{"id":523,"date":"2010-04-05T15:47:54","date_gmt":"2010-04-05T20:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=523"},"modified":"2010-04-07T10:23:19","modified_gmt":"2010-04-07T15:23:19","slug":"523","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=523","title":{"rendered":"The End of an Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Because of the strangeness of this whole ordeal, I don’t think I’m in the right frame of mind to truly sum up what Donovan McNabb has meant to this city.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank You, Donovan<\/strong>
\nBefore we say\/do anything, let us take a moment to reflect on just how great the Donovan McNabb Era was in Philadelphia.\u00a0 Love him or hate him, it is pretty clear that Donovan McNabb is the greatest Eagle quarterback, at least of the Super Bowl Era, if not of all time.\u00a0 He burst onto the scene with an athleticism and charisma that reminded us of Randall.\u00a0 But, he wasn’t Randall.\u00a0 He also brought to the table a rare combination of football intelligence and competitive intensity that made us think of Jaws.\u00a0 But, he wasn’t Jaws, either.\u00a0 Though he may now be shrouded in fan dismissal and underappreciation because of the frustrating losses and seemingly unending “worm balls,” we will be telling stories to our children of Donovan McNabb’s greatness.\u00a0 It’s unfortunate that it ends with a fan base rejoicing, but the final legacy of D-Mac is yet to be determined.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His Legacy
\n<\/strong>McNabb’s\u00a0rememberance\u00a0might be eternally formed by the success\/failure of his successor.\u00a0 Donovan McNabb’s legacy in this town will probably be written mostly by whether or not Kevin Kolb wins a Super Bowl.\u00a0 Kind of strange and unfortunate, if you ask me.<\/p>\n

2004 Was a Prior Generation<\/strong>
\nThe Eagles Super Bowl team was only five seasons ago.\u00a0 But, now with the departures of McNabb, Westbrook, and Sheldon Brown this offseason, there is only one player on the 53-man roster that was on that\u00a0NFC Championship team.\u00a0 And, he is the f’ing kicker!\u00a0 Yes, David Akers (as great\u00a0as he is) is the only Eagle left from the Super Bowl\u00a0just five years ago.\u00a0 It’s a new generation of Eagles football.\u00a0 The pages have been completely turned, folks.\u00a0 To hell with the cliche “this isn’t\u00a0your daddy’s Eagles,” this isn’t even your\u00a0older brother’s\u00a0Eagles.<\/p>\n

The Youngest Team in Football<\/strong>
\nWith a changing of generation does come some positives.\u00a0 Though McNabb is gone from the offense and Brown from the defense, there is still a good amount of talent on this roster.\u00a0 Trent Cole and DeSean Jackson are superstars on D and O, respectively.\u00a0 Jason Peters and Asante Samuel may not be as “elite” as they contracts say they should be, but they can both still play at a very high level.\u00a0 And, the best part about it is that–get this–the Eagles are now the YOUNGEST <\/em>team in the National Football League.\u00a0 They only have one player over 30 years old, and he’s not exactly a cornerstone (Juqua Parker).<\/p>\n

Who’s Team is it Now?<\/strong>
\nYouth is good.\u00a0 I like the youth movement, particularly in a sport like football where bodies break down very quickly.\u00a0 But, the problem with the youth movement is that who is going to be the leader now?\u00a0 Does DeSean Jackson have what it takes to step up and lead this team?\u00a0 What about Kolb, he of only 130 NFL passes?\u00a0 Can Trent Cole become more vocal?\u00a0 Can Asante Samuel become more professional?\u00a0 These are unanswered questions now that Dawkins and McNabb have been jettisoned in consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n

But, Why the Redskins?<\/strong>
\nAhhhh, the ultimate question right now.\u00a0 And, the one that will be debated endlessly.\u00a0 First of all, let me say this (and I have said it multiple times on this blog in the past):\u00a0 For the most part, I have absolutely <\/em>no problem with the “intra-division” trade.\u00a0 I think that it is blown WAY out of proportion, especially in cases like Roy Halladay or Kevin Garnett.\u00a0 In fact, I have made the argument that if you’re the Blue Jays, why would you NOT want to trade him to the Yankees?\u00a0 You have to be confident that what you are getting in return is worth what you’re giving up, right?\u00a0 Therefore, by definition, your “divison rival” would be losing in the trade, right?\u00a0 And, if you’re not competing now, but playing for the future, isn’t it smart to take away some of that “future” from your closest rivals, instead of the Phillies, who won’t matter when you’re ready to “compete?”\u00a0 I believe that if you’re rebuilding and trading away a veteran player it makes MORE sense\u00a0to trade within your division (assuming all else equal) because the “future” that you’re acquiring is coming at the expense of the team with whom you’ll be competing when you’re ready to do so.\u00a0 All that being said, there is one situation that makes it absolutely ridiculous to make an intra-division trade–when all of the following factors come into play:<\/p>\n