Donovan McNabb : The beginning of the End

What is it about Donovan McNabb. Was he overrated all those years. Was he ever as good as people thought he was. Perhaps that is why his fall from grace has been so shocking. Or not shocking depending on how you look at it.

I myself never pictured him as an elite quarterback. Ever. All the way back to Rush Limbaugh on ESPN saying that as a black quarterback he was over elevated above his talent level their has been a lingering doubt about him.

When the Eagles traded him for a draft pick to make Kevin Kolb the starter ( see NFL quarterback job security for how that worked out) most wondered what Andy Reid knew that was not apparent to others.

McNabb's year with the Redskins has been a flop. The Skins have not won, he has not performed. Clearly he has not made a good team with Mike Shanahan. Weeks ago he was benched on a Monday night game as the Coach said he felt he was not in shape enough to lead a two minute drill. What does that mean? Then talk surfaced from teammates new and old that Donovan did not work hard in practice, never had and everyone new that and perhaps this was Shanahan's making a point about that.

If the point was to be made it did not stick. Earlier in the year the Skins gave McNabb a huge contract extension which at the time I told my son seemed strange considering how he did not seem to be playing well.

It is clear that this too was thought to be a prod to make him step up his game. We find out now that their is a clause in the contract allowing him to be cut at season's end with no further money owed.

This week we are told that Rex Grossman will start with McNabb as his backuo and for the last two weeks of the season he will be the third string quarterback.

Clearly the experiment is over. McNabb will latch on somewhere desperate for a quarterback. Arizona comes to mind. But his days as an elite performer are done and perhaps should have been done long ago.