The Eagles are ushering in a new era with Kevin Kolb at QB and a host of young skill position talent, but it’s not always easy to move on from days gone by, especially when the former face of your franchise now plays two hours down I-95. Redskins QB and Philly ex-boyfriend Donovan McNabb had a lengthy interview with GQ magazine that posted Tuesday, and he takes time to address the defining moments of his career with the Eagles. I read this thing so you don’t have to. Here are some of the choice quotes:
On being booed on draft day:
"I'd never been booed in my life. You see it on TV, and you think, 'Yeah, that won't happen to me.' But when they did boo, I laughed about it."
On that endless fourth quarter drive in the Super Bowl:
"We were trying to figure out if T.O. was in or if T.O. was out, because of his leg. T.O. wanted to be in. We were trying to rotate different guys in and get the personnel together and things of that nature. The play calling was a little slow, maybe, but it made it look like we were just kind of standing around. We were hustling, it was just blown out of proportion."
You know, if I were the rabble-rousing sort, I’d be tempted to frame that quote as McNabb blaming T.O. (and, to a lesser extent, Andy Reid) for that Super Bowl loss. But I think that would probably be blowing it out of… Oh, who am I kidding? DONOVAN THREW T.O. UNDER THE BUS! DONOVAN THREW T.O. UNDER THE BUS! Also, Donovan: it looked like you were standing around because you were STANDING AROUND. Trust me.
On puking during that drive:
No, at no point did I throw up.
I’ll be needing a CSI investigator to verify that claim.
On not knowing about the overtime rules:
"We're in the game, and we go off on third and out, they're out there, and I'm like, 'Hey, we need to get this thing going, how much time is left?' I'm looking at the clock and the ref is like, 'We've got another five minutes after this quarter if no one scores.' [Editors note: Yep, that's what he said. The NFL had no comment.] I didn't think nothing of it, but I did hear it. It was a mistake on my part. I've got to know the rules."
So the ref didn’t know the overtime rules either? Was he bused in from the NBA?
On being criticized in Philly:
"'The most important thing you have to do is handle it well,' because Kevin can get fiery, and I said, 'Don't do it, because once you get fiery, then all of the sudden you look like you're on the defense, and now they'll really start coming at you.'"
One of the most admirable qualities about McNabb is his sense of diplomacy. Despite being barraged with criticism from all angles during the course of his career, McNabb has always been able to stay above the fray and handle his business in a relatively calm and classy manner. He’s candid in this interview without being defensive, and that’s not a skill everyone has.
That said, I think that level-headedness is part of why some Philly fans never accepted McNabb. This is Philadelphia. It’s a town that prefers brash leaders, people who never shy away from a war. Donovan McNabb wasn’t that guy and never will be. It’s not fair, but I think Philly fans want a coach and a QB who wear their passion on the sleeve from time to time. Andy Reid certainly isn’t that kind of coach. The next interesting thing he says will be his first. And McNabb was the perfect QB for Reid’s temperament. But together, I think a lot of Eagles fans were left cold by the pair. We’ll find out very soon if they’ll regret feeling that way.
