Is it over for Dungy, Harrison?
INDIANAPOLIS - Tony Dungy will give it a week before deciding whether to come back to coach the Indianapolis Colts.
I'd hate to see him leave because he's one of the most honest, decent people I've ever met in sports. He's also a tremendous motivator, mentor and friend to his players. He's a proven winner. There's a spot waiting in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
And yet, if Dungy decides to retire, it might give the Colts the jolt they need to quit being postseason busts.
Then again, it might not.
See, that's the tricky part about calling for coaching changes and other reactionary suggestions of Colts fans depressed from the 23-17 overtime loss to the San Diego Chargers in the wild-card playoff round Saturday.
"Change isn't always a good thing," Colts linebacker Gary Brackett said.
Complete change isn't necessary. The Colts had a great regular-season run, despite rarely being fully healthy. But subtle change is needed. With the notable exception of 2006, the Colts spend too much time as a regular-season giant and a playoff gnat.
Dungy has earned the right to stay if he wants. He'll need to rebuild a running game and teach his defense how to tackle short guys, but he's earned the right to stay or go on his own terms.
It seems short-sighted to complain about the Colts' perennial 12-win seasons. But when they are followed by playoff disappointment, it's more painful for fans on many levels than a steady diet of mediocrity.
"It's funny, but no matter when you lose in the playoffs you always feel terrible," Dungy said. "You feel worse than teams that are 4-12 and won their last game. We have to use that feeling to build on next year, get ourselves better and not make wholesale changes."
With the Colts, it's forever a tease. Every year, fans are thrilled by regular-season excellence, bolstered by dreams of glory and floored when it ends abruptly.
No one's giving back the Super Bowl trophy from two years ago, but it seems awful solitary in the midst of an unprecedented six straight 12-win seasons.
If we're going to praise Dungy for his unmatched consistent ability to put teams in the playoffs, we have to assess some blame for his too-frequent knack for leading his team out of the playoffs.
Dungy made an NFL-record 10th straight playoff appearance this year. But his exit with a fourth one-and-done postseason in seven years left him with a 9-10 playoff record. That's a glaring deficiency in the Dungy resume.
There are some mitigating circumstances, as there always are. There was not a lot he could do to keep Chargers punter Mike Scifres from having the day of his life. There was not much Dungy could do about losing a coin flip before overtime.
But what of some of the other glaring mistakes in the loss to the Chargers?
Dungy lost an early long-shot challenge and passed on a better possibility. He went for a first down at midfield in the first half when a punt (and a possible deep pin) was the logical call. His offense kept trying to run when it so obviously couldn't.
The Colts used an empty backfield with a chance to run out the clock and win in regulation. On third-and-2 at their own 9, the Colts practically invited the Chargers to bring the heat on a virtually unprotected Peyton Manning. I don't pretend to have the football mind of Dungy, offensive coordinator Tom Moore or Manning, but what was up with that?
I can't blame Dungy for the Colts' inability to tackle San Diego running back Darren Sproles, who is apparently Maurice Jones-Drew's evil playoff twin. Sproles burned the Colts for 328 all-purpose yards.
I can't blame Dungy for Joseph Addai forgetting how to run the ball. But I will blame Dungy for not using the more powerful Dominic Rhodes more often. Rhodes was simply the better runner all season. He should have passed Addai on the depth chart.
Dungy's playoff coaching was not up to his regular-season standards. The Colts' defense made enough plays to win the game, from Tim Jennings forcing Sproles into a fumble into the end zone to Bethea picking off a pass in the end zone to Robert Mathis delivering a big sack on what should have been San Diego's last possession. The Colts offense, even with MVP Manning, couldn't capitalize at key times.
I wrote a couple weeks ago that this season was Dungy's best coaching performance. And it was, right up until Saturday night.
Then, it turned into an all-too-familiar postseason rehash of missed opportunities.
Maybe that's the best argument for Dungy to return: more unfinished business.
(c)2008 - The News-Sentinel
Long road back for NFL's "Cadillac"
TAMPA, Florida (AFP) -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams has a torn patellar tendon in his left knee but should be ready for pre-season workouts in July, coach Jon Gruden said on Monday.
Williams, who was sidelined for 14 months by a right patellar tendon tear last year, suffered the latest injury in Sunday's 31-24 loss to Oakland, a defeat that kept the Bucs out of the National Football League playoffs.
"All indications are he has a chance to be ready for training camp," Gruden said. "It's a long road to recovery."
