Donovan McNabb: Will he make it to Week 17?
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I'd like to start off by apologizing to all McNabb lovers and keepers alike here on Fleaflicker.
Here goes... I'm sorry.
Sorry for what, you might ask? Well, I'm sorry that I drafted him those years ago in my first ever keeper league. Had I not, McNabb may have had a long and healthy career, maybe even a Super Bowl win (I was definitely responsible for the flu he had during the game)! Unfortunately (or fortunately for Giants fans) I did draft him and subsequently things have gone down the proverbially crapper. So far he's had a bum ankle, a sports hernia (which I had never even heard of until then, I swear I thought they were going to call it a McNabb Hernia ala Lou Gherig's Disease), and a destroyed knee all while I have been his owner. Funny how he was perfectly healthy before I ever drafted him.
You might think I'm overexaggerating but I'm not... really. Let me give you some examples. How about Tiki Barber? He was awesome, my #1 running back and anchor of my team. What does he do? He up and retires while he's still going strong. In fact, he's probably making out with Katie Couric as we speak (seriously Tiki you could do better, she's kind of old). He didn't even give me a chance to shop him around. But that's alright, I drafted Frank Gore last year and what a pick up that's been. What's that you say? Frank Gore broke his hand in training camp! He's out at least a month. Fan-freakin-tastic!
So I guess my season rests on Donovan McNabb's shoulders... again...
&!$&*
If your team is built around the monster numbers McNabb can put up (and believe me he can, just look at last year's stats, that's only 2/3's of a season and he had better numbers than most of the league) then this little factoid should fill you with dread. Donovan McNabb has completed a full season just ONE TIME in the last five years. ONE! What am I supposed to do with that? Pray that he doesn't get struck by lightning this year?
It also doesn't help my fantasy owner's psyche that McNabb says he's at 75% and claims that is not only enough to start for the Eagles but is enough to be a top flight QB in the NFL. This sounds oddly familiar to Daunte Culpepper's musings last year, and we all remember how that turned out.
You know what all this talk of percentages tells me? It tells me that he's not going to be near as good as he has been in the past, and you know what, that's probably to be expected. But it also tells me more. It tells me that you can expect his rushing yards to be minimal. On top of the fact that his mobility as a whole will be hindered. McNabb has been so good over the years because he can elude the rush and then make the pass (or at times run for a good chunk or yards).
The Eagles have also expressed a vote of confidence in McNabb by drafting Kevin Kolb. Thanks, Eagles... you've taken a load of my mind.
What do we do about this?
What can we do about this?
Nothing. That's what.
Nothing at all.
As terrible as that sounds there is simply nothing to do about it. McNabb is just way too talented NOT to be a number one fantasy quarterback. You absolutely should hang on to him if you have him already (unless someone wants to hand you Manning, the good one, not the crappy one). And you should probably draft him, especially if he's around in the middle of the second round. It's a steal just for the sheer potential that McNabb has. He tore up the league before he tore up his knee last season. He led the league in points before his injury. Three out of 9 weeks (he was injured in his tenth game) he scored the most points of any player. This year he'll have even more weapons (Kevin Curtis) and will be more comfortable throwing to Reggie Brown. There is SO much potential it's bordering on ridiculous. If he stays healthy, he'll likely put up his best numbers to date. But that's just it...
if...
That's all we can hope for as McNabb owners.
So McNabb Fans and owners pray to God, Allah, Vishnu, Fonzie, whomever you like, (and draft a really good backup!) to get McNabb and his bionic knee through the year in one piece. But most likely, we'll be commisserating around Week 10 about another year gone down the tubes.
-- hE HaTe YoU at FleaFanatics
