PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Donovan McNabb was so ill in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl that a Philadelphia Eagles teammate called one play in the huddle, center Hank Fraley told a TV station.
``He fought to the end. He gave it his all,'' Fraley said on Comcast SportsNet in a show aired Monday night. ``He could hardly call the plays - that's how exhausted he was trying to give it his all. If you remember back when we played Jacksonville two years ago and he ended up puking, it was close to that scene. He exhausted everything he had.''
Eagles spokesman Derek Boyko said Tuesday that McNabb wasn't injured during Philadelphia's 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots. However, McNabb could have been feeling sick - he fought a cold earlier in the week.
McNabb was shaky at times in Sunday's game. He passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions.
The quarterback misfired on several passes early, held the ball too long at other times, and made several poor decisions. One of the best scramblers in the NFL, McNabb had zero yards rushing on just one carry and was sacked four times.
He struggled in particular in the fourth quarter, getting picked off twice and looking slow in getting the team moving late.
``He didn't get a play call in one time,'' Fraley said. ``He mumbled and (receiver) Freddie Mitchell yelled out the play we were trying to bring in. He was puking at the same time, trying to hold it in.''
Mitchell said on Tuesday that McNabb was having complications and ``couldn't get it out so I just had to finish the play up.''
``It was my first time being the quarterback in the NFL,'' Mitchell said on a local television station. ``It was hard. He kind of tried to get the hand signals to the team, but I knew what he was thinking. I just finished the play up.''
I don't think it excuses poor throws all game long. McNabb was off his usual game, and well it cost the Eagles the superbowl, no doubt about that. It does however explain at least why they couldn't run the offense without huddling near the end of the game, and at least provides a reason why he might have been off his game.
It certainly shouldn't be looked at as a scapegoat for why the Eagles lost instead of admitting defeat. Yes, as an Eagles fan it tears me up in side that we didn't play our best, not even close on offense. And moreso, that had the Eagles played the way they usually do on offense we probably would've won, but playing your best consistently is part of what makes a team great, and the Patriots just didn't waiver, thus the better team won.
Hey, at least it gave Freddie Mitchell a chance to actually do something during the game since being a receiver is too much to ask. Someone had to call the plays in the huddle....
Excuses. I really don't know if he was sick or not. All I know is that the Eagles got beat by a better team on Sunday. The only people sick right now are Eagles fans everywhere.
It's like the whole "I'm not going to blame the injuries we had but I'm going to insinuate it just the same" we hear all the time. Probably was sick. We don't know what it would have been like if he was well so who cares. Pats won, Eagles lost. That's it.
OwenTheBlonde
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OwenTheBlonde wrote:It's like the whole "I'm not going to blame the injuries we had but I'm going to insinuate it just the same" we hear all the time. Probably was sick. We don't know what it would have been like if he was well so who cares. Pats won, Eagles lost. That's it.
Is there any reason you have a Pats paperbag on? Just curious...
OwenTheBlonde wrote:It's like the whole "I'm not going to blame the injuries we had but I'm going to insinuate it just the same" we hear all the time. Probably was sick. We don't know what it would have been like if he was well so who cares. Pats won, Eagles lost. That's it.
Is there any reason you have a Pats paperbag on? Just curious...
Yeah, if you read the end of the SB PBC, you'll see that I not only was taking the Pats but said it would be a blowout so I gave six and would sport the bag till Opening Day if I was wrong. Somebody right after said they wanted me to change my jersey from Rams to Pats because they'd never seen it before so I agreed to that too. If I am offending Pats fans then I can switch back to the Rams bag.
OwenTheBlonde
Offensive Coordinator
Posts: 668
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Yards this season: 0
Home Cafe: Football
Location: Right behind you with a bucket of Gatorade
OwenTheBlonde wrote:It's like the whole "I'm not going to blame the injuries we had but I'm going to insinuate it just the same" we hear all the time. Probably was sick. We don't know what it would have been like if he was well so who cares. Pats won, Eagles lost. That's it.
Is there any reason you have a Pats paperbag on? Just curious...
Yeah, if you read the end of the SB PBC, you'll see that I not only was taking the Pats but said it would be a blowout so I gave six and would sport the bag till Opening Day if I was wrong. Somebody right after said they wanted me to change my jersey from Rams to Pats because they'd never seen it before so I agreed to that too. If I am offending Pats fans then I can switch back to the Rams bag.
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by defianthart » Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:11 pm 
