McNabb Getting Benched Might Be a Matter of Time

Is the writing on the wall?

By DAN STAMM

Updated 3:10 PM EST, Mon, Nov 17, 2008

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There are so many questions to be answered following the Philadelphia Eagles embarrassing tie at Cincinnati -- how come this team can't score? Why don't the Eagles run? What happened to Sav Rocca's punting? How do pros not know that they can tie?

But the one question that remains burning is being fueled by an unlikely source.

The question: How much longer will Donovan McNabb be the Eagles quarterback?
The unlikely fuel source: Dave Spadaro on PhiladelphiaEagles.com

Spadaro is the resident blogger/news writer (it's hard to tell sometimes) for PhiladelphiaEagles.com.

There are two trains of thoughts when it comes to Spadaro. As an Eagles employee he is given more access than most and may have insights that can't be found elsewhere. Or, he is simply a mouthpiece for the organization foretelling of what may be on the horizon.

He does give opinion and insight on the game that is sometimes very tough against the Birds, but, as an employee of the Eagles, somethings he writes need to be taken with a grain of salt.

So, it has to raise some eyebrows that Spadaro is suddenly questioning McNabb's abilities to carry this team. In his latest article Spadaro raises many concerns about McNabb including that the Birds QB is battling some demons in his pocket and his wideouts are unsure of how the ball will be coming their way due to McNabb's varied throwing styles and speed.

Sports guy Garry Cobb hints that Spadaro may be setting up the Birds forthcoming change at QB by ripping McNabb's performance. He also questions why Spadaro goes so heavily after McNabb but only briefly after Head Coach Andy Reid.

Spadaro's article gives interesting insight either way he is viewed by the reader. If he is writing from the view of a frustrated observer than this is just saying what many Eagles fans feel but if you believe he is a mouthpiece for the organization then this article could be pointing to what may be on the horizon in Eagles Nation.

It's not all a rag on McNabb -- Spadaro is careful to state his respect for McNabb as a player and a man.

The article, though, is all over the place on reasons why McNabb is failing, maybe in part because as Spadaro passionately states he couldn't sleep because of the poor play Sunday and may be just writing down exactly what he felt.

Spadaro isn't alone. Questioning McNabb as the Eagles QB is a hot issue right now all over the blogosphere including The Bleeding Green Nation, Philly.com and even Baltimore Ravens (the Birds next opponent) Blogs.

Of course all this is just speculation and if the Eagles find a way to turn things around and win their next two games against Baltimore and Arizona then McNabb will likely remain the QB for the rest of 2008 and maybe beyond if he takes the Birds to the playoffs.

Should the Eagles offense continue to sputter it will be interesting to see how the Eagles react and how their blogger covers the collapse of the 2008 Birds and the possible end of McNabb's career as an Eagle.