The old McNabb is back

The old McNabb is back December 17
Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist Bob Ford
"When it happened, way back through the long portal of three weeks time, it seemed as if Andy Reid had reached into another pocket and produced the white flag. He threw it in the half-time locker room in Baltimore, seemingly bringing an end to the Eagles' hopes for this season, and, depending on one's point of view, to the entire tenure of Donovan McNabb as the unassailable quarterback of the franchise.

Reid benched McNabb midway through another game that was going nowhere, in another season that appeared doomed. It was a momentous change, an upheaval for the team, a parting of the ways between the past and the future.

Except it wasn't any of that.

The end of the McNabb era lasted only until noon the following day. Reid said McNabb was still the starter. Sometimes players need to take a step back to move forward. It was as close as the coach came to acknowledging his action had been nothing but a motivational tool to get the quarterback's attention. After the first flurry of reaction, he didn't speak of it again.

Well, here we are three weeks into the second McNabb era, and Reid might not be the coach of the year, but he could be psychologist of the year. In the NFL, that's just as difficult an award to win.

In last night's ritual 30-10 win over the Cleveland Browns, the third straight win for the Eagles in their pursuit of an improbable playoff berth, McNabb was sharp and efficient again. For the third straight game, his passer rating was over 90, the first such stretch for McNabb since the opening games of the 2006 season, just a few weeks before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and was lost for the rest of the year.

"I thought it was another good night for him," said Reid, who added that he isn't surprised by McNabb's turnaround.

"I know the kind of person he is," Reid said. "He's always been a great player."

It's fair to point out that two of the wins, and two of the efficient games, came against the Arizona Cardinals and, last night, against the Browns - teams that are not great pass defenders. The other came against the Giants, of course, a game in which most, if not all of the credit went to Brian Westbrook and Reid's grudging return to the rushing game.

All true but perhaps beside the point. The Donovan McNabb that returned to the team after his 30-minute vacation didn't look like the one that had terrible games against the Giants, Cincinnati and Baltimore. The new boss - same as the old boss - threw the ball with both zip and touch, depending on what was needed, and didn't throw interceptions.

McNabb did have one interception last night, as he tried to force in a score on the final play of the first half, but otherwise he was quietly brilliant. There weren't any deep throws in the mix - his longest completion was for 25 yards - but there didn't have to be. He lofted a delicate sideline pass over the defender to get Kevin Curtis the first touchdown of the game on the open
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