Tag: Donovan McNabb

Latest NFL mock draft projects an NFL first, includes Commanders

How good is this quarterback class? The QB depth at the top of the class could produce an NFL first.

The latest 2024 NFL mock draft predicts a league first.

For the first time in NFL history, could the first four selections all be quarterbacks?

The last time the first three selections were quarterbacks was in 1999. Analysts have been pretty much certain that will occur this year as well.

Don’t get prematurely excited, though. None of the top three quarterbacks drafted in 1999 will ever be in the Hall of Fame. Only one had a good career. That was Donovan McNabb, who faded quickly after some very successful years with the Eagles, including five NFC championship game appearances and one Super Bowl loss.

The other two drafted in the top three were Tim Couch of the Browns and Akili Smith of the Bengals. Couch was in the NFL for only five seasons, passing for 64 touchdowns but also throwing 67 interceptions. Smith lasted four seasons, playing in only 22 games with five touchdown passes and 13 interceptions.

CBS Sports Network’s Kyle Stackpole projects that next month’s draft will result in a first: four quarterbacks being the top four overall selections.

This comes as a result of Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy performing well at his workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

As of now, the Cardinals hold the fourth selection. Stackpole projects the New York Giants trading up from the sixth position to take their quarterback of the future.

The top four selections, according to Stackpole, will be:

  1. Caleb Williams QB USC (Chicago Bears)
  2. Drake Maye QB, UNC (Washington Commanders)
  3. Jayden Daniels QB, LSU (New England Patriots)
  4. J.J. McCarthy QB, Michigan (New York Giants trade)

Here is what Stackpole says regarding the Commanders:

“The Commanders opt for Drake Maye, who has connections to QBs coach Tavita Pritchard and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.”

Here is the entire first round of Stackpole’s mock draft.

 

Every Eagles 10-1 start to the season has this in common

The Philadelphia Eagles’ nine-win start to the season might be old news, but there’s something recurring with each time they start the season with nine wins.

Does the Philadelphia Eagles’ 10-1 start to the season feel reminiscent of some past success? They might not have had it all together yet this season, but no team in the NFL is ever perfect.

With the Eagles leading the NFL with the best record, they can make magic happen early. 

Here’s the exciting part: each time the Eagles started the season 10-1, they made the Super Bowl. There are four instances where this has happened and what that means for the 2023 season.

1980 Season (12-4): Reached the Super Bowl 

The 1980 Philadelphia Eagles looked to improve from their 11-5 record the season prior, landing them at a wildcard spot. They delivered in a big way. The team’s season began at home at Veterans Stadium with a 27-6 win over the Denver Broncos, They then went on to win the next two games, however lost in Week 4 to the St. Louis Cardinals football team, 24-14. This was enough for the team to turn things around and outscore their next eight opponents, 184-102. This was enough, plus one more win against the Cardinals later in the season, to push to the playoffs and play against the Oakland Raiders, where they lost 27-10.

2004 Season (13-3): Reached the Super Bowl

About 20 years later, the Eagles would reach that same level of success again. Once the Andy Reid-Donovan McNabb era began in 1999, the team would achieve success in 2001, 2002, and 2003 but not quite make it back to the Super Bowl until 2004. The team started 7-0 before taking their first-season loss to the Steelers, 27-3. After that, the team turned things around for the remainder of the season. They lost their final two games at home which didn’t matter as they secured the first-round bye. After winning both games at home against the Vikings and Falcons, they faced the Patriots in the Super Bowl and lost 24-21.

Close Calls

Through the next 13 years, the Eagles would have a handful of close calls with making the playoffs, regardless of rocky starts. No season would be as nearly successful until 2017 when that will finally change under a new era. 

2017 Season (13-3): Win the Super Bowl

The Philadelphia Eagles finally won their first Super Bowl. After a win against the then-Washington Redskins, they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-20. Returning from their bye week, the Eagles started 9-1 after a win over the Dallas Cowboys. They’d not lose again until early December against the Seattle Seahawks and then against the Cowboys in a game that didn’t matter because they were already in the playoffs. From there, the rest is history. This defensive-dominant Super Bowl-winning team held their two opponents before the Super Bowl to 17 points. After a historic performance in Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots, the team finally won, 41-33.

