Donovan McNabb

Donovan McNabb

Philadelphia Eagles
Career information
College:	Syracuse
NFL draft:	1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Career history
Philadelphia Eagles (1999-present)
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl (x5) 2004 NFC Offensive Player of the Year

Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He played college football at Syracuse University. McNabb's best season came in 2004, when he helped the Eagles win the National Football Conference Championship.

Donavan grew up with elephants in the city of zimbobway with his aunt Zuiete

College career

McNabb was heavily recruited out of high school; however, only two schools offered him a scholarship to play quarterback. These were the University of Nebraska and Syracuse University. McNabb at first was strongly considering going to the University of Nebraska. He enjoyed the idea of being coached by the legendary Tom Osborne. However, McNabb decided not to attend Nebraska mainly because he wanted to prove himself a competent pocket passer. Due to this, and academic factors, McNabb chose to attend Syracuse University.

One of the most decorated athletes in Syracuse University history, he was a four-year starter at quarterback and a reserve on the school's nationally ranked basketball team. On the gridiron he was named the Big East Conference's offensive player of the decade (1990s) and of the year an unprecedented three times from 1996-98, as well as the first-team all-conference vote earner in each of his four seasons. Later, he was named to the Syracuse All-Century Football team.

McNabb started every game during his career, compiling a 33-12 record. As a senior, he led Syracuse to an Orange Bowl berth vs. Florida as he completed 157 of 251 passes (62.5%) for 2,134 yards. His 22 TD passes tied the school's single season record set by former Eagle Don McPherson (1987). McNabb also rushed 135 times for 438 yards and 8 touchdowns. He ranked sixth in the nation with a 158.9 passing efficiency rating and 22nd in total offense (233.8 yards per game). As well, he tied a school record with 4 TD tosses vs. Cincinnati and accounted for 5 TDs vs. Miami (3 rushing and 2 passing). McNabb amassed 2,892 yards in total offense in his junior season to set a school record. As a freshman, he was the Big East rookie of the year and tossed a 96-yard TD pass vs. West Virginia University, the longest in SU history. He redshirted in 1994. Against West Virginia Mountaineers in 1995, McNabb accounted for 354 total yards of offense, and in 1997 and 1998 he threw six TD passes.

Big East records

• 1st - touchdown passes (77)
• 1st - touchdowns responsible for (96)
• 1st - passing yards (8,389)
• 1st - total offensive yards (9,950)
• 1st - total offensive plays (1,403)

Syracuse University records

• 1st - total yards per game (221.1)
• 1st - passing efficiency (155.1)
• 1st - yards per attempt (9.1)

NFL career

1999

McNabb was drafted second overall by the Eagles in the 1999 NFL Draft, a choice which was famously booed by Philadelphia fans present at the draft, most of whom were pushing for their team to draft University of Texas running back Ricky Williams. McNabb saw his first NFL regular season action in the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 19-5 home loss on September 19. He made his first career start at home against Washington on November 14, completing eight of 21 passes for 60 yards in a 35-28 win. He also had nine carries for 49 rushing yards and led the team to a pair of successful two-point conversions (1 rush and 1 pass). With the win, he became the first Eagles rookie QB to win his first NFL start since Mike Boryla (December 1, 1974 vs. Green Bay) and the first Eagle QB to win his first start since Ty Detmer (October 13, 1996 at NYG).

McNabb threw the first TD pass of his career (6 yards to tight end Chad Lewis) vs. Indianapolis in a 44-17 home loss on November 21. McNabb went on to start six of the Eagles' final seven contests (missing the December 19 home game against New England, a 24-9 victory, due to injury) as he became the first Philadelphia Eagles rookie to start in the quarterback position since Brad Goebel on October 13, 1991, and the first Eagles rookie draft pick to start since John Reaves in 1972.

