“Trust me,” writes Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock, “(Donovan) McNabb forgot more about football last night than most of his critics have learned in a lifetime of pretending to cover.” And while the Iggles QB continues to ridiculed for his confession last Sunday afternoon that he didn’t know an NFL game could end in a tie, Big Sexy — putting on his Reasonable Sweatpants for a change — protests, “the phony, manufactured controversy says far more about us (the media) than it does McNabb.”
Had McNabb failed to launch a last-gasp Hail Mary pass against the Bengals, I would then understand all the fuss and bluster.
And we damn sure know had McNabb’s Hail Mary fallen safely into a Philadelphia hand and secured victory, no one would care that McNabb was unaware NFL games could end in a tie.
This focus on McNabb’s football intelligence is absolutely ridiculous. If McNabb is anything, he’s bright. His understanding of the game and the position he plays is exceptionally high.
That’s why he toned down his running game and accentuated his ability to play from the pocket. Rather than listen to the misguided idiots who wanted him to “revolutionize” the position by being a playground quarterback, McNabb chose the path that made Joe Montana, Tom Brady and Terry Bradshaw multiple Super Bowl winners.
NFL players do dumb (spit) on a weekly basis. They take penalties for excessive or orchestrated celebrations. They blow assignments. They lose their cool and hit opponents after the play.
I find the fraudulent indignation about the “mistake” embarrassing. My industry is so lacking in original thought and imagination that we think it’s a big deal when we discover we know some insignificant detail about the game that a millionaire player doesn’t.