LINK Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb gave a controversial interview on HBOs Real Sports on Tuesday night, saying he believes mediocre NFL quarterbacks receive much more criticism than good NFL quarterbacks. Lousy quarterbacks have to do a little bit extra, said McNabb. No one is ever happy. Theres always pressure to be better, pressure to be more than lousy. Good, even. It gets tiring after a while. McNabb said he has long noticed that fans always include criticism with their praise of him. It doesnt matter if I complete a pass, people are always asking me about the four incompletions before that, said McNabb. About how I overthrew Brian Westbrook on a four-yard route, or I how I somehow threw the ball right into the ground even though L.J. Smith was a few feet away from me. Or how I threw up all over the ball and then fumbled it. I mean what, I cant get nauseous? I have to be good and have an iron stomach, too? See what I mean? The expectations are ridiculous. Pressed by HBO interviewer James Brown, McNabb was asked if he thinks the media is as tough on quarterbacks such as Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning. Let me start by saying I love those guys, said McNabb, but they dont get criticized as much as we do. They dont. I think its probably because they are very good and Im not. McNabb said that as a student of football history, he knows that poor NFL quarterbacks have had it tougher than good NFL quarterbacks for decades. Theres a definite track record there, a certain mindset, and that is difficult to overcome, said McNabb. Look at the Hall of Fame, for example only good quarterbacks are in there: Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Warren Moon. The rest of us are excluded. No one can tell me there isnt a double standard there. If youre not good, no one respects you. In light of the Eagles making a quarterback, Kevin Kolb, the teams first pick in Aprils draft, McNabb believes his days are numbered in Philadelphia. Theyre trying to blackball me just because Im not a top-flight quarterback, said McNabb. I bet if this kid proves to be better than me, theyll play him in front of me, totally proving me theory that lousy quarterbacks have it harder than good quarterbacks.