Williams, who did not return from the prior injury until November 23, told the Tampa Tribune that he is confident it will take less time to recover from this injury than the prior one.
"It's more of a tear off the bone, so the rehab process should be much easier," Williams told the newspaper. "My right knee, which is now my good knee, was feeling good. It's just a freak accident. I have no luck right now."
Williams had run for 78 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 37 yards by Sunday before the latest injury.
"He scored a couple of touchdowns, caught the ball out of backfield, showed elusiveness and swagger again," Gruden said. "For it to all end like that, it's just awful. It's probably the most sickening feeling I've ever had as a coach."
The Buccaneers lost their final four regular-season games to miss out on the playoff championship chase.
Copyright (c) 2008 AFP
Giants beat Panthers in OT to earn NFC's top seed
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The New York Giants started the season as the team to beat in the NFL, and that hasn't changed with a week left in the regular season.
Shaking off two straight losses that made them a question mark heading into the postseason, the Super Bowl champions took a major step on the road to repeating by earning the NFC's top seed for the postseason with a thrilling 34-28 come-from-behind overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night.
"The only message we sent tonight is that this team is getting that swagger back that we had last year at the end of the season," middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "They're going to fight for 60 minutes, overtime, cold weather, being down. To keep fighting, that's what I'm most proud of."
By earning the top seed, the Giants (12-3) guaranteed that the conference playoffs will run through the Meadowlands, a plus because Tom Coughlin's team can run the ball when the frigid, swirling winds of Giants Stadium bog down offenses.
That was the key to this winner-take-all game.
Derrick Ward ran for a career-best 215 yards on 15 carries and set up Brandon Jacobs' winning 2-yard touchdown run with 9:57 left in overtime as the Giants ran for a season-best 301 yards.
"The last two weeks we've been disgraceful running the ball," said Ward, whose total was the fourth highest in team history. "We've had our doubters, that we hit our peak in the past. We knew that we could run the ball. That's what the New York Giants are. We run the ball."
The fans who braved the numbing wind chill loved watching this one. They tossed snowballs onto the field earlier and threw it like confetti when Jacobs won the game.
New York had clinched a first-round bye earlier in the day when Atlanta beat Minnesota, then added the icing on this frosty night by beating Carolina (11-4).
"If you talked to everyone, there was no panic here," guard Chris Snee said. "We were still confident in ourselves. We didn't hit the panic button, stuck to the run and made it work."
New York forced overtime when Jacobs plowed into the end zone from a yard out, and Manning hit Domenik Hixon on a slant pattern for the tying 2-point conversion with 3:21 to play.
Jacobs, who was sidelined in last week's loss to Dallas with a knee injury, finished with three short touchdown runs, and Manning and Kevin Boss combined on a 4-yard touchdown pass as the Giants found the cold and wind to their liking.
"You never know what the weather is going to be like here," Manning said. "We're used to playing in those cold and windy games and I would like to think we would have the advantage in some of those."
The loss spoiled a team record-tying, four-touchdown performance by Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams, who gave Carolina a 28-20 lead with a 30-yard TD run 2 minutes into the final quarter. He also scored on runs of 13, 5 and 1 yards.
The Panthers, who have qualified for the playoffs, can clinch the NFC South and the No. 2 seed with a win at New Orleans next weekend.
"Disappointing would be putting it mildly," Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme said. "The road to the Super Bowl goes through New York. We had a chance. We didn't get it done. We've got to get back to work and get ready for New Orleans."
The Panthers had a chance to win the game in regulation but the swirling wind pushed John Kasey's 50-yard field-goal attempt wide left, sparking some more celebratory snow throwing by Giants fans.
The Giants won the coin toss in overtime and couldn't generate anything, and the Panthers followed suit on their possession.
New York nearly lost the ball before its winning drive when RW McQuarters muffed a punt at the Giants 13. He emerged from a pile with the ball and then Ward took over.
On first-and-10 from the 13, Ward went 51 yards to the Carolina 36. Three plays later on third-and-7, he went 14 yards to the 19 and followed that with a 17-yarder to the 2. Jacobs scored on the next play.
"We just didn't play well at all upfront," Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers said. "That's where most of the blame is going. When a team rushes for 300 yards, that's the D line. If you want to place the blame, look right here. It's on us (the defensive line). We've got to get that corrected."
Until the late heroics, Williams and the Panthers seemingly had overcame the non-Carolina elements and landed the homefield advantage, which was important since the Panthers were 8-0 at home.