2000

In his first full season as a NFL starter in 2000, McNabb finished second in the Associated Press MVP voting (24-11) to St. Louis RB Marshall Faulk, who set the NFL record for most TDs scored in a season. McNabb made his prime time debut (ESPN) vs. Atlanta at home (October 1) with his first 300-yard passing game in a 38-10 victory and the Eagles' first since Bobby Hoying vs. Cincinnati at home on November 30, 1997. His 55 pass attempts at Pittsburgh, a come-from-behind 26-23 overtime victory (November 12) were a career-high and the fourth-highest total in team history. Named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for 90.7% of the offense in a 23-20 overtime victory at Washington (November 26). His 125 rushing yards were the most by an NFL QB since the Bears Bobby Douglass (127 on December 17, 1972) and was the sixth-best rushing effort by a QB since 1940 when the "T" formation was introduced. Threw for a career-high 390 passing yards and 4 TDs in a 35-24 victory at Cleveland (December 10) en route to NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. McNabb led the Eagles to their first playoff appearance since 1996, where they defeated the favored Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-3 before losing to the New York Giants 20-10.

He was selected as a first alternate to the NFC Pro Bowl squad in 2000 (behind the Minnesota Vikings Daunte Culpepper, San Francisco 49ers Jeff Garcia, and St. Louis Rams Kurt Warner). When Warner was unable to participate due to injury, McNabb led the NFC on a touchdown scoring drive in his first series. Accounted for 74.6% of the team's total net yards in 2000. Only Carolina's Steve Beuerlein (75.3%) and San Francisco's Jeff Garcia (75.1%) had a higher percentage. His 629 rushing yards in 2000 were tops among NFL QBs and, at the time, the fourth-highest total ever (968 by Bobby Douglass in 1972; 942 by Randall Cunningham in 1990; and 674 by Steve McNair in 1997. Michael Vick has since eclipsed that total three times). His six rushing TDs in 2000 were the most by an Eagles QB since Randall Cunningham also had six in 1988. Broke the club's single season record for most attempts (569) and completions (330) in 2000, marks previously set by Cunningham (560 and 301 respectively) in 1988. Named 2000 NFL Player of the Year by CBS Radio and the Terry (Bradshaw) Awards on Fox Sports and was named to the All-Madden team.

2001

McNabb led the Eagles in fourth-quarter comebacks in two wins vs. the Giants in 2001. At the Meadowlands (October 22), his 18-yard pass to James Thrash with 1:52 remaining gave the Eagles a 10-9 victory. At Philadelphia (December 30), wiped out a 21-14 deficit, engineering two fourth-quarter scores as the Eagles clinched the NFC East title with a 24-21 over archrival New York Giants. Tied Ron Jaworski and Tommy Thompson for the most postseason wins in franchise history by a QB (3). His 8 career playoff TDs trails only Jaworski (9). Named NFL Offensive Player of the Week after the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Chicago (January 19, 2002). Completed 26 of 40 for 262 yards with 2 touchdowns passing and added 37 yards and a TD on the ground. That rushing TD was the final touchdown at the old Soldier Field. Became only the fourth QB in Eagles history to pass for 3,000 yards in consecutive seasons - Sonny Jurgensen (1961-62), Ron Jaworski (1980-81), and Randall Cunningham (1988-90) were the others. McNabb's Eagles advanced to the NFC championship game for the first time since 1980, losing to the heavily favored St. Louis Rams 29-24.

He earned his second trip to the Pro Bowl (was originally elected as an alternate) following the 2001 season after combining for 3,715 yards of total offense and establishing career highs in TD passes (25) and QB rating (84.3). Including playoffs, threw TD passes in 15 of 18 games and 2-or-more in 12 of those games. Named by his teammates as the club's offensive MVP in 2000 and 2001. During the offseason, McNabb signed a new contract with the Eagles worth $115 million over 12 years, with a $20.5 million signing bonus.

