First, he is a noticeably different QB 2 games in the year then he has been the last several years. The biggest reason is he is making much quicker decisions and appears to have gotten over his recent problem of waiting for the perfect play to develop..ie holding onto the ball too long.
The quicker decisions is the key part especially in this offense and is why Garcia looked much better in this offense 2 years ago.
Now all that being said late in the game he showed a little choke when it really mattered which he has a propensity to show sometimes. The fumble aside he reverted to sitting back and not making a quick decision and looking for the perfect play to develop. Hopefully for the Eagles sake that was just a one time thing but time will tell.
The quicker decisions is the key part especially in this offense and is why Garcia looked much better in this offense 2 years ago.
Now all that being said late in the game he showed a little choke when it really mattered which he has a propensity to show sometimes. The fumble aside he reverted to sitting back and not making a quick decision and looking for the perfect play to develop. Hopefully for the Eagles sake that was just a one time thing but time will tell.
Yeah I'm sure Dallas will just get its ass kicked by Green bay :lolBIG:
Donavan thought he was back to being decent, but Dallas put him in his place......I predict an injury by week 6 and bye bye Donavan and the Eagles. They realized Monday night that they are over matched when it comes to talent, and guts.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20080918_McNabb_s_clutch-play_issue.html
McNabb's clutch-play issue
By Bob Brookover
It's fair to criticize Donovan McNabb for his botched fourth-quarter exchange with Brian Westbrook that led to Dallas' game-winning touchdown Monday night at Texas Stadium.
He blamed himself.
It's fair to say the quarterback should have run when he had room to take off on the Eagles' final offensive possession.
And, yes, it's even fair to wonder whether McNabb is a really good quarterback who allows greatness to elude him because of his inability to come through in close and big games. His career record as a starter against playoff teams is 21-26. That means he has won a lot of big games, but he's lost more.
The quarterback's job at crunch time is to make the play or plays that make the difference in the game. That, of course, is everybody's job, but the quarterback has the best chance to make a difference because every play starts with the ball in his hand.
McNabb's career record in games decided by seven points or fewer is 24-24. It would be erroneous to say that all 24 of those wins or all 24 of those losses came down to something the quarterback did or didn't do.
Still, it's enlightening to compare how some of the other elite quarterbacks have fared in the same situation during their careers.
Tom Brady, for example, is 39-10 in games decided by seven points or fewer, including a 7-2 mark in the postseason. Maybe that means he has a better team, a better coach, and a better plan at the end of games. That's all part of a quarterback's greatness, too. But it most certainly means that Brady has made more big plays at the ends of games than McNabb.
Peyton Manning is 45-32 in games decided by seven points or fewer, but just 2-4 in the postseason. As brilliantly as Manning has played in his career, he also was widely criticized for his failure to come through in the clutch until he won a Super Bowl two seasons ago.
Brett Favre is 62-47 in games decided by seven points or fewer, but only 3-4 in the postseason. He, too, gets a hall pass because of that one Super Bowl victory. Favre, like McNabb, hasn't always come through in the clutch, a fact Eagles fans saw firsthand in a playoff game after the 2003 season. It was his awful wounded-duck interception to Brian Dawkins in overtime that sealed the Packers' fate after McNabb had delivered a miracle with a fourth-and-26 throw to Freddie Mitchell.
That, by the way, is McNabb's only playoff win in a game decided by three or fewer points.
None of this is meant to disparage McNabb's talent, which is immense. It's also wrong to pin all of the blame for the Eagles' Week 2 loss on the quarterback, just as it was bogus to blame him for the team's Super Bowl loss to New England. He botched the handoff to Westbrook and made some questionable decisions on the final possession, but some people will have you believe it was his fault that Jason Witten went uncovered most of the night.
"Donovan did some real good things," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "He played very well if you look at that game from a whole."
McNabb, of course, was every bit as responsible for the Eagles' being in that close shoot-out down in Texas as he was for what happened at the end.
For anybody who wants to revisit the infamous Super Bowl drive that took too long to execute, we'll pull out the tape and show you a drop by Westbrook that was just as debilitating as any event that happened that night in Jacksonville.
"It's really not fair," cornerback Sheldon Brown said. "At the end of the day, you win together as a team, and you lose together as a team. This isn't tennis, and this isn't golf. So many different things can affect the outcome."
