Donovan McNabb would prefer to be making news about signing a new contract to play in the NFL in the upcoming season. Instead he is currently unemployed. However, it doesn’t mean that McNabb is not making headlines. A couple of weeks ago, McNabb made the news by taking a few shots at his former head coach Mike Shanahan. Now McNabb has found his way back into the NFL news cycle with his recent declaration that he thinks of himself as a hall of famer.
Before really diving into whether or not McNabb actually has a case to be a hall of famer, what was he supposed to say? If you ask Brett Favre that same question, is he supposed to say “no”? Of course McNabb thinks of himself as a hall of famer, and no one should have an issue with his opinion of himself. The bigger issue is if McNabb truly deserves to be a hall of famer or not.
The first thing to do is examine the raw numbers, because essentially that is what the hall of fame is about. There are a few other things that go into it, and they will be discussed later. But the crutch of any player’s hall of fame candidacy is what he produced during his NFL career. Take a look at the chart below:
| Player | Yards | Touchdowns | Wins |
| Donovan McNabb | 37,276 | 263 total | 98 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 27,989 | 244 total | 107 |
| Jim Kelly | 35,467 | 244 total | 101 |
| Troy Aikman | 32,942 | 174 total | 94 |
The chart above takes three hall of famers and compares their numbers to Donovan McNabb. All four players played (McNabb is officially not retired as of yet) roughly the same number of seasons with Bradshaw having the most seasons with 14. What is obvious is that McNabb’s numbers compare favorably with the three hall of famers who are generally regarded as three of the best to ever play the position. There is however, a big difference between these four quarterbacks? Bradshaw has four rings, Kelly played in four straight Super Bowls, and Aikman has three Super Bowl victories under his belt. McNabb played in, and lost, just one Super Bowl. So, how much of that falls on McNabb? The lack of a ring should not be placed solely at the feet of Donovan McNabb.
Terry Bradshaw was surrounded by hall of fame talent during his Super Bowl wins. Jim Kelly had a hall of fame running back, Thurman Thomas, in the back field as well as one of the great receivers on the outside in Andre Reed. Troy Aikman was on Dallas Cowboys teams that were littered with greats and hall of famers up and down the roster. Donovan McNabb has had…well; he did have one full season with Terrell Owens. That season McNabb took the Eagles to his lone Super Bowl appearance. Outside of that season, 2004, Donovan McNabb had nowhere near the talent that some of his contemporaries around the league had. Not to mention the other three quarterbacks mentioned earlier.
Yet, even without a plethora of surrounding talent McNabb was able to take the Philadelphia Eagles to four consecutive NFC East titles, five NFC Championship games, and that one Super Bowl. We will always be left to wonder just how much McNabb could have accomplished had he been given a steady supply of upgraded talent to work with. This is not to dismiss the fact that McNabb still has the same amount of Super Bowl wins that I do, but Super Bowl rings are not and should not be the end all be all for hall of fame induction. This also is not to ignore McNabb’s failures in Washington and Minnesota. It all is taken into account.
As any frequent visitor to this site and blog knows, Tha WeathaMan doesn’t just look at the raw numbers. Numbers never tell the full and complete story. This is the case in this situation as well. McNabb was the best quarterback in Eagles history, and the best offensive player in that franchise’s history. Take a look at the approximate value in the Eagles’ history courtesy of pro-football-reference.com. You can also take a look at how they calculate that number here.
The hall of fame is truly for the cream of the crop, the players that carried their teams to greatness when they otherwise would have been mediocre. Looking at the roster, numbers, and track record of what Donovan McNabb was able to do in Philadelphia it is clear that he fits into that category. Is Donovan McNabb a hall of famer? The numbers might say that he is. However, what does the eye test say? In my opinion the eye test says that McNabb was good but not great. Do I think Donovan McNabb is a hall of fame quarterback? McNabb will probably go down as a quarterback that did a lot with a little, but never did enough. In my personal opinion I believe McNabb is a borderline candidate who doesn’t pass the eye test. He belongs in the hall of very good. Like his career, McNabb’s hall of fame vote will be close but he will ultimately come up just short when it matters the most.
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