2002-2003

In week 11 of the 2002 season, McNabb was injured. On the third play of the game, he was sacked by the Cardinals' Adrian Wilson and LeVar Woods. He fumbled the ball, fell to the ground, and held his right leg. He went to the locker room to have his ankle taped, but returned for the Eagles' second drive. His injury was reported to be a sprained ankle, but X-rays after the game revealed that it was a broken ankle. During the game, however, McNabb made an impressive show of toughness. In one of the best passing games of his career, he was 20 of 25 passing, with 255 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also threw an interception. McNabb was out for the last six weeks of the regular season, and returned to face the Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs, but he recovered slowly. The Eagles defeated the Falcons 20-6, but were beaten by the underdog Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-10 in the NFC championship game.

In late September of 2003, McNabb was the subject of very controversial comments made by Rush Limbaugh, who worked as a commentator for ESPN at the time, stating that the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed. The comments came after the Eagles began the season 0-2, losing to defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers and eventual champion New England, both losses coming in their newly opened stadium, Lincoln Financial Field. There has been much discussion about the merit of these comments, which resulted in Limbaugh's resignation from ESPN.

Despite the slow start in the 2003 season, McNabb again led his team to the NFC Championship game - yet his detractors pointed out that in his five years in the NFL, McNabb had yet to complete 60 percent of his passes or average seven yards per attempt over the course of an entire season, two statistical thresholds widely accepted as benchmarks for what constitutes a successful season for a modern-day NFL quarterback. Although the slow start hindered his overall statistics for 2003, Mcnabb had the highest quarterback rating(97.5)in the NFL for the second half of the season and also completed over 62% of his passes for over eight yards per attempt. With Philadelphia's 14-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers in the 2003 NFC championship game, McNabb became the first NFL quarterback since Danny White of the Dallas Cowboys (1980-1982) to lead a team to three consecutive defeats in conference title games, prompting some observers to conclude that McNabb "chokes" in big games (his cumulative passer rating in the three conference championship games was 50.5 - a figure that is approximately 10 points lower than what the worst quarterback in the league earns over the course of a typical year).

McNabb's defenders, however, point out that Philadelphia had the worst contingent of wide receivers in the NFL throughout McNabb's tenure with the team up to that point, and perhaps in modern professional football history. In 2003, for example, Philadelphia's wide receivers caught only five touchdown passes - tying the record for fewest in a season since the regular-season schedule was lengthened to its present 16 games in 1978 and that, by going the entire months of September and October without having a wide receiver catch a touchdown pass, the 2003 Eagles became the first NFL team since 1945 not to have gotten a touchdown pass from any of its wide receivers in the first two months of a season.

2004

McNabb finally amassed the kind of numbers that placed him firmly as one of the elite NFL quarterbacks statistically. He averaged 8.26 yards per attempt, completed 64.0 percent of his passes, threw 31 touchdown passes (he also ran for three more), and only eight interceptions. These numbers translated to a Passer Rating of 104.7. Furthermore, he became the first quarterback in league history to throw over 30 touchdowns and less than 10 interceptions in a single season. This dramatic improvement coincided with a massive upgrading of the Eagles' receiving corps, namely the arrival of Terrell Owens, who caught 14 touchdowns. As a result, the Eagles won their first seven games of the season for the first time in franchise history, clinched first place in their division with five weeks still to play in the regular season (becoming only the third team in modern NFL history to do this) and won the NFC's Eastern Division by a record-tying seven-game margin in posting a 13-3 record, the franchise's best 16-game season ever. In the playoffs, McNabb led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl in almost a quarter century, with victories over the Minnesota Vikings 27-14 in the divisional game and the Atlanta Falcons 27-10 in the NFC Championship Game. Owens was not in the lineup during the two playoff victories, and was recovering from a broken ankle. McNabb became only the third African-American quarterback to start in a Super Bowl after Doug Williams in the 1987 season and Steve McNair in 1999.

