Donovan McNabb, the former Eagles quarterback was given a special ceremony from the team during their game on Thursday night. McNabb has received quite a bit of criticism throughout his career, and some do not feel that he deserves the honor.
His No. 5 jersey was retired during a special half-time ceremony, becoming the ninth player in team history to receive the honor. Since his retirement and the retiring of his jersey, there has also been talk of a possibility of him being inducted into the hall of fame. He was drafted by the Eagles in 1999 and played eleven seasons, before being traded to the Redskins.
McNabb had a successful career with the Philadelphia Eagles, but since then views of him have switched a bit. He finished out his career in a couple of disappointing final seasons with the Eagles and then played for the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings each for less than a season. It is not easy to make a case for him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, since only 23 modern-era quarterbacks have become Hall of Famers, and only six of those: Troy Aikman, John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Warren Moon and Steve Young, debuted within the past 30 years, according to the Washington Post. Although, McNabb’s stats match up pretty well with each of them and his biggest fault is that he never won a Super Bowl, but neither did Marino, Kelly or Moon.
The countdown is almost over, starting to wish I was playing today but I enjoy where I am in my life. Come out and enjoy the game tonight.
— Donovan McNabb (@donovanjmcnabb) September 19, 2013
Thank you Philly Fans for a great night. I will always cherish that moment. Come enjoy the weekend with me in AC this weekend
— Donovan McNabb (@donovanjmcnabb) September 20, 2013
The former Eagles coach, Andy Reid, also made a return to the field during Thursday’s game as the new coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. The game ended with a final score of 26-16 in favor of the Chiefs. The Chiefs become 3-0 after the win and seem to be the real deal this year, after struggling for the past several years. Before the loss, McNabb took a stab at the new Eagles read-option offense being run by Chip Kelly, calling it “just a fad.” He recognizes that it has been working, but in some cases it just does not seem sensible. He was quoted saying, “I tip my hat off to what they’ve been doing the first two weeks, but there comes a time if you’re up by 14, up by 21, maybe with about 11, 10 minutes to go, it’s time to go into a mode where you’re trying eat up some clock.” McNabb played in the West Coast offense under Andy Reid, and believes the new speed-based play-calling is actually a detriment to the Eagles’ success, mentions Philly.com.
Outstanding night Philly. Thank You so much
— Donovan McNabb (@donovanjmcnabb) September 20, 2013
The Eagles fans will have to wait and see where this offense takes the team. They are currently 1-2 after their loss.
Image via Youtube
