Is Donovan McNabb a Hall of Fame Quarterback?

Earlier this week Eagles head coach Andy Reid suggested that his quarterback, Donovan McNabb, is a Hall of Fame type player. This fueled a heated debate across the Delaware Valley and it culminated with a lit up message board throughout the day on the local sports radio scene. 97.5 The Fanatic & 950 ESPN Radio were at the epicenter of this debate.

I decided to do a little of my own research to see just where McNabb stands now, where he projects to be at the end of his career, and how he ultimately stacks up with other Hall of Fame quarterbacks.

McNabb's current stats, when compared with the 23 Hall of Fame quarterbacks of the modern era, would put him roughly in the middle of the pack. His 31,249 yards are better than 10 of the current members. If he plays 5 more years, averaging 2,000 yards per year, which is about 800 yards below his current average. He'll retire with over 40,000 yards. That would put him in an elite class. Only 7 current members have over 40,000 yards. It should be noted that 40,000 yards does not constitute an automatic bid into the Hall. Both Drew Bledsoe and Vinny Testaverde are career 40,000 yard passers and they are not in the Hall of Fame.

If you are a believer in the Passer Rating statistic, then this is where you will find the first fatal blow to McNabb's chances of reaching the Hall of Fame. His current 59.0 Passer rating is the fifth lowest when compared to the Hall's quarterbacks. Further damaging evidence is that the four quarterbacks below him all played part of their careers in the 1940s and '50s, hardly a passing era. You would have to think, after 11 years, this number isn't going to move to much one way or the other.

McNabb currently has a career total of 208 touchdowns. Using the same career longevity projection that we did for career yards, McNabb has another 95 touchdowns in his arm. Bringing his projected career total to 303. Which would put his total number of touchdowns ahead of 20 of the current quarterbacks in the Hall.

Aside from his passer rating, one can certainly make a strong argument for the case that, one day, McNabb should be elected to the Hall of Fame. But, why does the debate go on with so much fire. Because of the intangibles. Whether it's winning NFL Titles as Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, and Troy Aikman have. Or delivering huge upsets like Joe Namath and Len Dawson. Each of the 23 quarterbacks currently in the Hall of Fame are known for doing something "amazing". This is where McNabb might fail the most. His record in big games is suspect. He is 1-4 in NFC Championship games, 1-3 as the favorite and 0-2 as the underdog. Also, he is 0-1 in the Super Bowl. He had chances to orchestrate winning drives in both Super Bowl XXXIX and last year's NFC Championship game, but failed both times. McNabb always seems to deliver against the teams he is supposed to defeat, but seems to come up empty when all of the chips are on the table.

Certainly this doesn't disqualify him for the Hall of Fame. Jim Kelly reached the Super Bowl in four consecutive seasons and never won a title. Fran Tarkenton is also winless in his three trips to the big game. Finally, Dan Marino reached the Super Bowl in his rookie year, but never got a second chance during the rest of his prolific career.

You could argue that John Elway may have been looking at a somewhat similar scenario during the latter stages of his career. Prior to winning both Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII, Elway was 0-3 in the NFL's ultimate game. But, Elway had something, even before the Super Bowl wins, that McNabb doesn't, the "intangible" factor. Elway was known for his fourth quarter comebacks, a record 47 to be exact. He has single handidly delivered the Broncos to the brink of a championship.

One day we will have an answer to Philadelphia's latest burning sports question. But there is a lot to be compiled before that day comes. So where do you stand on the topic today? Is Donovan McNabb a Hall of Fame quarterback? Yes or No?

-Mike Tursi