"Give them credit," Delhomme said. "They battled back and made the plays they had to. They beat us. That's why this game is so much fun. One is excited. The other is totally devastated. That would be us."
New York finished 7-1 at home. The last time they were the No. 1 seed was the 2000 season and they went to the Super Bowl, losing to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Panthers scored touchdowns the first three times they had the ball with Williams tallying from 13, 5 and 1 yard in leading Carolina to a 21-10 lead.
John Carney got New York to within 21-13 with a 35-yard field goal late in the half, and New York closed to 21-20 when Manning found a wide-open Boss for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 59 seconds to go in third.
Carolina restored the eight-point lead when Williams, who gained 108 yards on 24 carries, broke a tackle by Pierce and scampered 30 yards for a touchdown.
The Giants' tying touchdown was set up by great coffin-corner punt by Jeff Feagles, a 12-yard pass from Manning to Boss and a pass-interference call in the end zone against Ken Lucas, one play later.
Notes: Williams now has scored a Panthers' single-season record 20 touchdowns. ... Giants CB Aaron Ross left the game in the second half with a concussion. ... Panthers HB Jonathan Stewart sustained a head injury in the first half but returned. Kasay's miss was only his second in 26 attempts this season.
nrtoday.com
Last-Minute Win Aside, Has Favre Been Worth It?
East Rutherford, N.J.-- How fortunes change.
Two weeks after being arrested, then charged with speeding, driving without proof of insurance and possession of marijuana, Shaun Ellis saved the Jets' season on Sunday.
With his team trailing, 27-24, with less than two minutes to play, Ellis picked up a fumble by Buffalo quarterback J. P. Losman and rumbled 11 yards into the end zone with 1 minute 54 seconds to play.
After the game, Buffalo Coach Dick Jauron, who desperately needed a victory to save his job, lamented, "Out of a number of heartbreaking losses, that was the worst to this point."
Maybe the Jets are destined, maybe they are lucky. They could be lucky and destined, but destined for what remains to be seen.
Without getting into a moral debate about whether Ellis's football play should offset or overshadow his off-field slip-up, this much is certain: in one last-gasp play, Ellis, a veteran defensive end, salvaged a lost game, kept the Jets from slipping into darkness and kept Coach Eric Mangini off the hot seat.
Quarterback Brett Favre, the Jets' emerging philosopher king, said, "I think we're 9-5, and it doesn't have an asterisk beside it."
He compared the Jets' good fortune on Sunday to a lucky infield hit in baseball. "The box score doesn't say 'Punch and Judy,' it says single," he said. "A home run is a home run. A win is a win. It doesn't matter how you win them."
Ellis's last-second heroics obscure an issue that has hovered over the Jets since Aug. 7, when General Manager Mike Tannenbaum and Mangini made the grand play for Favre and jettisoned Chad Pennington.
With two games left in an up-and-down season, there still is no definitive answer to the question of whether Favre is worth the drama it took to bring him to New York.
The question might be answered in 13 days, when the Miami Dolphins, led by a resurgent Pennington, come to Giants Stadium to face the Jets.
On Nov. 24, the answer to the question about Favre was absolutely. The Jets were coming off back-to-back road victories over New England and previously unbeaten Tennessee.
After that game, Favre was prophetic as he spoke about the psychological challenge for the Jets to see themselves as a championship-caliber team. Sure enough, the Jets' inspirational victories were followed by a lopsided loss at home to Denver and a defeat at San Francisco.
A loss to Buffalo on Sunday would have been devastating, especially for a franchise that has gone 40 seasons without even playing for a championship.
****
After the Jets' narrow escape against the Bills, Favre said: "You find out what you are made of in tough times. We found that out not only in this game, but last week.
"You really have to care about winning, and it has got to really bother you when you lose. You have to be excited for guys when they make plays. It's never about you, it's about the team."
From the early-season injury to New England's Tom Brady and the benching of Tennessee's Vince Young to the surprising play of the rookies Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco, the thread running through the 2008 NFL season has been quarterback play.
The Jets set the tone for the theme with the high-profile, drama-filled trade that ended the Favre era in Green Bay, began Aaron Rodgers's career as his replacement and pushed Pennington out of New York.
The Jets' trade for Favre was a marriage of convenience; the Pennington pickup looks like the perfect match for the Dolphins.
The trade dominated everyone's summer, and for a week even knocked the Olympics off the front page. Pennington, meanwhile, was instantly snatched off the junk heap by Bill Parcells, the architect of Miami's remarkable turnaround and the person who drafted Pennington in 2000.
