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2008 will feature the return to prominence of a once-heralded, but recently derided athlete to the top of the game. Donovan McNabb, the franchise quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, has seen his stock plummet over the last two years as injury, misfortune, and unrealized potential have partnered with the unrealistic expectations of a city starving for a champion to drag a proud competitor down into frustration and failure.

McNabb's professional career began on a sour note as fans booed his selection as the number two pick in the 1999 NFL draft. Vindication came quickly as Ricky Williams, the player so coveted by the booze-fueled boo-birds, was first traded, then dropped, then banned from the league over the next few years. It could also be noted that Tim Couch, the player taken before McNabb in the draft, is also long gone from the NFL. Meanwhile, McNabb lead the Eagles to win the NFC East title five times and to the NFC championship game four times in his eight years at the helm of the Eagles offense.

McNabb suffered a series of injuries that could only be described as bizarre. Minor incidents became major as a tendon was stretched just past the breaking point or a ligament was pulled in just the wrong way. Then Terrell Owens brought his circus to town, attacking McNabb from within as the local NAACP attacked him from without. Even so, the real problem began not with any failure on McNabb's part, but with the team's success in his absence. In 2006, after McNabb suffered an injury that ended his role in the Eagle's mediocre season, a written-off, over-the-hill Jeff Garcia came in to lead the team to six straight victories and the divisional round of the playoffs.

As calls for Garcia to replace McNabb grew, the team severed their ties with Garcia during the offseason to show solidarity behind their franchise quarterback. The best intentions of the organization, however, did not make up for the fact that McNabb was only 8 months into a twelve month recovery when the 2007 season started. With a potential quarterback controversy only one backup QB's well-played game away, McNabb started the season on an unsure and unsteady leg, and it showed. By the midpoint of the season, the Eagles were out of contention in the NFC East. McNabb showed flashes of his former greatness, like his five touchdown performance against the Lions. But still, some of the more harsh and hardened Philly fans actually cheered when their field general went down with an injury once again,

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