Super Bowl XXXIX

McNabb lead his team against a newly-forming football dynasty, the New England Patriots, in Super Bowl XXXIX. McNabb struggled at points, throwing three crucial interceptions. Two of these were thrown in New England territory, and one of those two was a rare mistake for McNabb in the red zone. The final interception was a last-gasp hail mary at the end of the game. He was also sacked four times. Controversy surrounds the end of the game, as McNabb was reportedly dehydrated and vomited in the huddle, as stated by former 1st Round pick and Philadelphia Eagle teammate Freddie Mitchell, leading to the inability to call a play and poor clock management by the Philadelphia Eagles on their final drive. Some reports claim that McNabb had the wind knocked out of him by an earlier hit while others assert that he was unduly fatigued (interestingly, McNabb also suffered from a bout of nausea at the conclusion of a 2002 regular-season game played at Alltel Stadium, where Super Bowl XXXIX was contested). Some have speculated that McNabb had end of game butterflies and is not capable of winning the big game. Both Coach Andy Reid and McNabb have denied any physical problems which led to the puzzlingly slow pace of play, but they did not address mental problems. McNabb finished the game with 30 completions for 357 yards, the third highest total for both categories in Super Bowl history, and 3 touchdowns. The Eagles lost 24-21.

Pundits often use Super Bowl XXXIX to point out both McNabb's gifts and failures. He showed flashes of his athleticism and on field calm, but he also brought up the nagging questions of whether or not he has the heart of a champion. Critics of McNabb continually place the success and failure of the Philadelphia Eagles squarely on his shoulders.

2006

McNabb and the Eagles began the 2006 season at 5-4 heading into a week 11 game with Tennessee Titans on Sunday November 19. At that point, McNabb had been having an up and down season. His weekly passing ratings ranged from a lofty 113 all the way down to 65. Overall, the team was struggling. During the game, McNabb tore the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee while jumping out of bounds, ending his season, the third time in five years McNabb had gone down with six or more games remaining in the regular season. Eagles officials stated that his rehabilitation would likely last eight to twelve months, which completely ended his 2006 season and even raised questions as to whether he would be ready to begin playing by the beginning of the 2007 season. In the meantime, backup quarterback Jeff Garcia took McNabb's place as the Eagles' quarterback. Since McNabb became starting quarterback in 1999, the Eagles are 8-7 without him. A dominant defense in 2002 helped A.J. Feeley and Koy Detmer go a combined 5-1 to finish the season after McNabb broke his ankle against the Arizona Cardinals. Detmer lost a meaningless game during the Eagles Super Bowl season in 2004. In 2005, Mike McMahon went 2-5 when McNabb's season was lost to a sports hernia in Week 10 against the Cowboys. In 2006, Jeff Garcia had success, leading the Eagles from 5-5 after the Tennessee game to 10-6 and winners of the NFC East. The Eagles then went on to win their Home Playoff game in the Wild Card round of the playoffs against the New York Giants 23-20 with Jeff Garcia under center. However, in the following divisional round they were beaten by the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome 27-24.

2007

The beginning of this season was marked with many questions. There was much uncertainty on whether McNabb would be able to recover completely from his torn ACL. In the season opener at Green Bay, the Eagles and McNabb suffered a 16-13 loss. McNabb had his share of problems, completing less than half of his passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. The Eagles lost their first home game of the season to the rival Washington Redskins, 20-12, though his numbers improved. As week three approached, skeptics had already wondered whether McNabb still had his skill that propelled him to success in the past. McNabb quickly silenced these critics with the assistance of running back Brian Westbrook and wide receiver Kevin Curtis during week three. The Eagles defeated the Detroit Lions in a 56-21 win. McNabb completed 21 out of his 26 attempted passes for 381 yards. Four of those passes went for touchdowns (3 of them went to Curtis). His brilliant performance against the Lions was highlighted by his first perfect (158.3) Quarterback Rating. However, week 4 did not prove to be as good as the Eagles thought it would be. The Eagles endured yet another loss, this time to the New York Giants. The Giants' defense, led by defensive end Osi Umenyiora, sacked McNabb a record-tying 12 times. McNabb completed 15 out of 31 attempted passes for 138 yards and no touchdowns. Coming off the bye week, the Eagles were projected to win, based on their 8-0 record coming off a bye under Reid's coaching. The week 6 game against the Jets proved to follow history. McNabb completed 22 out of 36 attempted passes for 278 yards total. McNabb also had a touchdown pass to Curtis, plus one interception. With the help of kicker David Akers, the Eagles went on to win, 16-9.

