Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is no stranger to how tough playing in Philadelphia can be. After being booed by fans when he was drafted, McNabb is certainly familiar with how quickly the city of brotherly love can treat you like a step sibling.
He’s taken notice to the recent struggles of Michael Vick, and had some interesting advice for him.
Per NFL AM: McNabb was quoted as saying, “I think you get in a situation where once you start hearing the boos and hearing the radio stations talk, and people on the outside begin to bring your name up of being benched, then you begin to lose focus, and now your play begins to fall and you begin to focus on other things.”
McNabb added, “I think for Michael Vick, I think it’s important for him to feed off of what he did last week: not turning the ball over, protect the football, give his guys an opportunity to make plays for him and good things can happen.
McNabb let it be known he thinks the criticism of Vick is unfair. “Start mentioning some of the defensive players that need to be benched,” McNabb said. “Maybe the offensive line needs to be benched. There’s other people that need to be in this situation besides Michael Vick.
Coming from a former pro-bowl quarterback who played many years in that city, I think Vick would be smart to listen to McNabb.
Overall, playing well and winning football games takes care of any off the field distractions. I believe Vick still has the talent to lead a team, but he needs to showcase it on the field.
And if he wants to keep his job, he better do it quickly.