2022 Season (14-3): Reached the Super Bowl

For a few years, the team moved on from a different head coach and quarterbacks and landed in a prime position to run it back to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years with a different regime. In the second entire season of the Sirianni-Hurts era, it delivered hugely. For the first time, the team started 8-0 which translated to a 14-3 record heading into the playoffs. The team wasn’t perfect but dominated similarly to their 2017 run. In the playoffs, the Eagles outscored their opponents 69-14 before losing by three in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs, 38-35.

How to Run it Back in 2023

Now that the Eagles are 10-1 and halfway through their “gauntlet,” their path to the Super Bowl isn’t easy yet; they can clinch a playoff berth this weekend with a bit of help from a few other NFC teams, but would then have to continue winning out to get the first seed practically. It’s not easy, but if you give the Eagles a chance, they will take it.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid shares secret for success with multiple Pro Bowl quarterbacks

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid shares his secret for success with multiple Pro Bowl quarterbacks

The legendary coaching career of Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is most likely destined for a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with his countless accolades. The former longtime head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles also served as a coordinator early in his career with the Green Bay Packers, working with some of the best quarterbacks in the league’s history.

Reid appeared on the “All NFL” podcast hosted by Brian Baldinger and Anthony Gargano to discuss his fortune of coaching several Pro Bowl quarterbacks in his career.

“Yeah, well, all those guys [were] really good players before I ever had anything to do with them,” Reid explained. “I would tell you this is no different than anything else. It’s a people business, and how you treat these guys, I think, is important. Listening, I think, is important.

“Not everybody’s [a] good [listener]. We get in a coaching position, and sometimes, we feel like we have to tell the storyteller and not not the listener. So there’s a time and a place for that. And then all we’ve tried to do is utilize their strengths and better their weaknesses.”

Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Alex Smith, and Patrick Mahomes earned Pro Bowl honors while working with Reid throughout his career.

“I don’t think there’s any secret sauce. I’ve been lucky enough to get them when they were young,” Reid said. “I think that’s important; other than Alex (Smith) and Michael (Vick), these guys were fairly fresh in the league, and they didn’t have all that NFL scar tissue that you can get, they wanted to be great and (I was) very fortunate. Michael, too, was coming back from his jail stint. Then Alex was benched, so both of those guys wanted to show that we’re still pretty good players. And that, you know, that helped.”

The revitalization part of Reid’s work with the veterans looking for a new opportunity to prove themselves has added to his prestige. He will always have nostalgia against his former team, the Eagles, as the Chiefs will host them on Monday night football.

A.J. Brown politely ripped Donovan McNabb for comparing him to Terrell Owens

A.J. Brown rightfully defended himself for this absurd comparison to an infamous diva.

The reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles do not appear as formidable as they were last year. But even despite their occasionally uneven struggles — like in a loss to the New York Jets last Sunday — that doesn’t mean there’s any trouble in paradise between their stars.

In a recent interview with SportsRadio 94WIP, former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb — who took the team to five NFC title game berths in the 2000s — insinuated that he thinks there is a rift brewing between Philadelphia players. In particular, he centered on star receiver A.J. Brown, who had a strange sideline argument with quarterback Jalen Hurts earlier this year.

Using his past experience with the notoriously dramatic Terrell Owens, McNabb stated he thought Brown was arguing with Hurts about not getting the ball enough:

Just a couple of hours later, A.J. Brown caught wind of McNabb’s comments, describing said tiff as “two friends bumping heads” that was blown up into something it wasn’t. More importantly, he took polite exception to McNabb indirectly feeding a false narrative about him being just like Owens — perhaps the most notorious diva receiver in NFL history:

This whole sequence is a good lesson for all of us. Just because two stars like Brown and Hurts are arguing on the sideline doesn’t automatically mean they don’t like each other. It doesn’t automatically mean one player is troubled by their role on the team or offense. Sometimes, it’s just teammates working something out that the cameras happen to catch because they’re in one of the most public spaces — a live NFL game — in modern America. Nothing more. Think about all the times you’ve argued with loved ones or friends only to make up later. Now imagine if someone turned that into a sign you were permanently disconnected from them. How would that feel?

Plus, McNabb’s argument about Brown doesn’t even make sense. The All-Pro receiver has 60 targets in six games. That would, yes, put him on pace for 170 (more than 145 in 2022), but it’s not egregious. That is simply how you treat a No. 1 receiver. And it’s not like Hurts is ignoring Philadelphia’s other top weapons in DeVonta Smith (45 targets) and Dallas Goedert (36 targets). The disparity in Philadelphia’s receiving lineup is completely fine.

