No explosion - McNabb not healthy enough to scamper

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No explosion - McNabb not healthy enough to scamper
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer



There are at least two ways to look at almost everything. The sluggish performance by the Eagles' offense and quarterback Donovan McNabb in their season-opening loss at Green Bay fits perfectly into that category.
In fact, there are multiple ways to dissect McNabb and the offense after their defeat at Lambeau Field.

Let's start with what McNabb said yesterday before practice at the NovaCare Complex in preparation for Monday night's home opener against the Washington Redskins.

"The explosion is not where it was when I was healthy," the quarterback said, explaining the part of his game that perhaps is lacking the most as he continues to recover from major surgery on his right knee that ended his 2006 season.

McNabb, always a threat to run, even though he keeps his eyes focused on his receivers downfield as he scrambles away from pressure, is not sure of that ability right now.

"But it will get there eventually," he said. "At this point, you wouldn't expect it to be to the point where it is when you're healthy. I can still get out of the pocket and cut . . . but as far as the explosion is concerned, that's not where it was before."

McNabb said during training camp that his knee was "about 75 percent," but that "at 75 percent, I personally feel I can be one of the best quarterbacks in the league."

He was not one of the best quarterbacks in the league on Sunday, although he was, with no apologies to Terrell Owens or Brett Favre, the best quarterback on the field.

McNabb completed 15 of 33 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. He also threw an interception that led to the first of three field goals by Packers rookie Mason Crosby. McNabb, under duress, ran four times for just 9 yards, and it was obvious that the explosiveness was missing.

"I could have played better, but I say that all the time," he said.

Too often in his last five starts, dating from last season, McNabb could have uttered the same words and been correct. The Eagles were 1-4 in those games as McNabb completed 51.7 percent (73 for 141) of his passes for six touchdowns and five interceptions. His passer rating in those games was 73.7.

"We all have to play better," McNabb said. "It's not just me."

McNabb was not the only offensive player who struggled. Running back Brian Westbrook played well but dropped a couple of passes. Tight end L.J. Smith, battling a nagging groin injury, was barely visible. Reggie Brown, perfectly healthy, was even less visible. The offensive line was flagged for three holding penalties, including two on guard Shawn Andrews, who spent the preseason nursing a severe ankle sprain.

"I've come off an ACL [injury] before, and I know that you're not yourself until at least a year out of that surgery," Westbrook said. "It's just one of those things that, hopefully, he'll get used to. He's going to get better, and hopefully as a team we can carry the load a little bit more to take the pressure off his shoulders."

The Eagles have to hope that there's not a trend developing on offense in games started by their franchise quarterback, but the opener certainly created more questions than it provided answers.

"It was just one of those first games where we had to get all that bad stuff out of us," offensive tackle William Thomas said. "We just have to play a better game. It was just a bad day. We can't blame it on one thing or one unit. We had a bad game."

With only one exception in this decade, McNabb and the Eagles have rebounded from opening-day defeats.

In 2001, they lost a tough overtime opener at home to the St. Louis Rams, then recovered the next week with a 27-3 rout of the Seattle Seahawks. The next year, they squandered a 24-10 halftime lead and lost, 27-24, in Tennessee, only to rebound for a 30-point home win against the Redskins on Monday Night Football.

Two years ago, the Eagles lost a physically draining opener by four points to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football and followed it with a 39-point win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.

In those bounce-back games, McNabb completed 70.2 percent (73 for 104) of his passes for 917 yards, with nine touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating in those games was 126.2.

The only time he and the Eagles did not recover from an opening-day defeat came in a lopsided Week 2 loss to New England in 2003, but maybe the Patriots were cheating that day. The Eagles did go 12-2 the remainder of that season.

Anyway, none of that matters now. All that does matter is that the Eagles need to get over their unsightly loss.

"We've been through the down times, and now it's time for a change," McNabb said. ". . . We're a loose team. We're a team that flies around and has fun. We have to get back into that mode and, in doing that, make sure we're executing and doing the right things."

No explosion - McNabb not healthy enough to scamper | Inquirer | 09/14/2007