Eagles to stick with McNabb, at least for now

Perhaps all of the "End of an Era" talk was a bit premature. Andy Reid announced today that Donovan McNabb will be the starting quarterback for the Eagles in their Thanksgiving game against the Cardinals. Kevin Kolb replaced McNabb for the second half of yesterday's game against the Ravens and played terribly, which is about what we would expect from someone with no NFL experience.

Reid's decision to start McNabb again raises the question as to whether the veteran quarterback should have ever been pulled. If the Eagles were going to go back to McNabb anyway, what was the point of switching to Kolb against the Ravens? McNabb clearly gives this team the best chance to win, but with the team all but eliminated, isn't it time to look to the future?

You can bet McNabb will be on a short leash on Thursday. Maybe the benching will act as a wake-up call and #5 will get off to a fast start for once. If he doesn't, then the Kevin Kolb era will officially begin. Let's hope Kolb has a lot more ability than he showed yesterday or it might be a short era.

Stick a fork in 'em, Donovan McNabb and the Eagles are done

(AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Sunday, November 23rd will be a date remembered by Eagles fans for a long time. Not only was it the date that the Eagles 2008 season came to an end, it will also go down as the date the Donovan McNabb era came to an end in Philadelphia.

The Eagles were whipped by the Ravens 36-7 in the worst Eagles game I have seen in a long time. The offense failed to score all day with only a Quintin Demps kickoff return touchdown saving the Birds from a shut out.

Unlike the last few weeks, Donovan McNabb actually had a decent start to the game, completing 7 of his first 9 passes. Although he failed to put any points on the board, he was doing fine until he was sacked early in the 2nd quarter and coughed up the football to the Ravens. From that point forward, McNabb completed only 1 of 9 passes and was intercepted twice. His poor first half play forced Andy Reid to bench McNabb and go with Kevin Kolb for the remainder of the game.

Kolb entered the game with the score 10-7 and the outcome very much up in the air. There will be plenty of debate all week as to whether Reid should have benched the player that gives the team the best chance to win but clearly a message had to be sent that McNabb just wasn't getting the job done. Kolb didn't do much better, completing 10 of 23 passes for 73 yards and two picks. Despite Kolb's ineffectiveness, the Birds still had a chance to win the game as they drove deep into Ravens territory in the 4th quarter before Kolb threw an interception in the end zone that Ed Reed took 108 yards the other way for the score.

So where do the Eagles go from here? With the 2008 season clearly over, they have to continue with Kevin Kolb at quarterback to see what the kid can do. With McNabb likely being shown the door in the offseason the Eagles need to know if Kolb can be the man or if they need to go in another direction. Trotting McNabb out there for another week would be pointless unless they are trying to up his trade value.

As for McNabb, I could see him going on to have a few more solid seasons with the Bears or the Vikings. He has more left in the tank but he has run his course in Philadelphia. As he is on his way out, I hope that Eagles fans can remember him for the positive things he has done, like lead this team to countless victories and a Super Bowl, rather than his last few seasons of injury and ineptitude. Besides, regardless of how you feel about McNabb right now, it's still going to hurt when you see him in another uniform. He was supposed to be an Eagle for life and bring this city a title, not run out of town after a string of poor games.

R.I.P. The Donovan McNabb era, April 17th, 1999-November 23, 2008

End of an Era? McNabb benched after another slow start

Is this the end of the Donovan McNabb era in Philadelphia? After throwing two picks, fumbling and managing only 59 yards passing in the first half, McNabb was benched in favor of Kevin Kolb. Andy Reid is either sending a message to McNabb or he's finally decided it's time to move on. It will be interesting to see how Kolb does in the second half and who is going to start on Thanksgiving Day.

We knew this day was coming, but who thought it would be so soon?

Eagles/Ravens Inactives: Westbrook to play, new starters

The Eagles and Ravens have announced their inactives for today's game:

Eagles: G Shawn Andrews, RB Lorenzo Booker, FB Kyle Eckel, QB A.J. Feeley, LB Joe Mays, G Mike McGlynn, TE Matt Schobel, DE Bryan Smith

Ravens: QB Todd Bouman, WR Terrance Copper, DT Oniel Cousins, DT Lamar Divens, TE Edgar Jones, WR Marcus Maxwell, DT Brandon McKinney, CB Evan Oglesby

Brian Westbrook is active and playing, although we'll see how effective he will be.

The story this week isn't who is inactive for the Eagles, since it's the same group as last week, but rather who the starters will be. From what I am hearing, L.J. Smith has been demoted to second string in favor of Brent Celek and Omar Gathier has been benched for Akeem Jordan. I am also hearing rumors that Hank Baskett will be starting ahead of Reggie Brown. All of those moves make sense to me, might as well bench the ineffective players and give some of these young guys a chance.

There are no surprises in the Ravens inactive list, although I can't say I've heard of any of them.

I picked the Eagles to win this week, but I'm not confident. The Ravens are a better team than the Bengals but the Eagles have a tendency to play up or down to their opponents. Either way, we are guaranteed a close game.