Favre came into Sunday's game ranked 13th in passer rating, at 88.2 (288 of 421, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions). Rodgers was eighth at 92.1 (278 of 434, 22 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) and Pennington was sixth at 93.7 (261 of 393, 12 touchdowns, 6 interceptions).
****
You have to look beyond the numbers to determine whether Favre or Pennington has made the greater impact on his respective team, or which one has been part of the greater turnaround.
Favre, for sure, has made the Jets a more exciting team. But will excitement be enough to push them past the first round of the playoffs? Pennington has been part of a drastic transformation for the Dolphins, who won only one game last season and now find themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East.
The Jets wished Pennington well when they released him in August. They probably never imagined that the former face of their franchise would wind up playing for an archrival, and staring the Jets in the face four months later.
Well, now they know: every goodbye ain't gone.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Bucs can take firm grasp of first tonight
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It's all right in front of the Buccaneers tonight.
The outright division lead, the national spotlight, and recognition as a team with the second-best record in the NFC that hardly anybody outside the Tampa Bay region talks about.
In a word, validation.
Tampa Bay's quest to become the first team to repeat as NFC South Division champion since realignment takes the first-place Buccaneers (9-3) to co-leader Carolina (9-3), where the Panthers have a 6-0 home record.
"This is a playoff game during the regular season, if you will," said defensive end Greg White.
"I'm expecting a 'backyard brawl,'" said defensive tackle Chris Hovan.
"We're second in the NFC, and nobody really acknowledges that," said wide receiver Antonio Bryant. "We haven't been getting attention with our record, and this is our opportunity to get the attention."
Although the teams have the same record, the Bucs (3-1 against the division) have a tiebreaker over the Panthers (2-2) for having beaten them 27-3 in Tampa in two months ago.
"We want to earn it, and there's no bigger way to earn a division title than to go to Carolina and find a way to win," said linebacker Derrick Brooks.
"It definitely gives an upper hand to the team who wins," said quarterback Jeff Garcia. "It doesn't necessarily clinch anything."
"If they want to go to a big show, they know they have to go through Tampa," Bryant said. "If we want to go a big show, we know we have to go through them."
But the Buccaneers have been vulnerable on the road, with a 3-3 road record. They were fortunate to overcome huge deficits of 21 points at Kansas City and 17 points at Detroit, against two of the worst teams in the league.
"We can't spot (Carolina) 17 points and expect to come back," said tackle Jeremy Trueblood.
But overall, the Bucs are 6-1 in games that they have trailed early.
A win tonight will depend on the defense not going haywire and the offense converting substantial third downs.
Tampa Bay's defense has not played as well on the road. The four greatest yardage totals the defense has allowed have all been on the road -- 438 yards at New Orleans, 405 yards at Chicago, 384 yards at Kansas City, and 333 yards at Denver.
Not counting the Detroit and Kansas City games (because they are not playoff-caliber teams), the Bucs have converted only 33 percent (20 of 60) of their third downs in the other four road games.
They were only 2 of 15 in third-down conversions in last week's home win over the Saints.
The Panthers have the weapons to easily ring up 400 yards and multiple touchdowns against the Buccaneers, with their two-pronged rushing attack of DeAngelo Williams (955 yards rushing, 11 TDs) and Jonathan Stewart (586 yards rushing, six TDs) wide receiver Steve Smith (52 receptions, 958 yards, four TDs, five 100-yard receiving games) and quarterback Jake Delhomme (190-for-329 for 2,427 yards passing, 12 TDs, nine interceptions and an 81.7 QB rating).
Delhomme is 7-2 in career starts against the Buccaneers.
Williams scored a team-record four rushing touchdowns in last week's road win over the Packers.
"He's an inside-outside runner. He's got great acceleration through the hole," Hovan said. "Their offensive line has done a great job opening holes for the kid, and he's making great plays. He's hot."
Smith has five 100-plus-yard receiving games in the past seven against the Bucs.
"Keep him in front of you," said Bucs safety Tanard Jackson about Smith. "Don't put yourself in a position where you give Delhomme a chance to put the ball up and he can make a play. Just give yourself a chance. A lot of teams haven't done that this year against him, and that's what we're going to do."
Bucs head coach Jon Gruden said the Panthers' seventh-ranked rushing attack (133.4 yards per game) is most worrisome.
"Their run game is very, very good, creative," Gruden said. "Two-back sets, one-back sets, they run it on third-and-8, third-and-9, for big plays," Gruden said.
