Late Thoughts on McNabb

I was MIA Monday and Tuesday, so I missed the boat a little on this McNabb story. Even though ESPN & Co. have dragged the thing through the streets to the point where they're still blabbering about it today, I feel a little weird bringing this up so late. However, I think the story is so strange that it merits a quick post.

In case you somehow missed it, McNabb admitted to not knowing that an NFL game could end in a tie after the Eagles and Bengals tied Sunday. He then said he would hate to see what would happen in the playoffs or Super Bowl. Obviously, extra overtimes are allowed in those situations.

Plenty of players, notably Big Ben, have defended McNabb saying you'd be shocked at the number of NFL players that don't know the rule. Am I surprised? Yes. Shocked? Not really. I've assumed for quite a while that at least half of the players in the NFL are complete idiots and have no trouble believing them to be ignorant of significant rules.

Watching players catch kickoffs as the ball is about to fly out of bounds at the two or witnessing punt coverage teams get fooled by the same fair catch trick 164 times per season takes a bit of the shock away from the situation.

Really, the reason this is shocking is because it is Donovan McNabb. He has a good head on his shoulders, seems like a bright guy, and charmed the nation with his Chunky Soup commercials. In fairness to McNabb, he did grow up in Chicago during the 1980s, so he probably didn't see too many overtimes on account of the Bears rolling over just about everyone they played.

Of course, this is the last straw for Philly fans with McNabb, and somehow Andy Reid's son is to blame. Give the guy a break, just admit you're pissed because you tied the Bengals.