Donovan McNabb Sounds Like He's Taking A Little Joy From The Eagles' Struggles

Donovan McNabb is the best quarterback in Eagles history—this isn't even up for discussion. Deep down, with the benefit of a little distance, people in Philadelphia realize this. And while they may not regret hounding an over-the-hill McNabb out of town, they might wish they had been a little more appreciative of the guy who led them to five conference championship games and a Super Bowl apperance.

McNabb sat down with CSN Philly to discuss the end of an era in Philadelphia, and offered up a little "don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." As transcribed by Pro Football Talk:

"Making it to the NFC Championship is not easy, and I think they're starting to see that right now, that getting to the playoffs and going to the NFC Championship consistently, it's just not that easy. There are teams right now who have winning records, like the Atlanta Falcons, they've done it for so many years, and they get to the playoffs and all of a sudden they're one-and-done."

He's talking about Andy Reid, ostensibly. But McNabb isn't above the schadenfreude that comes with seeing fans spend years calling for you to go, and finally, when you're gone, not coming close to replicating your success.

Maybe trying to favorably compare the Eagles of the last decade to the Falcons isn't the best idea, though. There are four levels of the playoffs, but for fans there are only two tiers of satisfaction. For crappy teams, it's just making the postseason. For good teams like the Eagles or Falcons, it's winning the Super Bowl. Anything short, whether you're one-and-done or wait until late January to break your fans' hearts, is equally disappointing. The Falcons (before this season, perhaps) and the Eagles have their own ceilings that they just couldn't seem to keep from bumping up against every year. It's not a knock on McNabb specifically—he brings up Dan Marino—but for Philly fans, coming close and failing doesn't mean he wasn't a great quarterback, it just means he didn't win a Super Bowl. If both sides can leave it at that, maybe they'll be ready to kiss and make up.