Return to Philadelphia: Donovan McNabb vs. The City, Players, and Fans

Tomorrow is the day that many football enthusiasts have been waiting for since the announcement of the NFL schedule. This day--is when Donovan McNabb would return to Philadelphia to face his former team of 11 seasons: the Philadelphia Eagles. After a controversial trade and a great amount of bottled hostility and sadness, football fans will truly find out who made the best move in giving away McNabb or receiving him in the trade. In recent history, the quarterback returning home would usually get the win against his former team (Kurt Warner, Steve McNair, Brett Favre, even Michael Vick, etc.). Will this be the same? Is the Eagles crowd going to make a difference?

Sure, they're infamous for being unique and loyal, yet very very. . .brutal.
On Sunday, they could either be:

Or. . .they could be like this:

(courtesy of your friendly neighborhood PAINT)
(in homage to ZWR)

Some say he will be booed, and others are saying he will be welcomed with open arms for his time in green. If this game can be considered a stalemate on paper, consider the fans at Lincoln Financial Field to be the difference in the game. They're going to bring some heat.

Anyway, let's look at the statistics going into the game... [Much love to ESPN.com]

McNabb:
Games: 3
Percentage: 60.8
Yards: 833
Touchdowns: 2
Interceptions: 1
Rating: 89.2

Vick:
Games: 3
Percentage: 60.7
Yards: 750
Touchdowns: 6
Interceptions: 0
Rating: 110.2

Interesting. I didn't even put down their rushing so far for this year--both of which have half decent stats there as well. This is going to really depend on each of the defensive lines on Sunday, and both lines look rather hit-or-miss. I won't even talk about the Eagles' offensive line--many fans know how they have a lack of depth there. Aside from what the teams look like on paper, you have to take a look at the teams that the Redskins and Eagles have faced in the first three weeks of the season. The Redskins let the Cowboys beat themselves on penalties in Week 1 while Kevin Kolb went cold turkey against the Packs and fell behind. In Week 2, the Texans used tricky managing to outsmart the 'Skins, and the Eagles faced the Lions. What, were you expecting me to say something about the Lions? Oh. I have nothing to say about them. They almost got lucky, that's all. Meanwhile, last week, the Redskins had a rough run against a surprisingly ready Rams team, while the Eagles played the Jaguars. Again, I have nothing to say about the Jaguars.

In my view, I'd love to see this as a QB rushing extravaganza between McNabb and Vick just like the NFC Championship was hoping to be in 2005, but I think new management won't let that happen even now, especially with the list of wide receivers on each team. I know that we all have high expectations for this game, and we want to see McNabb have a great outing and work the fans in his favor. Then again, there are some people that want him to get booed out of the city because he "sucks so bad and choked one too many times in 11 years."

As for the results of this game, McNabb having a successful return could most definitely happen. However and I mean however. . .do you think a big sports city like Philadelphia is going to let that happen? Nah, man, they can move and motivate much more than Bluto from Animal House would with a frat party.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I call the Eagles to go to 3-1 after tomorrow afternoon.

--AZ