Benching McNabb is not way to go for Eagles

BALTIMORE -- Enough of this nonsense. It's time for Andy Reid to get smart and do what he should've done Sunday.

'My first reaction was "Wow",' Donovan McNabb says of being benched. (AP)

Yeah, so the Eagles' quarterback stunk again, and so he keeps committing stupid mistakes. He's the only chance the Philadelphia Eagles have to salvage this season, and though this season looks as if it might be lost it isn't over.

There are five games left, starting with Thursday's home date against Arizona, and if Philadelphia is to make a playoff run -- and, granted, the chances look remote -- it is going to be with McNabb, not Kevin Kolb, starting at quarterback.

That was evident in the second half of the Eagles' 36-7 self-immolation here, with Philadelphia turning a 10-7 halftime deficit into a resounding loss. It's unfair to pin the second-half meltdown on Kolb, and nobody tried. In fact, Reid blamed himself, saying, "It's about me. If your football team doesn't play better than what we play today, it's about me."

Agreed. That's why he must smarten up now and go back to McNabb. If you're going to miss the playoffs, miss with your best quarterback -- and Donovan McNabb is that guy.

The Eagles already sacrificed one game by sitting him down, and don't ask me why. I heard Reid talk about gaining "a little bit of a spark" and that "something that needed to be done at that time," but that doesn't explain the reckless move.

I mean, you have a chance to win a big game. In fact, you're lucky to be down only three at the half, and for that you can thank your special teams. Nevertheless, you're in the game.

But instead of relying on a 10-year veteran and five-time Pro Bowler, you make a change to someone who has barely played. Worse, you throw him at the Baltimore Ravens defense.

In Baltimore, no less.

So what do you think happens? Exactly what you would expect: The Ravens overwhelm the poor guy, forcing him into numerous mistakes, incompletions and an NFL-record 108-yard interception return. Kolb never had a chance, forced from the pocket over and over to make hurried throws that more often than not fell incomplete.

"That is a tough thing to do putting him in there," Reid admitted.

So why do it? The decision baffled McNabb, his teammates and the Ravens. McNabb didn't question the move, but he did say he wouldn't have made it. He didn't question Reid not delivering the news himself, either. McNabb learned of the decision from quarterbacks coach Pat Shurmur shortly before the end of halftime.