"They are one of the few teams that dials up a lot of runs on third down and medium, and long. They have the wildcat formations. We are going to have to prepare for those. Quarterback Jake Delhomme is hot again. He has thrown for a lot of yards the last couple of weeks."
The Buccaneers have to hope they can seize momentum early. They jumped out to a lead against Carolina in Tampa, thanks to a blocked punt by rookie Geno Hayes, who returned it for a touchdown in the first quarter.
"It's going to be a different game, we know that," Jackson said.
NOTEBOOK
DT Jovan Haye (knee) did not make the trip, which means that Ryan Sims will start in his place.
Tampa Bay is 9-8 all-time on Monday night football, 3-4 under Gruden.
The Bucs' last appearance on Monday night was in 2006, also at Carolina, where the Panthers won 24-10.
Tampa Bay is 3-5 at home and 4-4 away against the Panthers.
Copyright (c) 2008 HeraldTribune.com
Giants crush the Redskins to improve to 11-1
LANDOVER, Maryland (Reuters) - The New York Giants won their seventh straight game and made a bold move toward claiming the NFC East title by crushing the Washington Redskins 23-7 Sunday.
Eli Manning completed 21 of 34 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown to lead the defending Super Bowl champion Giants on a cold and rainy day before 85,912 at FedEx Field.
"With the wet conditions we knew they were going to use a lot of man coverage and that's what they did," Manning said following his first 300-yard game of the season.
"(Our receivers) did a great job of getting open and catching the ball in these conditions, using their hands, which is tough at times."
The victory raised the Giants' record to 11-1 and gave them a three-game lead on the Dallas Cowboys (8-4) in the division with four games to play.
"We don't have an asterisk by our name for a division playoff spot yet and until we do we haven't reached our goal," said Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who helped limit the NFL's leading rusher, Clinton Portis, to just 22 yards.
"We still have a lot to prove."
A one-yard scoring run by Brandon Jacobs in the third quarter gave the Giants a cozy 20-7 lead and sent scores of Redskins fans heading for the exits.
"We knew the Redskins had their backs against the wall and desperately needed a win," said Jacobs, who rushed for 71 yards on 21 carries.
"We have a team that is dedicated to winning. And we expect to keep winning."
John Carney booted his third field goal of the day, a 39-yarder, in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring and seal the Giants' fifth road win in six games.
"We are really focused and we want to prove every week that we are out there to compete," said Amani Toomer, who scored on a 40-yard touchdown pass on the Giants' first possession.
"We're the team that everybody is chasing so we're not going to let up and people catch up with us."
Washington lost for the third time in four games to fall to 7-5 and into third place in the NFC East.
The Redskins were one of the NFL's most surprising teams during the first half of the season but will now have to scramble to qualify for the playoffs.
"This is not like a season-ending game where we all go home and we see you all next year," Washington's first-year coach Jim Zorn told reporters. "We are 7-5 and that is bright.
"We have to be as tough as nails and commit to these last four games and seize the opportunity and earn the right to be in the postseason."
Copyright 2008 Pamplin Media Group
Benching McNabb is not way to go for Eagles
BALTIMORE -- Enough of this nonsense. It's time for Andy Reid to get smart and do what he should've done Sunday.
Stick with Donovan McNabb.
Yeah, so the Eagles' quarterback stunk again, and so he keeps committing stupid mistakes. He's the only chance the Philadelphia Eagles have to salvage this season, and though this season looks as if it might be lost it isn't over.
There are five games left, starting with Thursday's home date against Arizona, and if Philadelphia is to make a playoff run -- and, granted, the chances look remote -- it is going to be with McNabb, not Kevin Kolb, starting at quarterback.
That was evident in the second half of the Eagles' 36-7 self-immolation here, with Philadelphia turning a 10-7 halftime deficit into a resounding loss. It's unfair to pin the second-half meltdown on Kolb, and nobody tried. In fact, Reid blamed himself, saying, "It's about me. If your football team doesn't play better than what we play today, it's about me."
Agreed. That's why he must smarten up now and go back to McNabb. If you're going to miss the playoffs, miss with your best quarterback -- and Donovan McNabb is that guy.
The Eagles already sacrificed one game by sitting him down, and don't ask me why. I heard Reid talk about gaining "a little bit of a spark" and that "something that needed to be done at that time," but that doesn't explain the reckless move.
I mean, you have a chance to win a big game. In fact, you're lucky to be down only three at the half, and for that you can thank your special teams. Nevertheless, you're in the game.
