Is It All A Dream... Is D-Mac Really On My Team?

This must be dream.  I mean I have been watching football since 1983 faithfully.  My favorite team has been the Washington Redskins since I can remember.  I didn’t know teams other than the Redskins, Cowboys, Dolphins and Raiders existed until the next year when the 49ers faced off against the Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX (19).  From 1984 until now teams have done everything that they could to make sure that their Quarterback stayed with them for the duration of, or at least the majority of, their careers.  Guy’s like Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, and John Elway would not have looked good in other teams’ uniform.  Although we did see Joe Montana go to the Chiefs, and that was just wrong.  It was unheard of for a Franchise Quarterback to change teams, especially in their prime. But this past April I saw something that I never thought I would have seen.  A Franchise QB being traded to another team, not only in the same Conference, but within the same division.  That is why I keep asking myself, “Is this a dream?”  “Or is this a joke?”  Either way, it is the ultimate slap in the face.  And one that is not deserved, but if anyone can handle it in a classy way, Donovan McNabb is that guy.

I watched two starting Quarterback change teams this offseason.  Jason Campbell was traded away from the Redskins for damn near nothing.  Campbell went for a 4^th Round Draft pick in 2012.  That is 2 years from now.  Are you kidding me?  And a 4^th Round Draft Pick?  WOW!!!  With that said, Donovan McNabb’s situation was a bit better, but it was still a low blow.  Donovan was traded to the Washington Redskins for a 2^nd Round Draft Pick.  LOL…  I guess Brotha’s are still expendable.  I understand that a player’s value is what two teams agree upon, but give me a break here.  We are talking about a future Hall of Fame Quarterback.  We are talking about one of the best QB’s in NFL history.  We are talking about one of the best Winners of all time in the NFL.  And for the past five offseasons we were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.  We were waiting on the Eagles to cut ties with the best player in their Franchise’s history.  And that day came to pass on April 5, 2010. 

Maybe as Black people we are a bit too sensitive.  I mean for decades Black people have been slighted and underminded.  We see changes in society, but then we have constant reminders of what America’s ugly past was all about.  People do not want to admit it, but sports are a microcosm of society.  And although we have a Black President now, it does not mean, people’s discriminatory and sometimes, outright racist attitudes have changed.  And no where is this more apparent than in football at the Quarterback position.  Although the number of Black Quarterbacks have increased, the guidelines are still the same.  As a Black Quarterback, you have to be athletic, you must have a big arm and you have to be built a certain way (READ: muscular).  Notice, there is no reference to intelligence, just as long as you are not too smart.  God forbid you are intelligent as a Black QB, you will get Black-balled.  Just ask Duante Culpepper.  He is smart enough to understand NFL contract’s, and is still better then half of the Quarterback’s in the league and the only starting job that he was offered was with the lowly Detroit Lions.  But hey, it’s an NFL paycheck right?  As a Black Quarterback, you just need to be able to pick up the teams playbook and be able to run.  But even if you are intelligent, you will not get credit for it.

Jason Campbell has learned six to seven different Offensive Playbooks in the last nine years.  Do you think that he is intelligent/smart/heady or whatever bull---- term they are using today?  I think that Jason Campbell is very intelligent.  My proof, as a Black Quarterback, if he was not, that would be the FIRST thing in the way of criticism, that you would hear.  But it is not just Jason Campbell and it is not just about intelligence.  Can you imagine what would really happen if a Black Quarterback were really and truthfully groomed?  There is already a fear of the Black Quarterback in the NFL because every other position is dominated by Black players.  There is a note of athleticism, but couple that with intelligence and, “Houston we have a problem!!”  Maybe there is a fear that if Black Quarterbacks are given a fair shot, that the NFL will be completely Black in the next decade.  I mean, look at the NBA.  There is a conscious effort to slight Black Quarterbacks.  There is this subtle message to change positions, to avoid the "criticism."  Some are even told that they are “too athletic” to play Quarterback.  What kind of garbage is that?

