4/1/2023 0 Comments Donovan mcnabb![]() McNabb returned for the playoffs that year, leading the Eagles to what would be their second of three straight losses in the NFC Championship Game-a 27-10 loss to the Buccaneers. In 2002, he threw for 255 yards and four touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, playing on a broken ankle. ![]() Despite a cast of has-beens and never-will-bes at wide receiver (James Thrash, Freddie Mitchell, Todd Pinkston, Na Brown), he threw for 3,233 yards in 2001. McNabb finished second in NFL MVP voting that year to Marshall Faulk, was named to his first Pro Bowl and led the Eagles to a playoff win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In that 2000 season, he threw for 3,365 yards and ran for 629 more, showcasing the ability to extend plays with his legs that was the hallmark of his NFL career. McNabb's star truly began to shine in his second NFL season, the first in which he was the unquestioned starter for the Eagles. Five quarterbacks were drafted in the top 12 picks in a supposedly loaded draft at the position in 1999.īy 2006, only McNabb remained with the team that drafted him, and he had more success in the NFL than the other four put together (Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper, Cade McNown). In retrospect, they may have overreacted just a touch. The Eagles fans in attendance were apoplectic when he was drafted second overall. If McNabb changed any minds, those folks weren't present at the draft. Maybe I run around back there in the pocket. We have to make checks at the line of scrimmage, we're reading defenses, we're making reads on the run. I believe people began to understand that we're not just guys out there running the ball all day. However, for all of his success at Syracuse, there were still many who believed that McNabb was just another "running quarterback." Heading into the 1999 NFL draft, he was hopeful, according to Sports Illustrated, that a strong showing at the Senior Bowl had changed some people's perspective. As a senior, McNabb led Syracuse to one of the most successful seasons in school history and a berth in the Orange Bowl, where the Orange fell to Florida 31-10. McNabb would go one better the following season.įrom 1996-1998, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year an unprecedented three straight times while rewriting the school's record books at quarterback. ![]() He gave notice as a freshman that he was going to be a force in the conference, accounting for over 350 yards of total offense against West Virginia (including a school-record 96-yard touchdown pass) en route to being named the Big East Rookie of the Year. Over four years as the starting quarterback at Syracuse, McNabb never missed a start, compiling a 35-14 record. He redshirted that first season at Syracuse, but after that he was impossible to keep off the field. ![]() One of those schools was Syracuse University, and in 1994, Donovan McNabb headed east to join the Orange. In fact, only two schools offered him a scholarship to play under center. Despite that high school success, Ian O'Connor of USA Today relayed back in 2004 that not many colleges were interested in McNabb as a quarterback. Mount Carmel won a state championship in 1991 and a Chicago Prep Bowl title the following year. He played hoops with Antoine Walker, and defensive end Simeon Rice was a football teammate. He was far from the only star on the teams at Mount Carmel High in Chicago. By the time he was a teenager, he was quite the athlete, playing football, basketball and even volleyball. That, however, is the middle of the Donovan McNabb story, and we should start at the beginning.ĭonovan Jamal McNabb was born on Nov. Not bad for a player who was roundly booed when he was drafted. ![]() The number '5' has become synonymous with one of the greatest eras of Eagles football, and by ensuring that no one else will ever wear Donovan's number, we honor one of the greatest playmakers to ever wear an Eagles uniform. Team owner Jeffrey Lurie released a statement:ĭonovan McNabb was a franchise-changing quarterback for the Eagles and helped raise the bar of success for this franchise during his 11-year tenure with the team. ![]()
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