Christmas Came Early For Me In Detroit
By Andy Wheeler
So do I laugh? No. Do I gloat? Maybe a little for some fun...but this is crazy.
I don't understand it.
I mean, I think it's clear that I've not been the biggest Donovan Fan.
But bench Donovan for Rex Grossman?
Really? Rex Grossman?
Donovan's not THAT bad. Is he? I mean I don't know. I don't really understand what to think about it. The guy's stats here were pretty damn good.
Is it really possible that Andy Reid is that good a coach that he could have gotten the very most possible out of Donovan…and was actually held back by him? That's been said in public before. The notion of that doesn't really seem possible to me at all. Andy Reid can't be THAT good.
Is this why Donovan was bad in the clutch? He couldn't remember 2 plays with no time outs? Or he was so physically out of shape his body couldn't take it?
These are the only 2 options the Redskins have given us by their actions. Let's review our options here. Either he's lazy and out of shape…or he's stupid? No way. Not Donovan McNabb. And I mean this seriously…there's very little way that I could believe that he's Lazy or Stupid.
Maybe he has mentally miscast himself as a Pocket Quarterback…but he still put up great numbers doing that here. And at the very least I always hear about him working out in Arizona in the offseason.
Now it's possible that could be a euphemism for something…but that's too much fun for me to even get in to.
Look I'm going to come clean here…I don't root for Donovan, and I'd have been a moron and either very lightly politely clapped when he came back this year…or booed really loud. I think that depends on just how much tailgating had been involved.
But right now…I don't know….I feel like all the things I thought about Donovan all these years were proven right by the Redskins.
Did he throw up in the Super Bowl? If you believe the Redskins, TO, Freddie Mitchell and I believe new Congressman Jon Runyan, yes he did. That's a lot of people for that to have been a lie.
In the Super Bowl…did he not know the plays, because T.O. was in the game and the coaches didn't know what they wanted to call? Or could he just not call 2 plays at once and know what was happening?
I mean the end of that game was TORTURE for me to watch them waste that much clock. Now the Redskins say this was his fault…so did Freddie and T.O.
Were the Eagles time management problems all these years under Andy Reid somehow Donovan's fault because he can't remember plays?
Did he not know that the game could end in a tie…this last weekend sure made that seem possible, instead of the reason he gave that the Ref told him that.
Lot's of people compared Donovan to John Elway. Mike Shanahan coached both. He would have never benched Elway. EVER. Not in 1 million years would Rex Grossman come in for Elway for a 2 minute drill. Mike Shanahan basically just said anyone who made that comparison is wrong.
Look, I love to blast Donovan probably more than anyone alive. It's almost like a sport to me, but the inclination to take what happened last weekend against the Lions as proof for all the bad things I've thought about him in the past is just plain wrong.
Is this Donovan's worst season since being drafted? Yes. However, even I must be fair and point out that the Redskins stink. Combine that with a guy going into a different system for the first time in his career and there are some explanations.
But as much as I want to believe bad things about Donovan… I just can't. I can't believe that a 6 time Pro Bowl player is so stupid he can't remember 2 plays at once.
I can't believe someone as sensitive as Donovan is, you know I'm right out there all you Donovan lovers, would allow himself to fall into such poor physical shape that he couldn't run a 2 minute offense.
With the size of the chip that should be on his shoulder this year it's just inconceivable to me. Injuries maybe a factor, but not in shape is hard to believe. If I was Donovan, and I'm sure he did this, this would have been my most taxing offseason in terms of working out and being ready for the season physically.
To me there HAS to be something more to this. Maybe Washington wanted to embarrass him since he hasn't signed an extension. Nothing could be more embarrassing in the History of the NFL than being pulled for Rex Grossman in crunch time. McNabb has almost 29,000 more passing yards than Grossman.
But as much as I want to believe that Donovan is exactly what the Redskins said, as much as I want to use it as validation of every bad thing I've ever written about Donovan… I just can't. Not yet anyway.
I've always thought that Donovan wasn't the quarterback that everyone else thought he was…but something about this whole situation seems to fit TOO perfectly with all the things I've always assumed. And usually when things seem too perfect they usually aren't.
I know one thing. I couldn't have been THIS right for this long to all of a sudden have one thing happen to prove that I was right all this time. I can't be that lucky can I? Probably not, but I know Donovan isn't that bad…or at least I think I do.
I'm so confused!
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