I must say I was floored yesterday, if not scared when I heard that Donovan McNabb not only put himself in the ‘Elite’ quarterback category, but the ‘Elite,Elite’ quarterback category (starts at the 11 minute mark). The ‘Elite Elite’ category includes Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady, and apparently Donovan McNabb. No mention of Brett Favre, Tony Romo, or Aaron Rodgers (among others), though that is more on the the host Kevin Sheehan than McNabb.  Look I like McNabb and I want him to be successful with the Redskins, but when I heard that I was worried he might have some sort of head injury or something that hasn’t been detected yet. There is no way that McNabb is in the ‘Elite’ category much less the ‘Elite, Elite’.

McNabb’s numbers last year, in what was considered close to a career year show anything but him being an ‘Elite’ quarterback. Here is where he ranked in various categories, now in fairness McNabb missed two games because of injury, but by the same token I’m not sure how being ‘injury prone’ makes him more ‘Elite’. Also outside of yards and touchdowns and interceptions, these are rate stats that a 1-2 game difference aren’t going to really matter (not to mention that some of the other QB’s Manning, Brees ect. weren’t really playing in the last 2 games so they ended up with really just as many ‘games’ as McNabb). In overall yards McNabb ranked 17th with 3,553, while throwing 22 TD’s (tied for 13th) to 10 interceptions (6th best among full time starters). His yards per attempt were very good at 8.0, which ranked 7th in the league. McNabb’s 1st down percentage of 33.4 ranked 20th in the league and shows that some drives stalled because of him. His completion percentage was especially troubling and has held him back his entire career. Last season he ranked 20th in the league with a paltry 60.3 completion percentage, just barely beating out the ‘Elite’ quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. As for the big one, quarterback rating McNabb posted the third highest rating in his career at 92.9, but couldn’t finish any higher than 12th among starting qualified quarterbacks. It should also be noted that it isn’t as though McNabb was without his fair share of weapons. No he maybe didn’t have as many weapons as some QB’s, but he had a lot more than most.

Now I realize McNabb supporters will say that you can’t just look at one season in determining an ‘Elite’ quarterback, and I tend to agree with that. But looking deeper into his stats don’t really paint a better picture, with the exception of 2004 and 2006, his numbers are far from exceptional. If we look at Pro Football Reference’s list of “active” quarterbacks we can get a better understanding of where McNabb stands. Now this is a list of 39 ‘active’ quarterbacks a list that ranges from the Manning’s of the league to the David Carr’s and Charlie Batch’s of the league. It doesn’t include the young quarterbacks from the past few years (Sanchez, Ryan ect.). While it has the counting stats like Yards, TD’s ect. those are obviously going to favor McNabb since he has been around (and starting) since 1999. In terms of the average stats here are where McNabb ranks:

1. Passing TD’s %: tied for 12th at 4.6% (NOTE: Good numbers but hardly great)

2.Passing INT %: 3rd at 2.1% (NOTE: David Garrard is 2nd and Jason Campbell is right behind him, maybe not the best stat to use)

3.Sack %: 26th at 7.00% (NOTE: The Eagles have had some good O-lines, McNabb ties to do too much. Also Campbell is ranked 22nd)

4.Completion %: 27th at 59.0% (NOTE: This is pretty troubling as that is a lot of wasted plays over the years for a good offense)

5.Yards/Att: tied for 18th at 6.9. (NOTE: This is better than his numbers suggest given the lack of vertical threats for most of his career)

6.Passer Rating: 15th at 86.5 (NOTE: Again good numbers but not an elite number)

In summary McNabb has been a good to very good quarterback for much of his career. Some numbers suggest his talent, while other ones like completion % and and sack % are down right scary. I like McNabb, and have always enjoyed his career even when he was the opposing quarterback (didn’t really enjoy him beating the Skins, just his presence on the field), but I’d hardly put him in the ‘Elite’ or ‘Elite, Elite’ categories. And again I’m left to ponder the question if McNabb is considered ‘Elite, Elite’ when both his numbers, eye test and scouts say otherwise? what does that make a guy like Albert Haynesworth? Who is well regarded as one of the top 5 DT’s in the game (if not the very best). The Redskins, fans and the NFL have once again shown that they overvalue the quarterback position and give them full blame/praise for the all important wins. And I’ll also leave you with this question, if McNabb by all accounts was a middling quarterback last season (despite it being near a career year), on a team that he had been with for years, in an offense he knew by heart, and surrounded by better talent, what will he do with the Redskins this season?