theBIGness
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
Earlier this week, I received a press release from the United Football League entitled ”Let’s Get Ready To Rumble At Rosenblatt.” It heralded Saturday night’s showdown in Omaha, Neb., between Daunte Culpepper(notes) and Jeff Garcia(notes), a pair of former Pro Bowl passers I’ve enjoyed covering over the years.
McNabb's Redskins have lost their past two games.
Not only did the second-year league decree the meeting to be ”the most exciting quarterback matchup in United Football League history,” but it also went even further, calling Culpepper vs. Garcia ”arguably the best quarterback matchup in all of professional football this weekend.”
Can I just pause to tell you how much I love that, for three reasons?
1) I admire the UFL’s PR savvy and flair for hyperbole, a smart way to get noticed in an NFL-dominated world;
2) It’s an absolutely brilliant use of the unassailable term arguably, as in, ”the Toyota Sienna is arguably the pimpest ride in America,” or, ”Michael Silver, Bob Woodword and Carl Bernstein are arguably the three most influential U.S. journalists of the past 40 years”;
3) It’s so easy to argue that it’s not.
That’s because, you know, Donovan McNabb(notes) vs. Michael Vick(notes) in Philly on Sunday is shaping up as arguably one of the most compelling quarterback matchups I’ve ever anticipated.
Yes. Really. It’s potentially that good.
Eleven months ago, as I prepared to fly to Green Bay for Brett Favre’s(notes) surreal return to Lambeau Field, I wondered whether that Vikings-Packers clash would end up being one of the 10 most memorable regular season games I’d covered. It turned out that Favre – and the game – absolutely lived up to billing.
That game, like the earlier matchup between Favre and successor Aaron Rodgers(notes) in Minneapolis, brought me back to the Joe Montana-Steve Young showdown I covered 15 years earlier, after the 49ers had traded Montana to the Chiefs.
Were the storylines surrounding Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field singularly focused upon McNabb’s return, I would hesitate to place it on the level of Favre’s and Montana’s cracks at payback toward the respective organizations that spurned them. McNabb may, in fact, be the greatest quarterback in Eagles franchise history, but those other guys are two of the best who’ve ever played the position.
What elevates this Eagles-Redskins battle is the sudden emergence of Vick, rather than anointed understudy Kevin Kolb(notes), as McNabb’s successor in Philly.
This is not simply because Vick is a three-time Pro Bowler who once took the Atlanta Falcons to the NFC title game – or that he had one of the most precipitous falls from grace in the history of professional sports.
It’s also because, since getting his unexpected shot at career redemption in the Eagles’ season opener, Vick has treated us to 10 quarters’ worth of mind-blowing mastery of his craft that has reminded us all why we were so tantalized by his potential in the first place.
Reid concluded that Vick is his best option to win.
Yes, I know it’s early, and there will be stiffer tests than the Lions and Jaguars to come. But Vick’s comfort level, presence and aura right now are simply eerie, and it’s not an exaggeration to say he’s playing at an MVP level.
So that is who Andy Reid is trotting out to defend his honor against the quarterback to whom he was loyal for 11 seasons, a run which included a Super Bowl defeat and five NFC championship game appearances.
Was McNabb offended when Reid, after having publicly declared that McNabb was still his guy, put him on the trading block, then had the audacity to pull the trigger on a deal that sent him a couple of hours down the road to a division rival?
You think?
As I referenced when recalling the 1994 Montana-Young confrontation in Kansas City, this isn’t only a question of which quarterback will step up. It will also be fascinating to watch the players around them, and the extent to which they’ll rally around their respective leaders.
In this particular situation, there’s one other layer to consider: Redskins coach Mike Shanahan is going to bring it as well.
More than virtually anyone in his profession, Shanahan takes his mental matchups with other coaching staffs quite personally. In my game story on Super Bowl XXXIII, I wrote that ”hell hath no fury like a genius scorned” – a reference to Shanahan’s belief that former mentor Dan Reeves had slighted him in the days leading up to the game. Shanahan’s Broncos destroyed Reeves’ Falcons to win their second consecutive championship, and afterward John Elway told me, ”For Mike, this game was personal. I’ve never seen him more ready for a football game.”
I’m not saying Sunday’s regular season clash will rise to that level, or even approach it. But I know Shanahan, and I know he has his reasons to want to shove McNabb’s successful return down the throats of his opponents, the paying customers and anyone else (like, most of us) who might be paying attention.
Shanahan seethed while sitting out a year of football after being fired by Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, spending much of his time studying film and plotting his return. He’s the guy who made the call to go after McNabb, and he has a lot invested in the veteran’s success, both professionally and emotionally. If there’s a way to attack the Eagles’ defense, he’ll find it and implement it.
For that reason, I give McNabb and the Skins a slight edge in this one, though I expect both quarterbacks to bring their “A” games, and it should be a riveting afternoon.
