Download Flying with the Eagles, Mary Mitchell Douglas, Wildot Press
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Flying with the Eagles, Mary Mitchell Douglas, Wildot Press, 1994, 0964376407, 9780964376403, . DOWNLOAD HERE , , , , . Kansas vs Duke | 2013 ACC Basketball Highlights Dashcam: Trooper and Suspect Fall from Overpass During Chase Kim Kardashian Posts Baby Pics Hoop Falls, Breaks on Harlem Globetrotter After Dunk Nicole Scherzinger Goes Commando Golf Pros Hit The Green From 22 Story Tee Most expensive piece of art ever auctioned off in Manhattan Kate Hudson Sparkles in a Sexy Swimsuit Miranda Kerr Flaunts Her Flat Abs TSA Officer Remembered In Public Ceremony WATCH: Marines Show Dance Skills at Marine Corps Ball Jennifer Lawrence Goes Backless Rare Sequential Date 11/12/13 Becomes Popular Day For Weddings Shocking DWTS Elimination Caught on Camera: Crosswalk Hit & Run US Senator's Son Killed in Plane Crash Miley Cyrus is a Nude Alien in Future's 'Real and True' Music Video Christie's to auction the world's largest orange diamond Lady Gaga Debuts the World's First Flying Dress at ARTPOP Release Party Robach Reveals Cancer Diagnosis Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a retired American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. Before his NFL career, he played football and basketball for Syracuse University. The Philadelphia Eagles selected him with the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. He is currently an analyst on NFL Network and Fox Sports. Donovan McNabb was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Mount Carmel High School where, as a sophomore, he was a teammate of future NFL players Simeon Rice and Matt Cushing. Together, they helped Mount Carmel win the 1991 State Championship over Wheaton North High School, with McNabb scoring the final touchdown of the game.[2][3] As a senior, he led the team to a Chicago Prep Bowl championship. He also excelled in track and field during his high school years, and played on the school basketball team with Antoine Walker. In a controversial move, McNabb played volleyball his junior year, helping to establish the program in its first year at the school.[citation needed] Though McNabb was approached by recruiters from numerous colleges, only two schools—Syracuse University and the University of Nebraska—offered him scholarships to play college football as a quarterback.[4] He initially leaned toward attending Nebraska, as he relished the idea of being coached by Tom Osborne. Eventually, however, he decided to attend Syracuse and play for the Syracuse Orange football team, principally because he wanted to prove he was a competent "pocket passer", but also for academic reasons.[5] McNabb was named the Big East's offensive player of the decade for the 1990s,[10] and Big East Offensive Player of the Year an unprecedented three times from 1996–98,[8] 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.[11] He also spent two years as a reserve on the school's nationally ranked basketball team, including the 1996 squad that lost to Kentucky in the National Championship game. McNabb was drafted second overall by the Eagles, behind first pick Tim Couch, 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.[15] McNabb was the second of five quarterbacks selected in the first 12 picks of a quarterback-rich class that was at that point considered the best quarterback draft since the famous Class of 1983. However, only McNabb and Daunte Culpepper would go on to have successful careers in the NFL; Tim Couch struggled with the Cleveland Browns and officially retired in 2007 after being cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars in a failed comeback bid, while Akili Smith and Cade McNown were out of the NFL by 2002. By 2006, only McNabb was still with the team that originally drafted him. 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 8 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 (one rush and one pass). He was the first Eagles rookie to start at quarterback since Brad Goebel, and the first Eagles rookie draft pick to start since John Reaves in 1972. With the win, McNabb became the first Eagles rookie quarterback to win his first NFL start since Mike Boryla (December 1, 1974 against Green Bay) and the first Eagle quarterback to win his first start since Ty Detmer (October 13, 1996 against New York Giants).[16] McNabb threw the first touchdown pass of his career (six yards to tight end Chad Lewis) vs. Indianapolis in a 44-17 home loss on November 21, 1999.[17] 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). McNabb 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 touchdown passes (25) and quarterback rating (84.3). Including playoffs, he threw touchdown passes in 15 of 18 games and two-or-more in 12 of those games. He was named by his teammates as the club's offensive MVP in 2000 and 2001. During the off-season, McNabb signed a new contract with the Eagles worth $115 million over 12 years, with a $20.5 million signing bonus. In week 11 of the 2002 season, McNabb suffered a broken ankle. On the third play of the game against the Arizona Cardinals, 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 McNabb had broken his fibula in three places. During the game, however, he was 20-of-25 passing, with 255 yards and four touchdowns. McNabb was out for the last six weeks of the regular season. A dominant defense helped A. J. Feeley and Koy Detmer go a combined 5-1 to finish the season. McNabb returned to face the Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs, but he recovered slowly. The Eagles defeated the Falcons 20–6, but were upset at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27–10 in the NFC championship game. In late September 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 McNabb was overrated and that, "I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well".[19] 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 had been much discussion about the merit of these comments, which resulted in Limbaugh's resignation from ESPN. Football writer Allen Barra argued that Limbaugh's comments were in line with McNabb's statistical performance at the time.[20] Despite the slow beginning in the 2003 season, McNabb again led his team to the NFC Championship game. 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 home loss to the underdog 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 was knocked out of the NFC title game after being hit on the ground by Panthers' linebacker Greg Favors after he had been tripped up on a broken play. McNabb's success during this period came despite arguably the worst contingent of wide receivers in the NFL,[21] and perhaps in modern professional football history.[citation needed] In 2003, Philadelphia's wide receivers caught only five touchdown passes, tying the record for fewest in a 16-game season. 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. 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.