Benching McNabb is not way to go for Eagles

"My first reaction was 'Wow,'" he said. "Then I knew I had to go along with it, and I tried to get our guys to rally behind Kevin Kolb."

That's fine ... for one day. Now it's time to get the guys to rally behind Donovan McNabb. A week ago I thought we witnessed the nadir of McNabb's career when he self-destructed in that 13-13 tie with Cincinnati. Then I watched him miss on eight of his last nine throws against Baltimore -- unless, of course, you include two interceptions -- and commit three second-quarter turnovers.

Only to get benched. It doesn't get much worse than that. Or than McNabb's passer rating of 13.2.

Afterward, McNabb met with Reid, but neither divulged the contents of their conversation. When McNabb was told that he seemed "upset" with his benching, he corrected his questioner.

"I am upset about us losing the game," he said, "and upset that I wasn't able to contribute. But I am going to focus on trying to help this team get better by eliminating mistakes and turnovers."

And that's what he should do, starting with Thursday's game at Arizona.

Look, I don't know what McNabb's long-term future is in Philadelphia, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out it's not good. The Eagles spent a second-round draft pick on Kolb to start him at some point, but you don't start him until or unless the season is gone. And we're not there yet, folks.

In 2005 the Pittsburgh Steelers were stuck at 7-5 and seemingly dead in the water ... only to win their last four games, make the playoffs and go on to win the Super Bowl. That's not to draw a parallel between the 2005 Steelers and this year's Eagles; it's only to prove a point that you don't panic 11 weeks into the season.

And Andy Reid panicked Sunday.

It's one thing to trust you ballclub to a veteran like Jeff Garcia, as the Eagles did two years ago, and have him lead them to the playoffs. Garcia not only was a veteran; he was a former Pro Bowl quarterback who had been to the playoffs.

Kevin Kolb is none of those things. I don't know if he has a bright future, but I do know this is not the time to find out. This is the time to find out what Donovan McNabb has left.

"I don't know why he was yanked," Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "At halftime it was 10-7. They still can win. You definitely want your veteran quarterback in there."

Makes sense to me. I just don't know why it didn't make sense to Andy Reid. He and McNabb have a long and illustrious career together. Reid drafted McNabb, and the two not only went to four conference championship games together, they won more games this decade than any NFC club.

To abandon all of that now just because McNabb is ... well, El stinko ... doesn't make a lot of sense -- unless, of course, McNabb was hurt. Which he wasn't.

"I heard they held him (out)," Baltimore cornerback Samari Rolle said. "That's not fair. That's not fair at all. Nobody asked why he wasn't out there. I thought something was wrong with him."

Well, something was. He kept committing mistakes. He had four turnovers last week, and he had three more Sunday. That's not good. But to jerk your experienced quarterback in the middle of a critical game ... on the road ... with your team down only a field goal ... in favor of an inexperienced backup ... well, it doesn't add up.

"It's an understatement to say that was a poor offensive performance," Reid said. "It's not all about one guy. We're not all going to sit here and point at Donovan. It's not all about Donovan. I think it's very important that everybody around the quarterback -- (as well as) the quarterback -- needs to pick up their game."

And that includes the head coach. Reid is one of the game's best and brightest head coaches, but not on this afternoon he wasn't. He made a decision that might have cost his team a game and did nothing but reinforce the already rife speculation swirling around McNabb and his future with the Eagles.

"Sometimes," Reid said, "with a player you can step back an inch and maybe you can forward a mile."

Unfortunately, with Sunday's move he stepped back a mile and went forward an inch. Reid has said he won't make a decision on his starter for Arizona until Monday and, as you would expect, he said he will go with the quarterback who offers the Eagles their best chance to win.

Good. Because that quarterback is Donovan McNabb. It's time to stick with him, Andy. Now more than ever.