4221

Philly sports fans are the worst sports fans.

4222

BTW, this will never happen.

The NFLPA would go nuts, and it would kill the Redskins on the player acquisition front. It would essentially be burning a bridge that needn’t be burned, and Bruce Allen is well aware of it. The team is already going to have to undo some bad publicity in convincing black free agents to come play for the Shanahans next offseason. Sticking it to a guy as liked around the league as McNabb would be be suicidal.

4223

I won’t comment on Philly NBA, MLB or NHL fans, but Eagles fans are just…strange. I admire their passion for their team sometimes, but they turn on them so blindingly fast that it boggles the mind. They go from cheering to booing, loving to hating, of the team in general and specific players, like no group of fans I have ever seen.

When Cubs fans complain about their team, you sort of sympathize with them because generally they seem to love them. When Eagles fans complain, you just want them to shut up because they seem to want the whole organization to die in a fire if they don’t deliver a title RIGHT NOW! Very strange.

4224

Dudes, whatever.

4225

So who will McNabb go to?

Cardinals are probably the odds on favorite.

Both the 49ers and Oakland have coaching issues (no HC for 49ers and Hue Jackson may be leaving the Raiders or getting promoted). They need to sort those out before deciding to get McNabb. For my money, I think Campbell is slowly getting there and the Smiths suffered from poor play calling.

Seahawks need a lot of work. McNabb could help but honestly, it’s another bad situation that I don’t think is a good fit.

Carolina is getting Luck and starting him, no doubt.

Minnesota could possibly be a great choice. I mean, the talent there is crazy. In terms of raw talent, they may have the best offense (the O-line needs some work though). A solid QB like McNabb could make them contenders. They do need a head coach first though.

I’m not terribly familiar with the Dolphins and Titans situation.

Everyone else seems pretty set.

4226

What makes me laugh the most about the McNabb situation in DC, is that apparently Shanahan is upset at McNabb for the following things: (1) poor accuracy on short throws due to poor footwork and mechanics; and (2) poor practice habits.

Apparently, Shanahan didn’t watch McNabb in Philly the past 10 years, because those were pretty much McNabb’s negatives. There’s a lot to like about McNabb (he’s a playmaker, he’s mobile, he’s a classy guy, etc.), but if you don’t want a guy with poor short accuracy, and who doesn’t practice hard…don’t get McNabb. His mechanics and footwork are sloppy, and he’s not interested in improving them. Did Shanny think they were going to be able to transform the habits of a successful 12 year veteran QB?

And Andy Reid should be sending Michael Vick flowers and cash every week, because Vick has saved this season for him. And to think that Reid was shopping Vick in the offseason. Watching that Eagles-Giants game at a local sports bar, an Eagle fan said one of the smartest things I’ve heard from an Eagles fan. The real MVP of the Eagles should be Clay Matthews, because he’s the one who injured Kolb in game 1 and forced Reid to play Michael Vick.

4227

Yeah but if Vick chokes in the playoffs, then Philly fans will put him right into the dog house.

4228

I was listening to the radio tonight and they had a SF beat reporter on to talk about the Singletary firing. One thing I guess I hadn’t really understood was just how unsuitable he was for the job as head coach. The reporter said he was basically a motivator and not a Xs and Os kind of guy, relying on his staff for that stuff. Which seems like a real failure waiting to happen in the modern NFL. The way he handled the QB thing still has me scratching my head - everyone has known for a few years that Alex Smith wasn’t going to work out, they never gave Carr any shot (maybe justifiably but who knows), and Nate Smith is really not ready if he’s ever going to be. And that’s what was on the roster going into a season where they and Cards (who made similar boneheaded QB moves) were supposed to contend.

There was a lot of talk about this or that big name coach coming in next (Gruden, Jim Harbaugh, etc.), but I can’t help but think they will go cheap once again and get some coordinator or retread who never did much. Maybe they’ll get lucky with that this time.

It’s funny, though. If I was a 49er fan I’d be kicking myself over the guys who would have been interested in this job last year had it been open. Guys like Holmgren and Carroll are obvious fits for that team and area and yet now both are elsewhere because of Singletary. But maybe it wouldn’t have mattered given the York’s cheap approach to coaching and front office guys.