NFL year by year statistics

Year	Games	Games Started	Attempts	Completions	Completion %	Yards	Yards/Attempt	Touchdowns	Interceptions	Rating
1999	12	6	216	106	49.1	948	4.39	8	7	60.1
2000	16	16	569	330	58.0	3365	5.91	21	13	77.8
2001	16	16	493	285	57.8	3233	6.56	25	12	84.3
2002	10	10	361	211	58.4	2289	6.34	17	6	86.0
2003	16	16	478	275	57.5	3216	6.73	16	11	79.6
2004	15	15	469	300	64.0	3875	8.26	31	8	104.7
2005	9	9	357	211	59.1	2507	7.00	16	9	85.0
2006	10	10	316	180	57.0	2647	8.36	18	6	95.5
Totals	104	98	3259	1898	58.2	22080	6.78	152	72	85.2
Playoffs	12	12	419	249	59.4	2630	6.26	18	12	80.1

Rushing Totals

• 447 attempts 2726 yards 6.1 average 24 TDS Regular Season, 63 attempts 362 yards 5.8 average, 3 TDS Playoffs

McNabb has a winning record in postseason games at 7-5.

McNabb holds the record for most consecutive pass attempts completed with 24 against the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers in 2004 over two games. Mark Brunell and David Carr hold the record for most consecutive completed passes in a single game with 22. McNabb also completed 25 consecutive passes against the San Diego Chargers in 2005, but this record is not counted by the NFL as it included a spiking of the ball to stop the clock at the end of the half. The 2005 game was also noteworthy for Coach Reid calling for McNabb to have 25 pass attempts in a row, without interruption by a running play.

McNabb is the second least intercepted quarterback per pass attempt in NFL history, behind only Neil O'Donnell, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers. McNabb's career ratio is 1 interception in every 46.08 pass attempts, while O'Donnell was intercepted only once every 47.49 pass attempts.

Personal

McNabb and his college sweetheart, Raquel "Roxy" Nurse, were married in June of 2003. His daughter Alexis was born in September 23, 2004. His other loves include his two dogs, Sinbad and Diego and his parakeet named Tudy. They reside in Chandler, Arizona.

McNabb's parents, Sam and Wilma McNabb, have gained fame appearing as themselves in the Campbell's Chunky Soup commercial series. The actress Marcella Lowery has played Mcnabb's mother on occasion. Wilma is also a vice president of the NFL Mother's Association, the executive director of the Donovan McNabb Foundation, and runs McNabb Unlimited, which oversees Donovan's endorsements.

In 2002, he became the youngest person to be named to the Syracuse University Board of Trustees.

He has a degree in speech communications.

In 2006, he released a clothing line which he designed, called Super Five.

He also played basketball at Syracuse University as a reserve guard. In the 1996 national championship game against Kentucky, McNabb played against his former high school teammate Antoine Walker.

External links

• Donovan's Official Website
• Donovan McNabb's Official Yardbarker Blog
• Donovan McNabb at ESPN.com
• Template:Pro-football-reference
• The McNabb Foundation Website
• Donovan McNabb bio, interview, pictures & wallpapers
• Donovan McNabb 2006 Interview on Sidewalks Entertainment
• CNNSI.com Draft Video
• Yahoo! Sports article examining criticism of McNabb