NFL Week 12 Predictions

Just when I think I have the NFL figured out I have my worst week of predictions in Week 11. Parity continues to reign in the league, making picking the winners a difficult proposition.

Here are my picks for Week 12. Remember, all picks are made without taking the spread into consideration.

Record Last Week: 9-6-1, .594
Overall Record: 102-57-1, .641

Thursday Night Game:

Bengals (1-8-1) @ Steelers (7-3) This post will go up during or after the Thursday night game, but trust me, there is only one team to pick in this game anyway. My pick: Steelers

Sunday Day Games:

Panthers (8-2) @ Falcons (6-4) This is the first of several tough games to predict, the Panthers are the slightly better team but the game is being played in Atlanta. My pick: The Panthers will slow down the Falcons runs game and will pull out the win, further solidifying their NFC South division lead

Texans (3-7) @ Browns (4-6) Brady Quinn might not actually be a terrible quarterback, he's at least better than Sage Rosenfels. My pick: I don't like either of these teams but I'll go with the Brownies at home.

Niners (3-7) @ Cowboys (6-4) Much to the Eagles chagrin, the Cowboys are going to find themselves right in the thick of the NFC playoff picture after another win. My pick: Cowboys

Bucs (7-3) @ Lions (0-10) I'm having a hard time finding a game the Lions will be able to win. My pick: Bucs won't lose in a possible trap game

Jets (7-3) @ Titans (10-0) The Titans quest for perfection will continue, it's funny how they aren't getting all the hype that last years "unbeatable" Patriots team got. My pick: Titans

Bills (5-5) @ Chiefs (1-9) Tyler Thigpen looks like the future in Kansas City and even at the present he's good enough to beat the slumping Bills. My pick: Chiefs

Bears (5-5) @ Rams (2-8) The Rams are truly terrible, how do you get wiped out by the crappy Niners? My pick: Bears

Patriots (6-4) @ Dolphins (6-4) Who would have thought these two teams would have identical records at this point in the season? My pick: I'm going with the Patriots because they have something to prove after Miami made them look silly with the Wildcat formation in Week 3.

Vikings (5-5) @ Jaguars (4-6) I can't believe I picked the Jaguars to be the Super Bowl Champs back in the beginning of the season, injuries have really ravaged this team and forced them to play a different style. My pick: Vikings

Eagles (5-4-1) @ Ravens (6-4) I'm so disgusted with the Birds after their showing last week. I'm a pretty patient fan and I have defended Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid on many occasions but what happened last week was just pathetic. The team doesn't need to change their quarterback and coach, they need to change their philosophy. If the fans and the writers can all see that its not working, why can't the coach? My pick: I still have to believe that the Eagles defense will rattle the rookie QB and the offense will put just enough points on the board to eek out a win. If they don't, whatever minute playoff hopes they have are lost.

Raiders (2-8) @ Broncos (6-4) The Broncos are the worst 6 win team in the league but the Raiders are just awful. My pick: Broncos

Giants (9-1) @ Cardinals (7-3) I'm tempted just like everyone else to go with the upset but I think the Giants will get to "MVP" Kurt Warner and knock him on his butt and take the Cards out of their game. My pick: Giants

Redskins (6-4) @ Seahawks (2-8) The Redskins offense gets the perfect matchup this week to get back on track, they looked bad against the Cowboys. My pick: Redskins

Sunday Night Game:

Colts (6-4) @ Chargers (4-6) One team bounced back after a slow start, the other one didn't. My pick: Colts in one of the better Sunday Night games of the year

Monday Night Game:

Packers (5-5) @ Saints (5-5) I expect this one to be a high-scoring affair between two teams with good offenses and mediocre defenses. My pick: The Packers will keep pace in the NFC Central with a win

Those are my picks for Week 12. Leave a comment if you have your own picks or if you agree/disagree with mine!

Phillies trade Golson, acquire Mayberry

The Phillies have finally given up on Greg "Toolsy" Golson, trading him to the Texas Rangers for outfielder John Mayberry Jr. Both players are former first round picks who are about the same age and have similar potential, so the trade essentially boils down to the Phillies trading Golson's speed for Mayberry's power.

Mayberry is 24 and spent last season in Double-A and Triple-A. Mayberry has never played a game in the majors but he has shown some nice power in the minors. Baseball Prospectus isn't all that impressed with him, noting that he has a lot of "raw power" but he doesn't have much skill at the plate. His father, also named John Mayberry, played several years in the majors from the late 60's to the early 80's and hit 255 homers in 15 seasons. If the son ends up anything like the father, the Phils will love this deal.

Giving up Golson isn't too big of a loss. He never proved that he could be anything more than a pinch-runner at the major league level and the Phillies already have a couple of guys that fit that bill. Golson never quite had his head on straight with the Phils, maybe a change of scenery will get him to put everything together.

Don't look for either player in this trade to take the league by storm anytime soon, both need more seasoning in the minors. Since both will be entering their peak years in the next few years, if they don't develop soon they might not develop at all. The Phillies like having power options in their corner outfield spots so Mayberry could be of some use to them down the road. He definitely seems more worthwhile than a "toolsy" centerfielder who has shown absolutely nothing at the plate.