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Through all the nonsense, McNabb keeps his cool

Shortly after the Philadelphia Eagles selected Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb with their first pick in last month’s draft, many members of the media wanted to know what Donovan McNabb had think of the selection. This is McNabb in a recent article posted on Philly.com after the Eagles’ draft:

“Everybody has their opinions,” McNabb said. “The answer for me: Was I shocked? Yes. Was I upset? No, not upset to the point where you feel like, ‘Oh, my God, my job is in jeopardy.’ ”

McNabb’s overall draft reaction: “I got home after we finished eating ice cream and sat in front of the TV and watched the rest of the draft. We drafted a defensive end and I thought, ‘We went quarterback and defensive end, so what are we going to do to help us out now?’ “

As the writers from The Daily Forecast highlighted, perhaps no quarterback in the NFL has gone through what McNabb has in his playing career. Booed by Philly fans on draft day because they wanted Ricky “Yoga is my release” Williams, essentially called an Uncle Tom by a member of the NAACP for not being more of a prototypical “black” quarterback and running more, dealing with Terrell Owens, and now he’s being questioned for his feelings on a rookie who currently couldn’t hold his jock strap.

Guys like SI.com’s Tom Curran are missing the point in saying McNabb is “shocked” about the selection of Kolb. McNabb is more worried the team didn’t fill immediate needs, not that his future with the Eagles is under massive uncertainty. I don’t criticize the Eagles for wanting to add a little insurance behind McNabb seeing as how he’s had major injuries the past two seasons. However, trading their first rounder to division rival Dallas so the Cowboys could get Anthony Spencer was ridiculous, the reach on Kolb with A.J. Feely and Kelly Holcomb already on the roster was unnecessary, and the rest of their draft was just so-so.

So instead of lambasting McNabb for being “shocked” about the selection of Kolb, spend the time criticizing the Eagles for their sub par draft.

Panthers, Bengals, re-sign top talent

The Carolina Panthers gave wide receiver Steve Smith a three-year contract extension on Tuesday. Smith, one of the most dynamic receivers in the NFL, will remain in Carolina through 2012, barring a significant injury or release.

Good for the Panthers, because on most occasions in years past, Smith was their offense. How many simple bubble screens has Smith taken for big gains or scores? He’s made quarterback Jake Delhomme look better than he really is.

In other NFL news, the Cincinnati Bengals re-signed defensive end Justin Smith to a one-year, $8.644 million contract. Smith was the Bengals’ franchise player, meaning he will get the average salaries of the NFL’s top five defensive ends. The team wants to sign him long term, but after seeing what Patrick Kerney got from the Seahawks ($39.5 million over six years) this offseason, nobody can blame Cincy for taking its time in working out a deal. Especially considering Smith hasn’t totaled even 10 sacks in any given year and has no Pro Bowl appearances despite being the fourth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft.

Not that Pro Bowls and sacks should be the only judgment regarding defensive ends, but Smith needs better overall production to merit what Kerney got.

Mini camp notes 5/7

Washington Redskins
The ‘Skins signed Derrick Blaylock Sunday, formally of the Jets, to compete for the third running back spot behind Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. Speaking of Portis, the Washington Times reports offensive coordinator Al Saunders doesn’t know when his starting tailback will be ready for camp. Portis is still recovering from hand and shoulder injuries from ’06 and the early indication is that he might not be ready until training camp or later.

Oakland Raiders
The San Francisco Chronicle speculates Dominic Rhodes will be the opening week starter at tailback, not Lamont Jordan. It’s still early however, and it’s worth noting new head coach Lane Kiffin used four different running backs in his offense at USC last year. Rhodes, Jordan and rookie fourth round pick Michael Bush will all get looks through mini and training camps. And why not, the Raiders offense was abysmal last year; might as well find the right back. In other Oakland news, defensive end Derrick Burgess reported to mini camp, even though there were rumors he might hold out.

Chicago Bears
According to the Washington Post, the Bears are shopping defensive end Alex Brown. By drafting LSU safety LaRon Landry with their first pick in the draft, the Redskins failed to address their lack of pass-rush and could be a team interested in the former Pro Bowler Brown. Chicago is apparently after a second rounder in exchange for Brown, which is a realistic demand as far as Washington is concerned considering its always ready to part with draft picks.

Miami Dolphins
After rumors circulated that head coach Cam Cameron was upset about his weight, running back Ronnie Brown is back down to 234 pounds. His playing weight last year was 232, so obviously he wasn’t too overweight. The Miami Herald reports Cameron is encouraged what he’s seen out of Brown thus far and has high expectations for him heading into ’07.

Rocket heading back to NY

Roger Clemens announced he will return to the Yankees during the seventh inning stretch of New York’s game against the Mariners at Yankee Stadium Sunday. Apparently he’s due to receive an annual salary of $28 million and will have the same perks as he did in Houston as far as not traveling for road games.

This is hardly a surprise to anyone who follows baseball. Did anyone really believe Clemens was going to say no to Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte or George Steinbrenner’s checkbook? The Yankees are in dire need of starting pitching, so one has to wonder how high they would have gone as far as a salary to get him. Steinbrenner wasn’t going to take no for answer and it is amazing Clemens is going to get the same deal as far as not traveling. Talk about having teams by the balls.

The future of the NBA may be at stake

As entertaining as the Suns’ up-tempo offense has been over the last several years, it hasn’t resulted in the type of playoff success necessary to launch a league wide movement. But if Phoenix is able to get by San Antonio in the second round of the West playoffs, we might see more teams shift over to the Suns’ breakneck style. Until then, the Spurs’ grind-it-out (a.k.a. “boring”) attack is considered the gold standard. This might just be the most important second round series in NBA history.

A few more things to watch as the second round gets going:

Tim Duncan vs. Amare Stoudemire
The Big Fundamental vs. the Big Comeback. Stoudemire has shocked the league by his terrific (and healthy) play this season, while the ever-consistent Duncan just keeps on rolling. This should be the best positional matchup of the second round. All eyes will be on this series.

LeBron vs. his legacy
Will King James ever take the Cavs to the Finals? LeBron is signed through the 2009-10 season (with an option for another year), but a loss to the Nets in the second round would be considered a step backward for the franchise. Another finish like that in next year’s playoffs would make the King start to think seriously about his future. Unfortunately, the Larry Hughes and Zydrunas Ilgauskas signings pretty much mirror James’ contract, so they’re going to have to step it up – there ain’t no cavalry comin’. (Cleveland fans don’t want to hear it, but their championship hopes might have been dashed when Carlos Boozer signed with the Jazz. He’d be a perfect fit for LeBron.)

Jerry Sloan vs. Don Nelson
Like Kenny Smith says, you aren’t going to out-execute Sloan’s team. Nellie is going to attack the Jazz the same way he ousted the Mavs – by creating a frenetic pace, making it nearly impossible for the Jazz to run their offense. So will Utah’s discipline trump Golden State’s chaos? Only time will tell, but wouldn’t a Suns/Warriors matchup in the finals of the West be fun?

The Bulls vs. their youth
At this point, Chicago has the talent to take down the Pistons, but as Game 1 of the series would seem to prove, Detroit isn’t going down without a fight. They are battle-tested and won’t be consumed by the moment when the pressure is on. Can you say the same about Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng? As much as we’d like to see a Suns/Bulls matchup in the Finals, a Spurs/Pistons tilt is far more likely.

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