McNabb Returns To The Scene Of The Controversy

As the focus of the Fox Sports camera zeroed in on sideline reporter Pam Oliver, a few brief words were expected. It was early in a matchup between the Eagles and Cowboys - a rivalry game that lacked any discernable luster because Philadelphia was all but out of the playoff chase and Dallas was firmly in it.

That's when Oliver dropped a bomb on the field of Texas Stadium.

"Donovan really seems to believe that his days in Philadelphia are numbered," she began, as every member of the Eagles organization drew a collective gasp.

"When I spoke with him before the game, I got the impression that Donovan is a little hurt by what he sees as an organization distancing itself from him and an organization that's overly concerned about the negative fan reaction to him. But Donovan told me point-blank: 'My knee is not an issue. The next place I go, I will win,' and also that he will keep a smile on his face for as long as he's in an Eagles uniform."

At the same time, nearly 1,500 miles away, Philadelphians began scooping their jaws off the floor. When a franchise quarterback openly says that the organization is pushing him out the door - mayhem is forthcoming. Especially in Philadelphia, where even the smallest controversy swells up like a blimp.

Following the Eagles' 10-6 victory over the hated Cowboys, the final score barely registered on the radar. Donovan McNabb's future was the only headline that mattered. The veteran quarterback was quick to paint Oliver as being misguided and tried to clean up an impending oil spill of speculation.

"I didn't say that. I don't feel that way," McNabb said in the postgame press conference. "I've said I want to be here eight more, nine more years. If that's possible, we'll see."

Did he say it? Did he not say it? Neither really mattered. Oliver would stand by her account of their conversation while McNabb steadfastly denied it. This was far from the first time that the winds of controversy had swirled around him.

"You hear things," he said at the time. "I don't talk about it. It's nothing for me to even dig into. The only thing that I can do is go out on the field and help my team win. Anything else after that is out of my control."

What was lost amidst the off-the-field war of words was an efficient, game-winning performance by the Eagles' leading man. Though the numbers were relatively bland - 23-for-41, 208 yards, one touchdown - McNabb was the catalyst in an upset victory that served as a silver lining to a frustrating season. And no one particularly cared.

"If he didn't show you today, he'll never show you," Andy Reid would say after the win. "If you can't love him for what he did today, then I don't know. He has been doing it for nine stinking years and he just keeps playing. You're never going to make everyone happy. I think 90 percent of the people love him to death and the 10 percent that don't - those are the (ones) people listen to."

In many ways, despite the quarrel with Oliver, that Dallas game marked McNabb's revival. He entered last season with an ACL that wasn't fully healthy and played like you'd expect an injured quarterback to play. But against the Cowboys in Week 15 and then in the season's final two games against the Saints and the Bills, he showed flashes of his former self. That upswing continued in the offseason, through training camp and into the current season.

On Monday night, McNabb will again be on the Texas Stadium turf in front of a national television audience. He'll be looking to show America that the Donovan of old is officially back, that the strong-armed, quick-footed quarterback has returned to form. Against the listless St. Louis Rams last weekend, the rejuvenated (and healthy) signal-caller was 21-for-33 for 361 yards with three touchdown passes. Any thought of him not being the Eagles quarterback has been swept under the rug and hopes are running high.

"It was the last three games of the season last year, I thought Donovan...was back to his old form," Reid said on Monday. "He was very confident on his leg. He just had everything going. I think he just picked up from there. It looked like he did in the preseason, and it looked like he did (Sunday) afternoon."

Though it might seem like the McNabb-Oliver strife happened yesterday, it was, in fact, 10 months ago. Since that day, the questions surrounding McNabb's future have slowly rolled back like the tide. He has stuck to his position that he plans to play out his career as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

When the clock hits 8:30 p.m. on Monday, ESPN's cameras will be concentrated on McNabb. The analysts in the booth with rave that the All-Pro quarterback of years past is officially back. On the field, though, expect McNabb to avoid Suzy Kolber and Michelle Tafoya like he would a blitzing linebacker.

For this game, he wants his play to be the story.