But instead of relying on a 10-year veteran and five-time Pro Bowler, you make a change to someone who has barely played. Worse, you throw him at the Baltimore Ravens defense.
In Baltimore, no less.
So what do you think happens? Exactly what you would expect: The Ravens overwhelm the poor guy, forcing him into numerous mistakes, incompletions and an NFL-record 108-yard interception return. Kolb never had a chance, forced from the pocket over and over to make hurried throws that more often than not fell incomplete.
"That is a tough thing to do putting him in there," Reid admitted.
So why do it? The decision baffled McNabb, his teammates and the Ravens. McNabb didn't question the move, but he did say he wouldn't have made it. He didn't question Reid not delivering the news himself, either. McNabb learned of the decision from quarterbacks coach Pat Shurmur shortly before the end of halftime.
"My first reaction was 'Wow,'" he said. "Then I knew I had to go along with it, and I tried to get our guys to rally behind Kevin Kolb."
That's fine ... for one day. Now it's time to get the guys to rally behind Donovan McNabb. A week ago I thought we witnessed the nadir of McNabb's career when he self-destructed in that 13-13 tie with Cincinnati. Then I watched him miss on eight of his last nine throws against Baltimore -- unless, of course, you include two interceptions -- and commit three second-quarter turnovers.
Only to get benched. It doesn't get much worse than that. Or than McNabb's passer rating of 13.2.
Afterward, McNabb met with Reid, but neither divulged the contents of their conversation. When McNabb was told that he seemed "upset" with his benching, he corrected his questioner.
"I am upset about us losing the game," he said, "and upset that I wasn't able to contribute. But I am going to focus on trying to help this team get better by eliminating mistakes and turnovers."
And that's what he should do, starting with Thursday's game at Arizona.
Look, I don't know what McNabb's long-term future is in Philadelphia, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out it's not good. The Eagles spent a second-round draft pick on Kolb to start him at some point, but you don't start him until or unless the season is gone. And we're not there yet, folks.
In 2005 the Pittsburgh Steelers were stuck at 7-5 and seemingly dead in the water ... only to win their last four games, make the playoffs and go on to win the Super Bowl. That's not to draw a parallel between the 2005 Steelers and this year's Eagles; it's only to prove a point that you don't panic 11 weeks into the season.
And Andy Reid panicked Sunday.
It's one thing to trust you ballclub to a veteran like Jeff Garcia, as the Eagles did two years ago, and have him lead them to the playoffs. Garcia not only was a veteran; he was a former Pro Bowl quarterback who had been to the playoffs.
Kevin Kolb is none of those things. I don't know if he has a bright future, but I do know this is not the time to find out. This is the time to find out what Donovan McNabb has left.
"I don't know why he was yanked," Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "At halftime it was 10-7. They still can win. You definitely want your veteran quarterback in there."
Makes sense to me. I just don't know why it didn't make sense to Andy Reid. He and McNabb have a long and illustrious career together. Reid drafted McNabb, and the two not only went to four conference championship games together, they won more games this decade than any NFC club.
To abandon all of that now just because McNabb is ... well, El stinko ... doesn't make a lot of sense -- unless, of course, McNabb was hurt. Which he wasn't.
"I heard they held him (out)," Baltimore cornerback Samari Rolle said. "That's not fair. That's not fair at all. Nobody asked why he wasn't out there. I thought something was wrong with him."
Well, something was. He kept committing mistakes. He had four turnovers last week, and he had three more Sunday. That's not good. But to jerk your experienced quarterback in the middle of a critical game ... on the road ... with your team down only a field goal ... in favor of an inexperienced backup ... well, it doesn't add up.
"It's an understatement to say that was a poor offensive performance," Reid said. "It's not all about one guy. We're not all going to sit here and point at Donovan. It's not all about Donovan. I think it's very important that everybody around the quarterback -- (as well as) the quarterback -- needs to pick up their game."
And that includes the head coach. Reid is one of the game's best and brightest head coaches, but not on this afternoon he wasn't. He made a decision that might have cost his team a game and did nothing but reinforce the already rife speculation swirling around McNabb and his future with the Eagles.
"Sometimes," Reid said, "with a player you can step back an inch and maybe you can forward a mile."
Unfortunately, with Sunday's move he stepped back a mile and went forward an inch. Reid has said he won't make a decision on his starter for Arizona until Monday and, as you would expect, he said he will go with the quarterback who offers the Eagles their best chance to win.
Good. Because that quarterback is Donovan McNabb. It's time to stick with him, Andy. Now more than ever.
(c) 2008 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved
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