Do you get the sense Donovan McNabb could use a bye week? I wouldn’t even blame him if, six days hence, he pulled a Tony Romo and headed to Cancun – just to get as far away from drooling pass rushers as possible.
McNabb’s first seven games as a Redskin have tested him as much as he’s ever been – emotionally, mentally, physically, every which way. He’s had to deal with being discarded by the Eagles. He’s had to rewire his brain to run Mike Shanahan’s offense. He’s had to take his fair share of lumps behind a rebuilt line. And he’s had to accept the fact that, given the weapons at his disposal, the yards and points will come much harder this year.
The toll this has taken on McNabb seemed increasingly evident in the slapdash 17-14 win over the Bears. His accuracy – never his strongest suit – was even spottier than usual (17 of 32), and he threw a particularly bad interception, while in the grip of a defender, that was returned for a touchdown. He’s now had an INT in five straight games, something he hasn’t done in the same season since 2001, when he was still a pup.
But it’s his body language as much as anything. He looks weary. He looks exasperated. And who could blame him? The offense is a junker pieced together mostly from spare parts. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler, and he’s being asked to drive a bucket of bolts.
The man needs a week off.
He’ll get one, too – but only after he dispenses with Detroit this weekend. The Lions don’t have an outside rusher like DeMarcus Ware, Mario Williams, Dwight Freeney or Julius Peppers, but they have a rookie tackle, Ndamukong Suh, who was fined for a hit on a quarterback before he’d played in his first regular-season game. Rest assured Donovan will keep an eye out for him.
These first seven games haven’t just been an education for McNabb, they’ve been an education for everybody – Shanahan and Redskins Nation included. After all, expectations might have been high when the trade with Philadelphia was made, but no one was totally sure how the experiment would turn out. How much did Donovan, who turns 34 next month, have left? Why did the Eagles – a level-headed, highly successful organization – decide to go in a different direction?
That might explain why McNabb, in the last year of his contract, has yet to sign a long-term deal: Both sides are still making up their minds. In Donovan’s case, he might be wondering whether he’d be better off playing for Brad Childress, the former Eagles assistant, in Minnesota – assuming, that is, Brett Favre finally retires, for good, at the end of the season.
Let’s face it, the Redskins’ offense is a year or two away; they need receiving help, they need to further firm up the line and they need to determine whether Ryan Torain is the long-term answer at running back or merely a blowout patch. A year or two is a long time, though, when you’re McNabb’s age. He might not want to wait that long.
So that’s another thing that’s weighing on him like a clingy defensive end: The Future. Should he stay or should he go?
If McNabb comes across as battle-fatigued, then, it’s perfectly understandable. The past month has been positively brutal – his first return to Philly, followed by a pretty good working over by the Packers, followed by a head-to-head with Peyton Manning, followed by another head-to-head with Jay Cutler, Shanahan’s former pupil. There was hardly a place in there to take a deep breath.
(For that matter, has anyone else noticed that, in the last three games, McNabb hasn’t taken off on one of his patented third-down mad dashes? Is this an indication of tiredness, too? Granted, he’s not the ramblin’ man he used to be, but he had some key runs early in the season.)
Then there’s his passer rating. This, in fairness, can be a team statistic as much as an individual one, but McNabb’s ratings so far have been 63.4, 119, 79.7, 60.2, 75.0, 67.5 and 56.8. That’s right, his rating has dropped the past two weeks – and only once all season has he topped 80, which is no better than average.
Am I down on McNabb? No (probably because I was never as “up” on him as others). In fact, I find myself appreciating more and more the intangibles he brings to a team, especially his game-day demeanor. Other quarterbacks in his circumstances might have been throwing helmets by now, creating all kinds of drama. Donovan has been a rock. Never points a finger. Never lets the frustration – and there’s been plenty of it – overwhelm him.
But the guy could definitely use a vacation, a few days to clear his head and recharge his energy pack for the even bigger games ahead. The Redskins, fighting for a playoff spot, need him to be at his absolute best the rest of the way – whatever his absolute best is at this stage of his career . . . and with this kind of supporting cast.
Now go back to making up straw man arguments to tear down. I'll be over here talking to the grownups. 
