Stepping up: a tough offseason for the Eagles did produce one major positive: Donovan McNabb solidified his status as the team's leader

Football Digest, Oct, 2003 by Bob Grotz

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN JANuary's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game and his hush-hush marriage in late June to college sweetheart Roxi Nurse, quarterback Donovan McNabb surrendered to another reality. The Philadelphia Eagles really were his team.

The subtle change was apparent at the first minicamp, a traditionally laid-back gathering in which players exchange new cell phone numbers, try to guess the head coach's weight, and handicap the new draft picks and free agents. When McNabb scanned the locker room, he shook his head. It felt more like an airport full of strangers than the quarters of a team coming off of a 12-4 record and its second straight division championship. Free agency had taken an Andy Reidsized bite out of these Eagles.

McNabb, especially shaken by the departures of vocal Pro Bowl defensive end Hugh Douglas and future Hall of Fame candidate Brian Mitchell, the latter an important mentor, felt compelled to be heard. He called the losses of a dozen contributors, including six starters, "tough to swallow." That got the attention of head coach/executive vice president of football operations Reid. Further, the career diplomat shocked reporters, surprised teammates, and dropped the jaws of the Eagles' media relations staff when he said the player turnover "takes a toll."

A few days later, McNabb didn't back off of his comments, saying that anyone who didn't like them was, well entitled to his or her opinion. In time, his father Sam intimated that his son had felt the same way in the past but simply hadn't expressed his views.

Quietly, some Eagles veterans applauded McNabb, who, in September 2002, had signed a 12-year, $115 million contract. Eagles fans also noticed, even if they preferred their quarterback had used an expletive or two.

"It was just a thing where everything builds up," McNabb says. "I mean, every year we lose key guys. Things happen. Coming out and saying it doesn't mean I'm bashing the organization. I think it's just something where if you feel that way, you say it and move on. My job is to be the leader. I'm not out there being perfect. I make some bad checks. I make some bad decisions."

At the next minicamp, McNabb downplayed the absence of Pro Bowl corner-back Bobby Taylor and running back Duce Staley, who, in the final year of their contracts, are angling for extensions.

When McNabb wasn't adjusting to his evolving position as team spokesman, he was being reminded of the past. He took the heat last January for a decision he and his head coach made for him to start in the playoffs. McNabb was certain he would return from the fractured right fibula that had sidelined him the last six games of the regular season. Nonetheless, there was support for hackup quarterbacks A.J. Feeley and Key Detmer, who had guided the Eagles to a 5-1 record down the stretch.

Idle since the middle of November, McNabb was running on adrenaline when he threw for 247 yards and one touchdown to spark the Eagles to a 20-6 win over Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round of the playoffs.

The following week, the rust showed. McNabb had one of the worst games of his career, fumbling the ball away twice and throwing an interception that Ronde Barber returned 92 yards for an insurance score in the Buccaneers' 27-10 victory in the last foothall game ever at Veterans Stadium.

"I played poorly," McNabb says. "There were opportunities to make plays, and I didn't make them."

Chad Lewis, Philadelphia's Pro Bowl fight end, says it wasn't the real McNabb on the field that day. "You miss five games in the NFL and you're going to need to bust some rust off you," Lewis says. "The timing is oft And we were playing against the best defense in the whole league, and they were throwing their best at us on every play.

"But you know what? We had a chance to win. I will never pin that loss on Donovan. I look at him like a total warrior for stepping on the field in the playoffs and saying, This is my team, and we're going to the Super Bowl.' He grabbed the ball, he took the helm, and he went to battle. That's a warrior."

Playoff issues aside, McNabb is OK with the career that began amid a chorus of boos in New York. The catcalls came from a small knucklehead faction of Eagles fans who wanted Reid to select running back Picky Williams with the second pick overall in 1999.

McNabb has made those critics look silly. With 71 touchdown passes and 38 interceptions on 1,639 pass attempts, he ranks fourth all-time in touchdown-interception ratio at 1.86. Only Jeff Garcia (2.20), Steve Young (2.16), and Joe Montana (1.96) have better ratios. McNabb is 35-19 in his four-year career, including 7-0 with 12 TDs against three interceptions in prime time games. He's been to three Pro Bowls.

"It was a lot of motivation," McNabb says of the booing. "I was already inspired, and I was all ready to get into the league and do the best I could possibly do. But I think after what happened at that draft and during the year, it really motivated me to do what had to be done."