How long do people expect Black Quarterbacks to endure criticism without lashing back?  Truth be told, Jake Delhomme would never get another starting job in the NFL if he were Black.  Carson Palmer would be getting death threats and would have been gone a few years ago.  People would be calling for Tony Romo’s backup.  Aaron Rodgers would be a bust.  Marc Bulger would have been gone two seasons ago. Jay Cutler would have been traded for a 4^th-7^th Round draft pick.  Alex Smith would have been released two seasons ago.  Matt Hasselback would have lasted 3 years.  Chad Pennington would have been long gone.  J.P. Losman would be bagging groceries.  Ben Roethlisberger would be staring down a year long suspension.  Phillip Rivers would have been on the hot seat coming into the 2009 season.  And, Matt Schaub would still be a backup in Atlanta.  A Quarterback’s value is in their production on the field and people’s perception of them.  The “it” factor, again, is the backing of an organization.  So when you hear the term, the “it” factor (i.e. … this kid has the “it” factor), know that “it” is a bunch of garbage.  It is a term that is made up just to separate two people when nothing to distinguish the difference is apparent.

This brings me back to Donovan McNabb.  Donovan is the perfect Quarterback.  He fits the description of most Black Quarterbacks, and even the stereotypical White Quarterback.  Here is my scouting report on Donovan:

-Big, strong, athletic kid

-Live arm; can make all of the throws

-Good at spreading the ball around

-Very mobile, especially within the pocket

-Can make plays with his feet

-Great deep ball thrower

-Very smart

-Great leader

Now a lot of people are going to have a problem with this blog.  I really could give a rat’s ass.  Anyone that knows me will tell you that I may be very opinionated and tough, but I am fair.  And the way Donovan McNabb has been unfairly scrutinized and overlooked for the duration of his career is very unfair.  The funny thing is, he is still going to be in Canton, OH in the future, so it makes no difference what anyone says. 

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are great Quarterbacks and are going to be in the Hall of Fame.  Brett Favre is another great, and he too will be in Canton, OH in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  But you would be hard pressed to find anyone else from this era that is well on their way to the Hall of Fame other than Donovan McNabb.  You might be able to make a case for Ben Roethlisberger, but that is about it.  Maybe in a few years, I will entertain conversation about Drew Brees, but one Super Bowl win a Hall Famer it does not make.  Hell, Trent Dilfer and Mark Rypien both have Super Bowl rings, and I do not see Canton calling them anytime soon, if at all.  A Super Bowl ring, although nice to have, only says that you had one good season.  When you get two rings, you are doing something, when you have three like Tom Brady, you are the man.  Now if you can couple those rings with some good seasons then you are writing your own ticket to Canton.  I want you to be the judge of Donovan’s career to this point.  If you are going to get emotional and start spouting off dumbness, do not even bother writing me.  Please respond with some intelligence.  Take a look at this mans career and tell me if you think he has had a Hall Of Fame worthy career:

Year	Games	Games Started	Attempts	Completions	Completion %	Yards	Yards/Attempt	Touchdowns		Interceptions	Rating
1999	12	6	216	106	49.1	948	4.9		8	7	60.1
2000	16	16	569	330	58.0	3,365	5.91		21	13	77.8
2001	16	16	493	285	57.8	3,233	6.56		25	12	84.3
2002	10	10	361	211	58.4	2,289	6.34		17	6	86.0
2003	16	16	478	275	57.5	3,216	6.73		16	11	79.6
2004	15	15	469	300	64.0	3,875	8.26		31	8	104.7
2005	9	9	357	211	59.1	2,507	7.00		16	9	85.0
2006	10	10	316	180	57.0	2,647	8.36		18	6	95.5
2007	14	14	473	291	61.5	3,324	7.00		19	7	89.9
2008	16	16	571	345	60.4	3,916	6.90		23	11	86.4
2009	14	14	443	267	60.3	3,553	8.00		22	10	92.9
Totals	138	132	4,303	2,534	58.9	29,320	6.80		194	90	86.5
Playoffs	12	12	419	249	59.4	2,630	6.26		18	12	80.1

First of all, Donovan has NEVER, thrown more Interceptions than Touchdowns.  Take a look at the things that stick out, that are not on this chart.  McNabb has five NFC Championship appearances and one Super Bowl appearance.  And please take a look at the 2004 Season’s stats.  That is the one year that McNabb had a viable, respectable target at Wide Receiver in one Terrell Owens.  Next take a look at the 2008 season.  Please be advised that it was during this time that Donovan McNabb was benched for he first time in his career.  That season ended in one of Donovan’s five NFC Championship appearances. It was during that season that Philadelphia drafted a young speedster by the name of DeSean Jackson.  Finally, take a look at what Donovan has on his resume as of May 2010:

NFL Records

• Most consecutive pass completions, 24; vs New York Giants, Nov. 28, 2004; vs Green Bay Packers, Dec. 5, 2004
• Least-intercepted Quarterback per pass attempt of all time, (4588 attempts-96 interceptions, 2.09%)
• Second-best Touchdown-to-Interception ratio of all time, (209-96, 2.18) behind Tom Brady (217-92, 2.36)
• First NFL Quarterback ever to throw for more than 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions (2004) [8]
• One of six Quarterbacks of all time to have over 25,000 Passing yards and 3,000 Rushing yards (alongside Randall Cunningham, Steve Young, Fran Tarkenton, Steve McNair, and John Elway)
• Currently the third-highest winning percentage among active quarterbacks (83-45-1, .647) behind Peyton Manning (119-59-0, .669) and Tom Brady (88-25-0, .779)

Eagles records

• Most Career Attempts (4,303)
• Most Pass Completions (2534)
• Most Passing Yards (29,320)
• Most Passing Touchdowns (203)
• Most Single-Season Completions (345, 2008 season)
• Most Single-Season Yards (3,916, 2008 season)
• Most NFC Championship Appearances (5)

I ask you one more time, why does this man not get respect?  Don’t give me garbage about him “not winning the big one.”  Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton and Jim Kelly didn’t either.  Stop making excuses and start getting real.

Recapping the 2010 NFL Draft For The Washington Redskins

Well the 2010 NFL Draft has come and gone. In the last 10 NFL Drafts the Redskins have done well with the 1^st round draftees.  But everyone looks like a genius in the first three rounds so I don’t want to pat them on the back too much here.  You make your money in rounds 4-7.   Some names that come to mind for good 1^st Round picks are guys like Champ Bailey, Chris Samuels, Brian Orakpo, Sean Taylor, LaRon Landry, and Jason Campbell.  But one of the most successful late round picks for the Redskins that I have ever seen is Chris Horton.  It is rare to see a 7^th Round draft pick performing the way Horton did.  It kind of makes you think that the “experts” got it wrong.  I mean, even the great Tom Brady went late (6^th Round) in the NFL Draft.  In any event, this draft was a little intriguing and somewhat surprising.  But aren’t all of them like that?

In the 1^st Round the Redskins selected Trent Williams, Offensive Tackle from Oklahoma University.  Williams performed well enough at the NFL Scouting Combine to be rated an 8.6 out of a possible 10.  To me this was a good pick, but I wonder why we didn’t get Russell Okung.  I hear it was because Okung seemed to be too slow-footed for Coach Shanahan.  I hope that the Redskins do not live to regret this decision. We used our 2^nd Round pick to land Donovan McNabb in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, so I am not too upset about this one.  We used our 3^rd Round pick last year in the 2009 Supplemental Draft to get Jeremy Jarmon, Defensive End from Kentucky.  From what little I saw of Jarmon, he was worth the pick and he is going to be a major player on the Redskins’ Defense for years to come.  In the 4^th Round the Redskins selected Perry Riley from LSU Outside Linebacker from LSU.  A good pick up considering depth at the Linebacker positions are a priority now that the Redskins are planning on using the 3-4 a bit this upcoming season.  In the 6^th Round the Redskins selected Dennis Morris, Tight End from Louisiana Tech.  I am not really sure about this pick.  I mean depth at the Tight End position isn’t bad, but we had a bigger need at Cornerback considering that we just released Fred Smoot.  I know that Phillip Buchanon was signed to replace Smoot, but we still need one more Cornerback, unless the Redskins plan on using Justin Tryon and/or Kevin Barnes more this season.  To close out the draft, Terrance Austin, Wide Receiver from UCLA, Erik Cook, Center for New Mexico and Selvish Capers, Offensive Tackle from West Virginia were all selected in the 7^th Round.  These seem to be good draft picks, but we still need to fill a hole at Free Safety.  Hopefully the Redskins will address that need with an Undrafted Free Safety.  But the biggest surprise of the draft involved Jason Campbell.