Fair or not, the quarterback and the coach are the guys who always endure the brunt of the blame at the end of a close game. McNabb knows the deal.
"We didn't win," he said. "There were some positive things in that game, but when it comes down to it, we didn't win. I don't think anyone would say they played great because we didn't play good enough to win the game. You know, it's time to put that behind you and change the outcome this week."
That is the good thing about the NFL. The Eagles have a chance to rebound Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers in another game that's likely to be decided by seven points or fewer. McNabb should have another chance to make a play or plays that can make the difference.
There's still plenty of time this season for McNabb to prove he's at his best when the game is on the line. That's what the great quarterbacks do.
McNabb's clutch-play issue
By Bob Brookover
It's fair to criticize Donovan McNabb for his botched fourth-quarter exchange with Brian Westbrook that led to Dallas' game-winning touchdown Monday night at Texas Stadium.
He blamed himself.
It's fair to say the quarterback should have run when he had room to take off on the Eagles' final offensive possession.
And, yes, it's even fair to wonder whether McNabb is a really good quarterback who allows greatness to elude him because of his inability to come through in close and big games. His career record as a starter against playoff teams is 21-26. That means he has won a lot of big games, but he's lost more.
The quarterback's job at crunch time is to make the play or plays that make the difference in the game. That, of course, is everybody's job, but the quarterback has the best chance to make a difference because every play starts with the ball in his hand.
McNabb's career record in games decided by seven points or fewer is 24-24. It would be erroneous to say that all 24 of those wins or all 24 of those losses came down to something the quarterback did or didn't do.
Still, it's enlightening to compare how some of the other elite quarterbacks have fared in the same situation during their careers.
Tom Brady, for example, is 39-10 in games decided by seven points or fewer, including a 7-2 mark in the postseason. Maybe that means he has a better team, a better coach, and a better plan at the end of games. That's all part of a quarterback's greatness, too. But it most certainly means that Brady has made more big plays at the ends of games than McNabb.
Peyton Manning is 45-32 in games decided by seven points or fewer, but just 2-4 in the postseason. As brilliantly as Manning has played in his career, he also was widely criticized for his failure to come through in the clutch until he won a Super Bowl two seasons ago.
Brett Favre is 62-47 in games decided by seven points or fewer, but only 3-4 in the postseason. He, too, gets a hall pass because of that one Super Bowl victory. Favre, like McNabb, hasn't always come through in the clutch, a fact Eagles fans saw firsthand in a playoff game after the 2003 season. It was his awful wounded-duck interception to Brian Dawkins in overtime that sealed the Packers' fate after McNabb had delivered a miracle with a fourth-and-26 throw to Freddie Mitchell.
That, by the way, is McNabb's only playoff win in a game decided by three or fewer points.
None of this is meant to disparage McNabb's talent, which is immense. It's also wrong to pin all of the blame for the Eagles' Week 2 loss on the quarterback, just as it was bogus to blame him for the team's Super Bowl loss to New England. He botched the handoff to Westbrook and made some questionable decisions on the final possession, but some people will have you believe it was his fault that Jason Witten went uncovered most of the night.
"Donovan did some real good things," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "He played very well if you look at that game from a whole."
McNabb, of course, was every bit as responsible for the Eagles' being in that close shoot-out down in Texas as he was for what happened at the end.
For anybody who wants to revisit the infamous Super Bowl drive that took too long to execute, we'll pull out the tape and show you a drop by Westbrook that was just as debilitating as any event that happened that night in Jacksonville.
"It's really not fair," cornerback Sheldon Brown said. "At the end of the day, you win together as a team, and you lose together as a team. This isn't tennis, and this isn't golf. So many different things can affect the outcome."
Fair or not, the quarterback and the coach are the guys who always endure the brunt of the blame at the end of a close game. McNabb knows the deal.
"We didn't win," he said. "There were some positive things in that game, but when it comes down to it, we didn't win. I don't think anyone would say they played great because we didn't play good enough to win the game. You know, it's time to put that behind you and change the outcome this week."
That is the good thing about the NFL. The Eagles have a chance to rebound Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers in another game that's likely to be decided by seven points or fewer. McNabb should have another chance to make a play or plays that can make the difference.
There's still plenty of time this season for McNabb to prove he's at his best when the game is on the line. That's what the great quarterbacks do.
