not.

[hughee99]

24. They did stand up well against the Pats,

certainly better than many expected, but "they should've won"? How so?

[lancdem]

27. Well, let's see ...

The first-half interception in the red zone cost them at least 3 points; the L.J. Smith fumble in Pats' territory cost them 3 points, probably; and the second-half interception in Pats' territory cost them a field goal at least, too.

If you have four turnovers (three in the other team's end of the field), the other team has one, and you lose by 3 points, you should've won. It's a no-brainer.

[hughee99]

33. And...

The pats fumbled on the 2 yard line... so? Was it your expectation that the Eagles should never turn the ball over? If they do turn it over, does this have nothing to do with the defense? McNabb made some bad throws, granted, but the turnovers only have 2 explanations. Either the Pats forced them OR the Eagles made mistakes. If the Pats forced the turnovers then they deserved them. If the Eagles made mistakes, is it somehow not their fault?

[bigwillq]

37. I thought the final score would be 27-21

I had the Eagles with the points but the Eagles outplayed the Pats and still lost. They blew it. Choked. Call it whatever you want.

[HuckleB]

17. The game is over. Who cares? Bring on baseball!

[MaineDem]

28. I think it's 9 days til pitchers and catchers report

WHooohoooooo!!! Bring it on.

[ThorsHammer]

20. No

It does excuse his play somewhat, but their clock management was still awful at the end. They could have easily had several plays in reserve, and had someone like Mitchell, TO, or Westbrook call them in advance. Like you said, Brady also had a lot to deal with, and still managed to win.

[hughee99]

22. No

You play the game with the players you have. If McNabb wasn't healthy enough to be out there calling plays, then he shouldn't have been out there. If the Eagles don't have a sufficient backup, then that is their decision not to spend the $$ in that area and hope that you won't need to use one. If they used the money they spent on Owens on a quality backup instead, they may not have been in this position, but that was a trade-off they were willing to make last off season. I'm not willing to concede that, "if healthy", McNabb would have made the plays he needed to make. On the other hand, I have a lot more respect for TO (as a football player anyway) than I did before the game. He "put up", as opposed to Mitchell.

[lancdem]

25. Nobody has a quality backup QB

Could the Pats have won with Rohan Davey? Didn't think so.

[hughee99]

30. Did the pats have a quality backup 3 years ago,

When Bledsoe got hurt 2 games into the season? Or the Giants in the early 90's when Hostetler played for Simms in the Superbowl? They don't need to have Payton Manning on the bench, but they did play their backups in the last few games of the season, and they both looked awful. Most backups fit into 1 of 2 categories... They are either 1) experienced veterans (Blake & Detmer) who have been around a while, and while they're not "starting material" they should be able to step and and competently run an offense or 2) Development projects (Davey), a rookie or younger guy who isn't ready for starting duties, but shows some promise.

If McNabb was in such bad shape that he couldn't run the hurry up offense when they clearly needed to, they should have put in a backup. If the backups weren't capable of running the offense, then that is a coaching problem (for not preparing them) or a management problem for not getting the better personnel.

[lancdem]

32. I think McNabb was capable of running the team

BTW, Brady had already played almost a whole season before making it to the Super Bowl. I meant rarely, not never. I should know better than to say never. :)

[hughee99]

34. I believe that he was capable of running the team too...

I'm not sure why they didn't run the hurry-up, but I'll bet that wasn't McNabb's call. I'm just saying that if he wasn't able to run the hurry up, and they wanted to, then he shouldn't have been in the game. As to why they didn't run it, I'm sure a lot of Eagles fans are asking that now.

[Penndems]

36. Michael Wilbon says that McNabb may have had a bloody mouth

I posted this over in the Lounge . . .

Exerpt from yesterday's "Chat House", Mike's Monday afternoon online chat:

Silver Spring, Md.: Re: McNabb
Thanks for taking my question. I think I heard you mention on Tony's show (plug alert!) that Donovan McNabb was hit in first half and this may have affected him later. Can you elaborate? I don't remember any particular 'hit' but he seemed eratic and the clock management was mysterious.

I remember thinking that Philly should have him do a couple planned runs just to get him loosened up. I know the Pat's defense was excellent but he seemed out of sorts. Was he hurt?

Michael Wilbon: He had a bloody mouth and kept rubbing his chin. I'm not saying for sure he has one...I'm wondering. He was so not alert with the game on the line. And after the game he was rubbing his chin, which is so uncharacteristic of Donovan. He played really poorly in what should have been a no-huddle situation. Donovan, despite his stats, had only a "C" game in my opinion, which is too bad because I love him and because he had a shot at leading his team past the Super Bowl...
**********************************************************************
LOL . . . here's a question about the behavior of Eagles fans at the Super Bowl:

Arlington, Va.: Were the Philly fans really booing their team in the 4th quarter?

Michael Wilbon: 'Cause they're Phllly fans and they'd boo their own mamas. They booed Michael Irvin when he could have been paralyzed on the turf at The Vet. They can be so disgusting.
**********************************************************************

Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64457-20...

[WilliamPitt]

38. It was Richard Seymour who laid that lick on McNabb

Perhaps TO wasn't the only guy to come back from a bad injury and make a serious impact on the game after all.

;)

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

39. Both teams played their hearts out, and the Pats won.

McNabb juat had some turnover issues. I initially rooted for the Pats, but Terrell Owens impressed me during the game. It was altogether good.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

40. Drew Bledsoe, meet Tom Brady. Mr. McNabb.....

fuck that shit.