The final last word on the Super Bowl
Well, there's a new spin on the Eagles' perceived clock mismanagement, or at least very, very casual management, in the latter stages of Sunday's Super Bowl.
If Eagles center Hank Fraley's testimony is to be believed -- see this New York Times story (subscription required) -- QB Donovan McNabb was puking in the huddle and unable to audibly spit out the play calls (sorry, that was in poor taste) on those final two drives. Again, we'll have to see how this plays out, but McNabb could go from Super Bowl goat to valiant warrior in a South Philly Minute. Jim Young and John Clayton might even have to offer retractions.
There's no need for a retraction from Steve Smith, the irascible Panthers receiver, who let Freddie Mitchell have it last week on a radio show for daring to insult the Patriots' secondary. Mitchell, an Eagles receiver with a haircut straight out of "The Road Warrior," said he'd have something special for No. 37, known to the rest of the world as safety Rodney Harrison. Harrison caught two McNabb passes in the Super Bowl; Mitchell caught just one for 11 yards.
"He's not a premier receiver," Smith said on the James Brown Show. "My son in flag football had 22 catches. That's the level he's on."
Comments (2)
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Shouldn't the blame for the Eagles' poor clock management fall on Andy Reid?
Even if McNabb was sick, why was the team going to a huddle anyway? Shouldn't they have been in a hurry-up offense by that point? That's a coaching decision.
I had no rooting interest in the game at all, but my buddy and I were shouting at the TV, "Hurry up! What are you waiting for?"
Posted on February 9, 2005 5:10 PM
Well, that was certainly my reaction at the time, too, aside from the shouting at the TV. I got in trouble once for throwing half a slice of pizza at a TV, so I've tried to moderate my sports-watching behavior since. But, if McNabb was in as bad a shape as Fraley says, then I don't think you can ask a guy to run a crisp no-huddle offense while vomiting all over the field.
And, remember, McNabb's backup is Koy Detmer, who had thrown one pass all season.
Posted on February 9, 2005 5:28 PM