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By
Terence Moore National Columnist
At the end of each show in the sitcom based on Chris Rock's life, a choir sings, "Everybody hates Chris."
Thus the name of the show.
Well, the NFL is in its 12th year of "Everybody Hates Donovan," and it makes you wonder: Why doesn't this guy ever strike back? How come he always eases into a smile atop that high road before he returns quietly to the shadows until he repeats the scenario after he gets bashed by somebody else's words or actions?
Here's a thought: McNabb knows his critics are correct about nearly everything they've blasted him for.
The booing from
Philadelphia Eagles fans -- you know, even more so than usual -- after he was drafted as a multiple
Super Bowl-winning quarterback that they swore he'd never become.
The Rush Limbaugh rip, and then the
Terrell Owens rip.
The punch in the gut that was Andy Reid alternating McNabb at quarterback with the same
Michael Vick that McNabb urged the Eagles to acquire as a third-string backup.
The humiliation of Reid, not only trading McNabb to division-foe Washington, but eventually replacing McNabb with Vick.
Now this: The insult of insults.
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan yanked McNabb on Sunday during a crucial stretch of what became a loss to the lowly
Detroit Lions. So why such a move? Shanahan won't say. Instead, he suggested it was because (choose one or more) he didn't realize McNabb has slipped this much at 33, the guy isn't in shape due to injuries or just in general, his practice habits are awful, underwhelming backup
Rex Grossman is better in the two-minute offense than the owner of six trips to the Pro Bowl.
Again, why? Why doesn't McNabb ever get angry to the point of joining his mother in dumping several buckets of Campbell's Chunky Soup over somebody's head?
I gave you my answer.
What does Joe Theismann think? Since he ended his dozen years as the Redskins quarterback in 1985 along the way to going 1-for-2 in Super Bowls and collecting a slew of team records, he estimates they've used 27 different starting quarterbacks, including McNabb.
"I can never recall him basically striking back. He's always been very honest about the situation, but he's one of those guys, it seems like -- and not necessarily because of what he's done, but he's always been a lightning rod."
-- Joe Theismann
"The one thing that has remained consistent about Donovan is that he has always conducted himself in a very classy manner," said Theismann, 61, who works for the NFL Network these days. "I can never recall him basically striking back. He's always been very honest about the situation, but he's one of those guys, it seems like -- and not necessarily because of what he's done, but he's always been a lightning rod."
Which is my point: That lightning rod should have scorched somebody years ago -- if he thought they were wrong.
The fact is, the truly great quarterbacks managed to snatch
the ultimate ring, and McNabb led the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games, but he won just once. And when he did reach the Super Bowl, he lost it, and he also watched Owens become the original Shanahan afterward by questioning McNabb's endurance down the stretch.
Yes, McNabb had an Eagles coach whose game plans consistently ignored the run. And, yes, McNabb often lacked gifted receivers until Owens came along. And, yes, McNabb's Redskins have the worst offensive line in the NFL that isn't a part of the
Chicago Bears.
Still, it's about the bottom line in professional sports. Even beyond the lack of a world championship, McNabb had significant issues as a quarterback before he entered this bye week for the Redskins with more interceptions than touchdowns and a passer rating of 76.0 that is lower than that of
Shaun Hill,
Chad Henne and even
Jason Campbell, the former Redskins starter now with the Oakland Raiders.
"When Donovan steps on the field, there are certain things you have to know," said Theismann, who lives in the Washington D.C. area, where he occasionally watches Redskins practices.
Added Theismann, "He's not going to be a 65-percent passer. Some throws you're going to scratch your head over, and he's going to make plays with his legs. And mechanically, he has struggled his entire career. Some balls will be bounced. Some balls will be thrown high.
"That's who Donovan McNabb is, and I believe that the Redskins felt like some of the things that he brings to the table would be beneficial to this offense. It may have reached the point where Coach Shanahan just said, 'I can't live with other aspects of what he does.' All I can figure is that (the benching) was all about X's and O's.
"I mean, you've listened to the explanations from Coach Shanahan. Can you figure out why he was benched?"
Yep. Everybody hates ...
Theismann disagreed, saying, "I don't necessarily buy into that, because when he got introduced in Philadelphia (earlier this year when he came back with the Redskins), he received a very warm welcome from the Eagles fans. And Andy Reid has an extremely high opinion of Donovan. He knows what Donovan did for him."
That's true, but so is this: Reid loved Donovan so much that he traded him to a competitor. Plus, many of those Eagles fans were cheering so heartily when McNabb returned to Philadelphia that day because he was wearing somebody else's uniform.
Through it all, McNabb just shrugged.
See what I mean?