In Philly, Eagles can't outrun talk about Donovan McNabb

[cvillehog]

http://usat.me?40368548

By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY
PHILADELPHIA — A billboard south of here on Interstate 95 reads, "Fox NFL Sunday… McNabb Returns to Philly." The Philadelphia Eagles do not need the reminder.
"Like I mentioned to the team, this is about the Washington Redskins. It's not about Donovan, though he's a very big part of it, of their offense," Eagles coach Andy Reid said Wednesday.

That is the Eagles' story, and they are sticking to it going into Sunday's NFC East game with the Redskins and Donovan McNabb, who quarterbacked them for 11 seasons until he was traded last April to Washington.

But this is a game loaded with sub-plots, not the least of which is the emergence of Michael Vick as Eagles starting quarterback.

Kevin Kolb was McNabb's successor until he was sidelined with a concussion at halftime of the Eagles' opener. Two big starts later, Vick is at the controls. He spent 18 months in prison after a conviction on federal charges related to his operation of a dogfighting ring. The Eagles signed him last summer at McNabb's urging.

Now, Vick faces McNabb, though he doesn't bill it that way. "It's not me against Don. It's not me against the Washington Redskins. It's the Philadelphia Eagles against the Redskins," Vick said.

McNabb said the same in a teleconference Wednesday morning with Philadelphia reporters, a call that drew a packed house in the media room at the team complex.

"Right now, I'm just approaching it like any other game, going through the same regimen," McNabb said.

But there won't be billboards advertising McNabb's coming on the rest of the schedule.

"I think it's going to be a weird situation, something that I've never been a part of," said Eagles safety Quintin Mikell, willing to acknowledge this isn't business as usual. "And with this big stage, it's going to be pretty incredible."

At Reid's news conference, he was asked whether he would have traded McNabb knowing he would be making a change at quarterback in the second game of the season.

"Since I didn't think about that, and I traded Donovan, I'm not going to worry about that," Reid said. "That's a fully loaded question, and I'm not Plato (the Greek philosopher)."

The Eagles have won two in a row with Vick. Reid said McNabb paved the way for the Eagles to sign the former three-time Pro Bowler.

"He very easily could have said that he didn't think it was a good idea," Reid said. "He had a past relationship with Michael Vick and saw the good in Michael Vick. So he shared that with me, and then when Michael got here, he followed that up with working out with Michael every morning."

Added Vick, "Don was instrumental in bringing me here, and our paths went separate ways. He's a great quarterback, a great competitor, and I look forward to this weekend."

Vick acknowledged he didn't go into this season planning on being the starter in the Eagles' first matchup with McNabb.

"We all never imagined that it would come to this," he said. "The Lord works in mysterious ways."

Vick said he's savoring his revival in Philadelphia. "I've enjoyed the whole experience here in Philadelphia. It's been great since day one," he said.

Of course, some Philadelphia fans who were at the 1999 NFL draft in New York did boo the team's choice of McNabb in the first round. McNabb went on to lead the Eagles to five NFC championship games and a Super Bowl appearance. But he never won the Super Bowl with the Eagles, and there is a mix of fan reaction to him in Philadelphia.

"It probably started with the draft and that whole deal," Reid said. " … But I will bet that if you took a survey in the city of Philadelphia, the majority of the people think that he was a heck of a player and left a great legacy here."

It remains to be seen what kind of reaction McNabb gets from Philadelphia fans Sunday.

"That's nothing that I would kind of think about," McNabb said. "Hopefully, I walk out the right tunnel. I've been walking out one tunnel for 11 years."

Vick said he wants Philadelphia fans to show appreciation.

"I hope it's a positive reaction. I hope it's a great reaction," said Vick. "Maybe a standing ovation. That would be great."

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

I hope he DOES get booed, thereby lighting a fire in the rest of the team, and then they stomp the Iggles.

[langleyparkjoe]

I hope he DOES get booed, thereby lighting a fire in the rest of the team, and then they stomp the Iggles.

Right!

[SKINFAN]

Dmac is a gamer, Boo or no boo he will give everything he's got. As for the rest of the team, just playing an NFC east rival should be fire enough to go out there and win.

[KazooSkinsFan]

I hope he DOES get booed, thereby lighting a fire in the rest of the team, and then they stomp the Iggles.

The quote cracked me up. They always booed him as an Eagle, why would they cheer him a a Redskin? We're not talking about fans with any class, I can't imagine anyone expecting anything from them that would indicate anything but what they are.

[VetSkinsFan]

I hope he DOES get booed, thereby lighting a fire in the rest of the team, and then they stomp the Iggles.

The quote cracked me up. They always booed him as an Eagle, why would they cheer him a a Redskin? We're not talking about fans with any class, I can't imagine anyone expecting anything from them that would indicate anything but what they are.

I thought the same...I didn't think it warranted a response, though