Eagles and Redskins get it wrong

To paraphrase Ron Burgundy, Washingston was "a bad choice". Not necessarily for new Redskins QB Donovan McNabb but for both his new franchise and his former employers the Philadelphia Eagles. Here is why:

The Eagles were keen to trade McNabb, that much I have made clear before. It's fine to trade him to Oakland or Buffalo or someone who you're not going to be seeing much of year in year out. But our NFC East rivals? Not a great plan. McNabb will come right back at the Eagles with a vengeance twice in the 2010 season and will look to show them that they made a mistake in trading him. Their offense will do fine led by Kevin Kolb, but he needs time to bed in and so the playoffs cannot be taken for granted this year, as they have been previously in the McNabb/Reid era.

The problem that the Redskins have is that McNabb is no Brett Favre. He will not play until the manly age of 40. He is too injury prone and does not have the single-mindedness of his Vikings counterpart (who now will inevitably retire solely because of this blog). At best, the 'Skins will get two good years out of McNabb. They already have a stop-gap QB - his name is Jason Campbell. Like McNabb, Campbell does the offense more good than harm but will not lead them to Superbowl glory. Better to start afresh with a guy like Colt McCoy (my colleague will choke when he reads that!) Expect the Redskins to hit the playoffs in 2011 but nothing much more. So essentially, the two rivals are cancelling each other out, paving the way for Dallas and the Giants in the division.

In terms of where this leaves the draft, both teams should look at their offensive line, Washington to protect their new prize asset, Philly to protect the inexperienced Kolb. The 'Skins had better hope that the Detroit Lions take a DT, leaving them free to take Russell Okung, as Anthony Davis and Bryan Bulaga are much less attractive prospects in the tackle position. The Eagles need cover at C/G with Jamaal Jackson out with an ACL and Nick Cole showing he was not up to the task in what turned out to be McNabb's swansong vs the Cowboys. Maurkice Pouncey awaits.

I promise I will write about a different NFL story soon!
RM