ESPN’s John Clayton has an interesting article today, speculating on where Donovan McNabb may end up next year if the Eagles decide to trade him. Clayton’s list of likely destinations is in this order:
- Ravens
- Vikings
- Bears
The Bears speculation has been around for a long time. McNabb is a Chicago native and the Bears were seemingly only a decent quarterback away from a Super Bowl title last season. But Clayton sees the Bears as a team that prefer to build through the draft.
The Vikings are also a very logical destination. They have a great defense, an excellent offensive line, and an emerging superstar at running back in Adrian Peterson, but no quarterback. That’s right, Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcomb, and Brooks Bollinger = 0 quarterbacks. Also, Vikings head coach Brad Childress was McNabb’s offensive coordinator for years in Philly. McNabb wouldn’t have any decent receivers to work with, but, um, let’s just say that wouldn’t be an unfamiliar problem.
The Bears and Vikings both make a lot of sense, but Clayton concludes that the most likely destination is the Ravens. Steve McNair is looking like a has-been and Kyle Boller is still looking very much like a never-was. The Ravens also have similar strengths to the Vikings with a strong defense and a good, young running back. The advantage they would have over the Bears in a McNabb sweepstakes, according to Clayton, is the conference in which they play. If the Ravens and Vikings both make similar offers for McNabb, say a 2nd and a 3rd round pick, the Eagles would much prefer to send McNabb to the AFC and not have to compete against a much-improved Minnesota team for a playoff spot.
Unless you are someone who has ever talked to me for more than 30 seconds, you probably don’t know that I can be a relatively opinionated individual. And many of these opinions are about things that really bother me–pet peeves, if you will–so I figured I would start another running segment where I take the opportunity to get it out of my system. I’m no psychiatrist, but writing this segment every once in a while may improve my life, whether or not anyone actually reads it.
I figured there was no better way to start this segment than by admitting my single biggest pet peeve in the world of sports–and it happened 
Granted, I was forced to watch the play-by-play on the computer (who doesn’t televise the great November Temple-Akron showdown?), so I didn’t actually see the play, but what are the chances that it took a crazy bounce OR that Mike Bardo (total game stats Monday night: 8 minutes played, 1 rebound) has a ridiculous height or athleticism advantage over a Temple big man? Slim? None? Obviously, there’s no saying if Temple would have won the game had they grabbed that rebound, but anyone who knows anything about basketball knows that there is a huge difference between a 2-point deficit and a 4-point deficit in the final minute of a college game. Infuriating!
afford to sign him to a long-term deal. And considering the amount of money it will take to sign them, only a handful of teams are in a position to be involved in these trade talks. The vast majority of the league has already been eliminated from contention due to a lack of quality prospects, lack of money, or both.
The Dodgers have been right there with the Angels in discussing their best young, major-league ready talent in a potential deal for Cabrera. The 
an understatement, and the excellent performance of A.J. Feeley last night moves the heat dial up to BROIL. McNabb very well may start the rest of the games this season, but it’s likely that last night’s game cements his exit at the end of the season.
thirdbaseman, the Phillies front-office was actually 
On the other hand, the Eagles have been flying high as of late, with the most recent evidence coming Sunday in a 17-7 romp–at home–over an underrated Miami team. Though falling behind early against the Dolphins, the Eagles showed the stuff that champions are made of by coming back to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. From there, the defense took over, somehow making quarterback John Beck look mortal (109 yards passing, zero TDs). Even the loss of Donovan McNabb could not stop the Eagles offense from piling it on in the second half, as they added 7 more points in the final 30 minutes behind former Dolphins starting quarterback, A.J. Feeley.
This Patriots rush defense enjoyed many years of glory under Belichick, but that was a long time ago. Though the results have been decent this year, anybody watching the game closely can tell that this defensive line and interior linebackers of the Pats are old and slow. Futhermore, it is clear that the addition of Adalius Thomas may have even hurt this defense because he just doesn’t seem to fit in with the system in place. Because of all of this, they are going to struggle mightily in trying to control the Eagles three-headed monster of Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter (another TD yesterday) and Tony Hunt. The Eagles offensive line should manhandle the Pats defense and open gaping holes for Westbrook and Co. The effectiveness of this running game may even enable Feeley to throw in some devastating play-action plays, catching the Pats’ often-out-of-position linebackers on their heels. The Eagles have a huge edge in this category and should be able to impose their will on the Pats all night on the ground.
this year. They seem a little out of sync and careless, as seen last night when they gave up that early touchdown to the Bills. On the other hand, Andy Reid has proven to be infallible, when dealing with off-the-field distractions. He has so much going on in his personal life right now, but nothing stops him from being incredibly prepared and putting his team in the best position to win each and every Sunday. And, we all remember what happened the last time these two faced each other. For that game, Belichick had two whole weeks to prepare for Reid’s Eagles and they still only came out with a 3-point victory in Super Bowl XXXIX. He only has one week this time. Advantage: Andy Reid and the Eagles coaching staff.