Jason Campbell being traded to the Raiders was not that big of shock.  It was almost comical.  He is the poster child of how Black Quarterbacks are still being clowned in the NFL.  The Redskins NEVER had any intentions of taking care of Jason Campbell after coach Gibbs left.  Why draft this man in the 1^st Round just to waste his time?  I know all of the undercover racist football fans are going to say that my anger is misguided.  But how many non-Black QB’s have you seen mishandled the way Jason Campbell was?  Take your time. I have all day.  I have asked it before and I will ask it again, why is it with all of the Black QB’s in the NFL we cannot find one that people consider a Franchise Quarterback?  I’ll tell you why.  No one wants to admit that the requirements of the Quarterback position would change if Black QB’s are given a fair shot.  Amazing that Donovan McNabb, again, has accomplished all that he has with very little help, yet he is ridiculed for not “winning the big one.”  Yet, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly all played, and played well I might add, but they all, combined, have as many rings as Donovan McNabb.  Please stop making excuses.  Admit it people, the NFL has not gotten to the point where the Black QB is judged on a level playing field.  I just hope Al Davis takes care Jason Campbell the way he has taken care of JaMarcus Russell (and we all know, you cannot expect to groom a QB in that kind of circus environment that some refer to as a football franchise).  That is almost like giving a drug addict a newborn baby and then wonder why the hell the baby grew up to be a drug addict.  But any in any event I will always be a Jason Campbell fan.  Good luck Jay.

On a lighter note, although I was a bit pissed with the Redskins, I was happy to see some of my favorites get drafted. The other notable players that I actually took a liking to during the college season or during the NFL Combine were guys like Ndamokung Suh who is probably one of the most athletic Defensive Tackles I have ever seen, Gerald McKoy who is the other most athletic  Defensive Tackles that I have even seen, Eric Berry, Sam Bradford,  Tim Tebow, Joe Haden, Brandon Graham, Dez Brant and Aarelious Benn who I have had an eye on since he was right here in our backyard at Dunbar Senior High.  Benn was so good that he was featured on a show that replays on Fox 5 here in D.C., entitled Sports Stars of Tomorrow narrated by the great Pat Summerall.  This was, by far, the deepest draft that I have even seen and I have watched 6 NFL drafts.  There is usually a significant dropoff after the first 2 rounds, but not this year.  All the way through to the 6^th Round I was still seeing players that I liked and that I thought would do well.  This brings me to my analysis.

The QB that will have the best career in the draft will be, surprise, surprise….  Sam Bradford.  He has all of the tools to be a good QB and I think the Rams will surround him with enough talent to succeed.  I like his young receivers Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery.  And I like the running game with Stephen Jackson.  Message to St. Louis: GET THIS MAN A TIGHT END.  My surprise QB will be Tim Tebow.  For all of the criticism that this man endured, I still say the coaching failed to attempt to prepare him for the NFL. I cannot expect Tebow to do stuff that I have not taught him.  So coaches, get off of your lazy asses and teach the kid what you want him to know, then judge him.  The Terrell Owens of the draft will be Arrelious “Regis” Benn.  This kid is a sick talent that got lost in Illinois.  I think he will put the NFL on notice by the end of the season.  Bruce Campbell will be the steal of the draft.  I don’t care what the experts say.  If you have a complaint with a kid that has something to do with skill or strength development, YOU NEED TO TEACH/TRAIN HIM.  Stop making excuses.  Bruce Campbell has all of the physical tools to be the best Offensive Tackle in the NFL.  And guess what people, he will be.  The other steal of the draft will be Taylor Mays.  This is another case of a guy who was unfairly judge by numbers.  Turn on some film and you will think that you were watching another version of Sean Taylor.  He has all of the physical tools to be the best Free Safety in the NFL.  And in San Francisco, with coach Singletary, don’t be surprised if that happens within the next 3 years. 

All in all, the 2010 NFL Draft was a good one this year.  I love this part of the game.  This is where you have to groom the talent to fit your scheme.  But note to coaches: It is a fine line between grooming and changing.  You can’t change what made a player successful in college and then wonder why they are struggling in the NFL.  You have to groom the talent and fill holes in the talents game.  Get out of your egos and teach.  That is why guys like Coach Mike Singletary, Mike Tomlin, Bill Bellichek, Ton Dungy, and Jeff Fisher are so well respected.  They know how to handle talent.  And they will do it again this year.  I just hope Coach Mike Shanahan’s name is added to this list by the end of the 2010 season.  Barring injury I am expecting a 10-6 season from the Redskins and a playoff berth.  But I don’t think that the Redskins will make it past the Wild Card Game.  Sorry fans.  I still love them though.