McNabb does have a right to speak from personal experience as an unofficial Eagles ombudsman. But comparing Brown to Owens — a player who infamously took shots at teammates in interviews (including McNabb) and made himself a sideshow during an unceremonious Philadelphia exit in 2005 — is entirely unwarranted.

McNabb should really know better than to project his own ludicrous football life on two completely unrelated people.

Donovan McNabb takes shot at Giants’ Daniel Jones, Brian Daboll

With everyone else taking aim at New York Giants QB Daniel Jones and coach Brian Daboll, Donovan McNabb decided to get in on the action.

Just about everyone seems to be jumping off the Daniel Jones bandwagon these days.

It only took four days for the feel-good, comeback performance from last Sunday to wear off before the critics began to sharpen their knives again.

This time, it’s former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who voiced his opinion on his web show, The Oukick, this week.

“Well, you know what, when you look at their offense — and (Giants head coach Brian) Daboll was supposed to be kind of a QB whisperer so to speak — I really didn’t see that last year,” McNabb said. “I was looking forward to this upcoming season to see changes in Daniel Jones because, to be honest with you, I’m not a big Daniel Jones fan.”

Okay. Not sure what all of that means. Jones was shut down by what appears to be the NFL’s two top defenses in Dallas and San Francisco and took the team on his back to a victory in between — in a 12-day span.

Keep in mind, Jones is also playing behind a makeshift offensive line and played Thursday night’s game without star running back Saquon Barkley. He has been the most-pressured quarterback in the league through three weeks and his defense and special teams have put him in a position where he has been continually playing from behind.

Buy hey, taking shots at DJ is the in-thing so, naturally, McNabb had to get in on that.

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17 former Eagles nominated for 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class

Brian Westbrook, Michael Vick Donovan McNabb, and Eric Allen are among the 17 former Philadelphia Eagles nominated for the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class

The NFL just announced that nine players in their first year of eligibility are among the 173 Modern-Era Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

The list of first-time nominees includes running back Jamaal Charles, wide receiver Brandon Marshall, wide receiver Jordy Nelson, tight end Antonio Gates, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, and defensive end Julius Peppers.

The list of Modern-Era Nominees will be reduced to 25 Semifinalists in November and, from there, to 15 Finalists whose names will be announced in early January.

Here’s the list of 17 former Eagles among the nominees.

Every season-opening game for Eagles since 2010

With Philadelphia heading to New England to face the Patriots on Sunday, we look back at every season opener for the #Eagles since 2010.

Detroit defeated Kansas City and the NFL’s opening matchup, and it’s officially game week for the Eagles and 29 other teams around the NFL.

Philadelphia will hit the road for a matchup against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, and it’ll be a celebration of retired quarterback, Tom Brady.

Over the years, the Eagles have had great success in Week One, and a strong start on Sunday could again catapult the team to postseason success in late January.

With preparation for New England underway, here’s a recap of every season opener since 2010.

You have $15, build the best offensive unit in Eagles’ history

Can you build the greatest Philadelphia offense of all time? With a $15 budget, try to assemble the best QB, WR, RB, TE combination in Eagles history

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Philadelphia has had some all-time great offensive players, but what five players at multiple positions could give fans a dynamic unit on offense?

The Bird’s official Twitter account created a frenzy when they asked fans to build the ultimate roster.

The goal is to create the ultimate Eagles offensive unit with a $15 budget. Your team must consist of a quarterback, two wide receivers, a running back, and a tight end or fullback.

All-time high school QB rankings: Midwest region

The region may be better known for hockey weather, but some of the greatest high school quarterbacks of all time have come out of the Midwest.

Look through the record books of the regions and you’ll find some of the greatest high school quarterbacks of all time.

For the all-time high school QB rankings in the Midwest, we picked players from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

More All-time HS QB rankings:

East region

Southeast region

Jalen Hurts’ no-trade clause is the first in Eagles’ franchise history

Jalen Hurts’ new 5-year, $255 million deal has the first no-trade clause in Philadelphia Eagles franchise history

Jalen Hurts made franchise history on Monday, setting the NFL world ablaze after agreeing to a five-year, $255 million contract extension.

According to Adam Schefter, the deal includes a massive signing bonus and $179 million guaranteed.

One significant tidbit in the Hurts deal is the All-Pro quarterback securing a no-trade clause, the first ever in Eagles franchise history.

Hurts’ new deal signals confidence in the quarterback being an elite player, and he’s undoubtedly the face of the franchise after landing complete control of his future.

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