With an 0-2 start to the still very young 2007 NFL season, the heat is already been turned up on the Philadelphia Eagles, especially quarterback Donovan McNabb.
On top of an already uneasy feeling surrounding this team, an HBO interview with McNabb aired on the heels of a very ineffective showing by the quarterback himself on Monday night versus the Washington Redskins. McNabb still sends mixed messages concerning the black quarterback, white quarterback issue that was brought up yet again in this particular interview.
Recalling four years ago, when conservative radio talking head Rush Limbaugh made racial comments concerning McNabb and made assumptions concerning what he called the NFL "wanting a black quarterback to do well." In response, McNabb took the high road, saying how it is sad that we have to still talk about these kinds of things.
Four years later, McNabb is at the center of another racially charged controversy, this time of his own doing.
To be fair, all quarterbacks deal with a certain level of criticism. They are the captains of the ship on the field and when the ship that is the team is going down, they are the ones left to take the blame whether it be justified or not.
In McNabb's case, he has failed to stay healthy three of the last five seasons and coupling in the fiasco that was the end of Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, his recent success is not enough to free him of the sharp criticism that he now endures.
To say that the critics are unjustified in their comments about McNabb's on the field performance due to his skin color is a cowardly move on McNabb's part. His performance on the field is what has been on trial here in the media and with the Philadelphia fan-base, not his race.
To note Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer as not getting the same amount of criticism as any black quarterback is for the lack of a better word, ridiculous. Manning was heavily criticized until he finally won the Super Bowl last season. He was branded with the label that still clings to Dan Marino to this day, not able to win the big game.
If McNabb wants to see a quarterback that takes an extraordinary amount of criticism, he better look at Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman. Grossman led his team to the Super Bowl, but still was criticized to no end on the way there.
Philadelphia is a tough sports town; there is no doubt about that. It is more of a what have you done for me lately city than any other. McNabb is feeling the effects of what happens when this city turns on you. There is one thing he can do above all that will silence his critics and make him beloved to the fans again, win.