4229

I like Singletary, but that’s exactly how I felt about him watching this season played out. He is a guy who knows the basic and could get guys going, a motivator, a great coach for Linebackers and D-line but not as a head coach. Everything he did this year especially with the Alex Smith and the QB position was a mess. Start Alex Smith one game, then Carr, then move to Troy Smith, then back to Alex, where he’ll be great and then a disaster and then switch back to Troy again.

If they really want to win, they’ll need to get a good head coach, I would like Harbaugh but then again it could end up like Mike Montgomery and the Warriors where the team just wouldn’t come together. Whatever they do with the HC problem, they’ll also need to fix the QB problem and draft somebody and hope they don’t end up like Alex Smith, a bust.

4230

cough

Goodness, let’s hope not.

4231

I see what you did there.

4232

Speaking of chokes, how about Jacksonville? They just can’t seem to win when it matters most.

4233

I said “Eagles fans,” not “cornfuzed” or “you.” Reading is, indeed, etc.

He does? OK.

Oh God, he’s decent! Call Goodell, this is a travesty. A QB is decent.

Are you retarded? Re-read what I said there.

I think you need a nap or something (lol Eagles fans).

4234

That’s a good point, Bill. I think ALL philly fans need a nap. Something to help them find their happy center place. Or just to calm the fuck down.

I mean, it’s not like we have records that show a players career or anything. And McNabb’s stats, assuming such things exist, seem to suggest he did the following, even with mostly crappy receivers. He had 8 years of 3k+ yards, had 3 years 90+ QB rating, went to the NFC championship 5 times, the pro bowl more than a few times, and got to the big game once. Not mention he’s the best in just about every QB category for the Eagles.

Damn lousy mediocre QBs.

I get that some people may not like his attitude. Great. But to say he wasn’t talented or just mediocre? Switch out Rivers WRs and McNabb’s, both in their prime, and tell me which was a better QB. I think you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference (especially being his time with TO was his best years statistically).

4235

from pro-football-reference.com:

Players whose career was of similar quality and shape:
Mark Brunell, Steve McNair, Terry Bradshaw*, Jim Kelly*, Troy Aikman*, Boomer Esiason, Roger Staubach*, Drew Bledsoe, Ken Stabler, Bob Griese*

What a bunch of mediocre quarterbacks.

4236

Is all of your information about Philadelphia sports fans based off of one guy on a forum? Because I think you’ve got this about as wrong as you could get it. Lots of Philadelphians love them some sports and they are enjoying the hell out of this little golden age we’ve got going on here. As ridiculous as it is to make generalizations about groups as diverse as “people from the Philadelphia area who like sports,” if I was going to do that I’d go more with “giddy” than “bitter and angry”. What’s there to be depressed about? Everyone I talk to is excited about the Phillies, Eagles and Flyers and uh, yeah, the Sixers keep us grounded. It’s actually an amazing place to be a sports fan. Try visiting! I’ll buy you guys a cheesesteak and we’ll talk about Cliff Lee.

PS Plenty of us liked Donovan McNabb, too.

4237

Yeah, I’ve met a bunch of Philly fans who don’t fit the “angry Philly fan” mold, and who liked McNabb, etc. But I have met a bunch of the other variety, as well.

Then you have your famous incidents of Philly fans cheering as Michael Irvin lies on the field with a spinal cord injury, booing Santa Clause and throwing snowballs at him, throwing batteries at players, beating up fans of a rival team, and throwing up on an 11-year-old girl. Obviously it isn’t every fan, but you guys do have a rep!

4238

I’m curious to hear an example or two of this whining. His agent has been righteously indignant (which I suppose you must point to as a McNabb proxy), but McNabb himself has only given one interview so far in which he said he was “disrespected” by not hearing the news from the coach himself.

That’s probably exactly what he thought. If there is one thing that Shanahan has demonstrated, it is an extremely high opinion of his own judgment. He probably looked at Reid’s results and thought: given the same raw materials, I could work wonders. Apparently taking a very old dog and expecting him to learn new tricks was not as easy as he assumed it would be.

4239

[MNF] You think they should have called pass interference on the football while they were at it? Whoever heard of a double pass interference call on the players going for the ball??

4240

Looks like that turnover by the Dirty Birds is gonna cost 'em big right here, after the game being a near stalemate for a while.

Having to watch via ustream due to, you know, not having ESPN on this side of the pond…