McNabb, the Face of the Eagles, Now Wears Burgundy and Gold

I never thought I would see the day when Donovan McNabb wore Burgundy and Gold.  The franchise Eagles quarterback, the main face of the Eagles team, is now a Washington Redskin.  I am still trying to get used to this idea.  It is difficult for me to picture McNabb in the Redskins uniform. I am so used to seeing him in green and playing against us.  I can already hear the boos coming from Philadelphia fans when we play the Eagles this year.

I guess I should never be surprised by anything with Dan Snyder as the owner.  If there is a high-profile, veteran free agent player on the market, you know Dan Snyder will check him out and be willing to “show him the money.”  Well Snyder, Mike Shanahan, and company bring in another old high-profile player to the Redskins.  Let us hope that McNabb will play better for us than the likes of Mark Brunell, Shane Matthews, Dana Stubblefield, Bruce Smith, etc.

I have many scattered and mixed feelings on McNabb joining our team.  So I figure the easiest way to explain without going off on random tangents would be to list out the pros and cons on my mind:

PROS
-    First off, the Redskins now have a proven NFL quarterback. While questions about Jason Campbell came up every year, and many QB options were considered, these same questions will not come up with McNabb. He knows how to play the game and will be a good quarterback.
-    The quarterback controversies are over now.  I am hoping this includes the idea that the Redskins may draft a quarterback.  Now they can focus this year’s draft on the team’s biggest problem, its offensive line. This starts with Russell Okung, the offensive tackle from Oklahoma State.
-    This is a nice addition to the Redskins/Eagles rivalry. Won’t it be fun to watch McNabb return to play against, and hopefully beat, the team he built his career with?  And as I mentioned before, it will be great to give the Eagles fans something else to boo about.  
-    Doesn’t it get us Redskins fans a little excited knowing we have a quarterback who knows how to win?  Think about all the games we have watched McNabb light up some poor team. 

CONS
-    I am still trying to determine if McNabb is worth the price we paid.  Giving up a second rounder this year, and a third or fourth in 2011, could be a costly loss for the Redskins.  We need the picks to build up our offensive line and whatever other positions we will need to address in the upcoming seasons.
-    McNabb is getting old.  I do not think he has more than 3 seasons left in him.  After all, how many Brett Favres are out there? The two draft picks could hurt when we need to rebuild the team again in a couple years.
-    McNabb can play, but he will need some type of offensive line to do so.  And we have no offensive line!  Stacking a bunch of old players (McNabb, backup Rex Grossman, Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, Willie Parker) behind a poor offensive line will get us nowhere.  None of those players have the ability to run like they used to.  They will need a solid offensive line and I am not convinced the Redskins will have one in 2010.
-    McNabb is prone to injuries lately.  With the weak offensive line, I do not think he will be able to stay healthy all year.

On another note, I wish Jason Campbell only the best.  I hope he can play well for another team in this league. He has had a raw deal in Washington from the beginning.  First, they played Mark Brunell instead of him.  Since then, there have been so many rumors about different quarterbacks who may take his place including Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, Sam Bradford, and Tim Tebow.  Campbell did not even find out about this trade from the team, but from a reporter.  Well Jason, I hope you can move on to greener pastures where if you do not start, you are at least treated fairly.  What we do now know is that the Redskins have finally settled on McNabb as a replacement. As a diehard Skins fan, I just hope it was the right choice.