Dear Donovan McNabb,
You were never given your due credit from the city of Philadelphia. As a young kid from Rhode Island, I heard about the fans booing you on draft day and always having a love-hate relationship with you throughout your career. I saw you continue to play at a high level no matter what the fans or media said. I saw you compete and win with a less-than-stellar cast of characters around you. Time and time again you rose to the challenge and became the best quarterback in Philadelphia Eagles history.
You were my favorite player. You were my first jersey. Each championship loss broke my heart but nothing broke me more than the day you were traded away from the organization you gave so much to. Even now I truly believe you are the best QB in team history.
I knew you and the media had a tumultuous relationship. After your playing career, I thought there would be a deeper understanding and love from the city to you after dealing with many quarterbacks after you. I think, for a time, that did happen. We sat through Kolb, the often-injured Vick, the annoying Bradford, and ….gulp…Mark Sanchez. I thought fans became more appreciative of what they had from 1998-09.
When Carson Wentz was drafted, I was as excited as I was watching you as a little kid. I felt Wentz would be an extension of you: excellent, but underrated QB play who would bring us to the promised lands.
Things got in the way and yet we all rejoiced as a completely different QB lead the Eagles to their first championship since 1960. I never lost faith in Carson Wentz. Something that obviously cannot be said about you when you were critical of the QB’s play in 2018.
“I think in the next two, three years—two years or so—he has to find a way to get out of the second round of the playoffs. What Foles was able to do, take them to a Super Bowl and then possibly take them back to the NFC Championship Game, proves that, hey, some people can get into that offense and be very successful. [Wentz] hasn’t been healthy. He hasn’t really proven to me, besides the year before he got hurt [when] he was, really, an MVP candidate. He needs to get back to that moment.”
I didn’t think those comments were necessary but it honestly didn’t bother me as much as others were. I saw T.O. and Lane Johnson attack you for it but you were still my guy. You doubled down and I thought that would be the end of it.
Even after that, I saw Carson pull a team full of practice squad players to one of the most improbable late-season runs I had ever seen. I saw Carson have the highest QBR from outside the pocket and throw to guys like Deontae Burnett. It was something I saw you do before with a lowly cast of characters. I saw Wentz win the NFC East with a team whose talent was nowhere near where they started the season with. I went ALL-IN with Carson Wentz.
Apparently that wasn’t enough for you. After the Eagles pulled off a shocking move in drafting Jalen Hurts in the 2nd round of the 2020 draft, it sent a message to you when you went on air.
“I was a little shocked. I mean, we were just talking about Aaron Rodgers, weren’t we? You have to look at it and take into account – I’ve said it, I said it last year, I said it the year before, and everybody gave me heat. If you continuously get hurt, they’re going to look to bring somebody in to step in and fill the void. Carson is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, when he’s healthy. But he just hasn’t been healthy, over the last couple years, to finish seasons out. “
That was the last straw for me.
Dude. Hop off.
This isn’t like when Kevin Kolb was drafted in 2007. You had turned 30 and had three straight years of injuries. Wentz is 27 this year. The fact the Eagles drafted Hurts says more about the organization than about Carson Wentz.
Wentz has showed the true marking of a franchise QB like you used to. The fact the city has a love-hate relationship with Wentz should only make the comparisons to you easier.
And yet, for some reason the only QB really happy about this move is you. The only QB threatened by Wentz and his production is you. Your teammate, Brian Westbrook, even attacked the Eagles move for Hurts.
How are you the only one perfectly fine with this move? I mean apart from the fear of Wentz potentially supplanting you as the greatest QB in franchise history.
If you want the city to finally open up to you like you actually deserve than instead of attacking the teams current QB, maybe you should just shut the #*$% up.
Sincerely,
An annoyed Eagles fan
