First of all i would like to qualify my remarks. I believe that athletes in the NFL are some of the finest in the world. It is a tremendous honor to simply be a professional football player. Not to mention, quite lucrative.

That said, i wonder if anyone on the board can explain to me why Donovan McNabb deserves to be in the Pro Bowl? With a completion percentage of 57.5 percent and just 16 touchdown passes, McNabb had a quarterback rating of only 79.6 (ninth in NFC and 16th in NFL). Do these stats deserve the recognition of an all star? I understand that his team had the best record in the NFC this year, but i think that is a testament to how good the defense played as opposed to anything he did. He also had 11 interceptions to go with the low touchown numbers.

Its things like this that make Rush Limbaugh look less like the kook i thought him to be. This actually seems to be fullfilling the statement he made about McNabb that got him dismissed from his gig as a football analyst. Because IMNSHO Donovan didnt deserve to make the Pro Bowl cut. Yet, he did.

I'll go on the record as hoping he has the worst game of his life on Sunday. But I think he's Pro-Bowl quality. Aikman never generated the huge numbers either. It's all about winning (consistently - not just one fluke season). Here's some other things to consider - his receivers are slow as hell and can barely get open, he has no worthwhile running game to support him, he had a thumb injury this year, and Favre had at least twice as many interceptions.

Since the Eagles lost their big playmaker (Brian Westbrook), it's gonna be more difficult for McNabb to get much going with his team. I see him doing a lot of running on his own against the packer defense.

I'll go with Lionel's standpoint on this. It doesn't matter what your stats and ratings are, as long as you're winning and doing in consistently through every season, it gives you the better chance of starting in the Pro Bowl. The QB is the most important player in all the game. If he gets it done and gets the W, hello pro-bowl.

Originally posted by LionelHutz
But I think he's Pro-Bowl quality. Aikman never generated the huge numbers either. It's all about winning (consistently - not just one fluke season). Here's some other things to consider - his receivers are slow as hell and can barely get open, he has no worthwhile running game to support him, he had a thumb injury this year, and Favre had at least twice as many interceptions. I have to disagree with you on this assessment Lionel. The Pro Bowl is supposed to be a reward to the players who had the best season . Not who has consistently had a winning team. Matt Hasselbeck had a higher passer's rating, 10 more touchdowns, over 600 more passing yards, higher completion percentage.........etc. He surpassed Donovan in nearly every statistic, yet he didnt make the pro bowl.

Also, Favre may have had twice as many interceptions as McNabb, but he also had twice as many touchddowns, a higher passer rating, threw for more yards, had a higher completion percentage. He surpassed Donovan in nearly every statistic.

I respect the fact that Donovan is a fine quarterback. I think he is even a class act off the field. (Never heard anything negative about him) However, he did not deserve the honor given to him this year IMO.

Originally posted by HaVoK
I have to disagree with you on this assessment Lionel. The Pro Bowl is supposed to be a reward to the players who had the best season . Not who has consistently had a winning team. Matt Hasselbeck had a higher passer's rating, 10 more touchdowns, over 600 more passing yards, higher completion percentage.........etc.

I agree to a certain extent - some QBs may from time to time put up huge numbers because they have killer players around them and may not actually have the skills that would get them in the pro-bowl. But for the same reason I think there are QBs that do well in spite of the personnel around them, and I think that's McNabb's situation. And that applies in a lot of positions - the RB that gets huge yardage despite the fact that the O-line sucks, or the receiver that gets huge numbers despite the fact that all of his teammates suck allowing the defense to concentrate on shutting him down.