3 Things That Baffled Me Last Week (5/11)

DeSean Jackson’s comments on Donovan McNabb – People just refuse to leave Donovan McNabb alone. The other day, Eagles WR DeSean Jackson said that he was happy with Philadelphia’s decision to trade McNabb, as well as “I don’t think we lost anything, even with McNabb being gone.” Jackson’s not the first former teammate to take shots at McNabb. Remember T.O.? I just don’t understand the logic behind it. Both Jackson and T.O. made the Pro Bowl with Donovan McNabb throwing them the ball!

Of course, McNabb took the high road after these comments, like he always does. I respect the guy for that, but just once I would love to see him hit back and tell all the haters to shut the fuck up.

Bengals sign Pacman Jones – A match made in heaven. Eh, heaven doesn’t work actually. A match made in hell? Maybe jail?

What a bunch of idiots over there in the Cincinnati front office. How can anybody possibly think that Pacman Jones would be a good fit for the Cincinnati Bengals, who are trying to clean up an image problem after having about 376 players arrested over the past few years? I mean, the NFL personal conduct policy was pretty much invented for Pacman Jones.

Atlanta Hawks – Biggest fraud of a “contender” that I can remember in a long time. This is a team that only gets up to play the Boston Celtics, and managed to skate by with a losing record on the road, solely because they dominated at home. No real contender for an NBA championship has a losing record on the road. This is a team that got swept out of the second round of the playoffs (after barely squeaking by the injury-ridden Milwaukee Bucks in the first round), in one of the most lopsided series’ in NBA playoff history. And it was a 2 seed versus a 3 seed! It’s not like it was a 1 vs. 8 matchup. This is a team whose “superstar” player, Joe Johnson, pulled a Magic act of his own by disappearing in the second round against Orlando, and turned the Atlanta fans against him by calling them out for booing when their team was down 30 points at home. This is a team that far too many people got excited about. This is a team… that sucks.

McNabb To Skins, Wale Psyched

"The Philadelphia Eagles traded Pro Bowl QB Donovan McNabb to their NFC East rivals, the Washington Redskins, on Sunday. Redskins coach Mike Shanahan confirmed the deal to USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell.

The Redskins will surrender a second-round pick this year (No. 37) and either a third- or fourth-round pick next year, Fox Sports and NFL.com reported.

McNabb has been the Eagles starter since 1999, when the club drafted him with the second overall pick. He brought the team to five NFC championship games and to Super Bowl XXXIX.
But Eagles coach Andy Reid said late last month that he was entertaining offers for all of his QBs -- including Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick. McNabb then said he wanted to remain with the Eagles, but whatever happened he wanted to move quickly.

Kolb, who filled in for McNabb in two starts last September, will become the Eagles' presumptive starter.

McNabb, 33, is entering the final year of his contract. -- Sean Leahy"

Well to say the least, Wale, along with the majority of the D.C. area appears to be pretty psyched right about now.  

Donovan McNabb to Oakland?

The Oakland Raiders have emerged as the leading candidate to land quarterback Donovan McNabb in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, league sources tell ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

The sources say all the ingredients for a trade are in place. Of all the teams the Eagles have spoken with, the Raiders have been the most willing to meet the Eagles' asking price. Last week, The Associated Press reported that the Eagles want a pick in the top 42 of the 2010 draft for McNabb. Oakland has a second-round pick that is the 39th overall selection.

One source familiar with trade discussions said no deal was done with Oakland. But other league sources predicted it soon would be done in a trade that would be the NFL's biggest offseason move.

And although McNabb has informed coach Andy Reid that he wants to stay with the Eagles and, if he has to be traded, would prefer to go to a winning team such as the Minnesota Vikings, the sources say the Eagles will do what they believe is best for team even if it means trading McNabb to the Raiders, a team with a recent history of losing.

The sad story of Donovan McNabb’s career continues. The man has been underappreciated virtually his whole career in Philadelphia. McNabb has gotten shit from everyone and everywhere, including T.O., his own fan base, and even Rush Limbaugh. I’m not a Philly fan, or even a McNabb fan for that matter, but he seems like a genuinely good guy; always says the right things, never been in trouble, plays hard, does things for the community, etc. He’s been an above-average quarterback – and I think it’s safe to say, a top-10 quarterback – throughout his entire 11 year career. He’s kept the Eagles as a contender in the NFC year after year, leading them to multiple NFC title games and 1 Super Bowl appearance. And yes, he has had injury problems and durability issues, but by and large he’s been a solid NFL quarterback, not to mention the face of the Eagles, for a very long time.

That is why it’s so baffling to me that a city could treat its star player so poorly, especially one with no apparent character flaws or image issues. McNabb has essentially been shunned out of Philadelphia in favor of an unproven backup in Kevin Kolb, and an aging, fresh-out-of-jail felon in Michael Vick. He’s taken more crap for seemingly less reason than any athlete that I can remember, and now to top it all off, it looks like he’s headed to the black hole that is the Oakland Raiders. In Oakland, he’ll be in charge of leading a hopeless team, and mentoring JaMarcus Russell, an overpaid, overweight loser with no work ethic. Not exactly the best way for the Eagles to thank McNabb for 11 years of admirable service. If I were McNabb I would leave town with 2 middle fingers raised in the general direction of the entire city of Philadelphia.