And if I’m right, for all of us who have the privilege of witnessing it in person, the McNabb vs. Vick throwdown will be arguably as awesome as Freddie Mercury’s voice, fresh avocados and Da Ali G show.
Let’s get ready to rumble.
McNabb's Redskins have lost their past two games.
Not only did the second-year league decree the meeting to be ”the most exciting quarterback matchup in United Football League history,” but it also went even further, calling Culpepper vs. Garcia ”arguably the best quarterback matchup in all of professional football this weekend.”
Can I just pause to tell you how much I love that, for three reasons?
1) I admire the UFL’s PR savvy and flair for hyperbole, a smart way to get noticed in an NFL-dominated world;
2) It’s an absolutely brilliant use of the unassailable term arguably, as in, ”the Toyota Sienna is arguably the pimpest ride in America,” or, ”Michael Silver, Bob Woodword and Carl Bernstein are arguably the three most influential U.S. journalists of the past 40 years”;
3) It’s so easy to argue that it’s not.
That’s because, you know, Donovan McNabb(notes) vs. Michael Vick(notes) in Philly on Sunday is shaping up as arguably one of the most compelling quarterback matchups I’ve ever anticipated.
Yes. Really. It’s potentially that good.
Eleven months ago, as I prepared to fly to Green Bay for Brett Favre’s(notes) surreal return to Lambeau Field, I wondered whether that Vikings-Packers clash would end up being one of the 10 most memorable regular season games I’d covered. It turned out that Favre – and the game – absolutely lived up to billing.
That game, like the earlier matchup between Favre and successor Aaron Rodgers(notes) in Minneapolis, brought me back to the Joe Montana-Steve Young showdown I covered 15 years earlier, after the 49ers had traded Montana to the Chiefs.
Were the storylines surrounding Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field singularly focused upon McNabb’s return, I would hesitate to place it on the level of Favre’s and Montana’s cracks at payback toward the respective organizations that spurned them. McNabb may, in fact, be the greatest quarterback in Eagles franchise history, but those other guys are two of the best who’ve ever played the position.
What elevates this Eagles-Redskins battle is the sudden emergence of Vick, rather than anointed understudy Kevin Kolb(notes), as McNabb’s successor in Philly.
This is not simply because Vick is a three-time Pro Bowler who once took the Atlanta Falcons to the NFC title game – or that he had one of the most precipitous falls from grace in the history of professional sports.
It’s also because, since getting his unexpected shot at career redemption in the Eagles’ season opener, Vick has treated us to 10 quarters’ worth of mind-blowing mastery of his craft that has reminded us all why we were so tantalized by his potential in the first place.
Reid concluded that Vick is his best option to win.
Yes, I know it’s early, and there will be stiffer tests than the Lions and Jaguars to come. But Vick’s comfort level, presence and aura right now are simply eerie, and it’s not an exaggeration to say he’s playing at an MVP level.
So that is who Andy Reid is trotting out to defend his honor against the quarterback to whom he was loyal for 11 seasons, a run which included a Super Bowl defeat and five NFC championship game appearances.
Was McNabb offended when Reid, after having publicly declared that McNabb was still his guy, put him on the trading block, then had the audacity to pull the trigger on a deal that sent him a couple of hours down the road to a division rival?
You think?
As I referenced when recalling the 1994 Montana-Young confrontation in Kansas City, this isn’t only a question of which quarterback will step up. It will also be fascinating to watch the players around them, and the extent to which they’ll rally around their respective leaders.
In this particular situation, there’s one other layer to consider: Redskins coach Mike Shanahan is going to bring it as well.
More than virtually anyone in his profession, Shanahan takes his mental matchups with other coaching staffs quite personally. In my game story on Super Bowl XXXIII, I wrote that ”hell hath no fury like a genius scorned” – a reference to Shanahan’s belief that former mentor Dan Reeves had slighted him in the days leading up to the game. Shanahan’s Broncos destroyed Reeves’ Falcons to win their second consecutive championship, and afterward John Elway told me, ”For Mike, this game was personal. I’ve never seen him more ready for a football game.”
I’m not saying Sunday’s regular season clash will rise to that level, or even approach it. But I know Shanahan, and I know he has his reasons to want to shove McNabb’s successful return down the throats of his opponents, the paying customers and anyone else (like, most of us) who might be paying attention.
Shanahan seethed while sitting out a year of football after being fired by Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, spending much of his time studying film and plotting his return. He’s the guy who made the call to go after McNabb, and he has a lot invested in the veteran’s success, both professionally and emotionally. If there’s a way to attack the Eagles’ defense, he’ll find it and implement it.
For that reason, I give McNabb and the Skins a slight edge in this one, though I expect both quarterbacks to bring their “A” games, and it should be a riveting afternoon.
And if I’m right, for all of us who have the privilege of witnessing it in person, the McNabb vs. Vick throwdown will be arguably as awesome as Freddie Mercury’s voice, fresh avocados and Da Ali G show.
Let’s get ready to rumble.
