Dan Pompei

One thing I fail to understand is why Eagles fans are so determined to rush Donovan McNabb out the door.

Be careful what you wish for, because if the Eagles were to replace McNabb, they might wait many years before finding another quarterback as capable.

How many quarterbacks were clearly better than McNabb this year?

Well, you’d say Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Kurt Warner to start. Philip Rivers, definitely Philip Rivers. I’ll give you Chad Pennington.

That’s five.

But that’s it. There is a group of maybe eight quarterbacks who were about as effective as McNabb. We could debate if McNabb was better or worse than each, but the truth is there wasn’t a lot separating him from Jay Cutler of the Broncos, Aaron Rodgers of the Packers, Matt Cassel of the Patriots, Tony Romo of the Cowboys, Matt Ryan of the Falcons, Matt Schaub of the Texans, Jeff Garcia of the Bucs and Eli Manning of the Giants.

Every one of them was a pretty proficient quarterback in 2008, but of that group, only Ryan and Manning got their teams to the playoffs, as McNabb did. Of course, the quarterback shouldn’t get all the credit or blame as to whether or not a team makes the postseason. But if a team still is playing in January, it certainly tells you the quarterback is not the problem.

So what we have established is McNabb was among the top 14 quarterbacks in football this season, maybe among the top 10. Maybe the Eagles believe Kevin Kolb could eventually be a premier quarterback, and maybe he can. But McNabb is an Eagle in the hand; Kolb is an Eagle in the bush.

What would be the purpose of replacing McNabb? Don’t the Eagles have bigger issues? Wouldn’t you rather see them improve the talent around McNabb?

His critics say he is aging. At 32, there is no question McNabb is not the same player he was eight years ago. He is heavier, slower and a better passer.

But it’s not as if his skills have deteriorated to the point where he is a liability. And it does not appear as if rapid deterioration is imminent.

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Even though the Eagles offense had numerous issues beyond McNabb’s control, he reached a personal best in passing yards. His passer rating was the fourth best of his career. His completion percentage was third best. His number of touchdown passes was third best.

McNabb threw an interception once every 51.9 pass attempts this season. It was the fourth best ratio of his career.

If the Eagles don’t want McNabb, he’ll have plenty of suitors. The Vikings, who they are opposing this weekend in a wild card game, would be an ideal landing place. They need a quarterback to compete with Tarvaris Jackson, and coach Brad Childress worked with McNabb when he was in Philadelphia.

Other teams that could have interest would be the Titans, Chiefs, Jets, Lions, Bucs, Rams and 49ers.

I would think McNabb’s future is linked with Andy Reid’s. If Reid stays in Philadelphia for another season, it would be difficult to imagine McNabb playing elsewhere. Even though Reid benched McNabb at halftime of the Eagles’ loss to the Ravens in November, Reid’s best chance of seeing the Eagles in the Super Bowl in the near future is with McNabb under center.

They are a good combination, Reid and McNabb, even though they are not always fully appreciated by their demanding fan base.

If either one of them were to put Philadelphia in their rear view mirror, it would not be a good thing for the Eagles.