Donovan McNabb a Hall of Famer? Warren Moon thinks so

Share

Donovan McNabb a Hall of Famer? Warren Moon thinks the long-time Eagles quarterback belongs in Canton.

McNabb spent 11 years with the Eagles and went to six Pro Bowls, but he never won a Super Bowl, and the list of QBs in the Hall of Fame without a Super Bowl win is not very long — although it does include Moon.

Moon was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006 despite never reaching a conference title game and a career losing record (105-108 including playoffs).

The long-time Oiler spoke with long-time NFL writer Clark Judge on TalkOfFameNetwork.com and was asked what current non-Hall of Famer he would like to see enshrined in Canton.

“I would say Donovan McNabb,” Moon replied. “I would love to see him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I thought his career was exceptional. He went to … five championship NFC games, went to a Super Bowl, had a great touchdown-to-interception ratio as far as his passer rating and all that. Just a great competitor.”

McNabb had a 98-62-1 career record with 234 touchdowns, 117 interceptions and 37,276 passing yards along with 3,459 rushing yards in 13 NFL seasons.

He’s 11th in NFL history with nine playoff wins, and every eligible QB with at least nine wins is already in Canton. The others are Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, who are locks, along with Joe Flacco and Kurt Warner.

He’s one of 16 quarterbacks in NFL history with 90 or more wins and 37,000 or more passing yards. Of the nine Hall of Fame-eligible QBs to reach those milestones, only three aren’t enshrined — Dave Krieg, Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe.

He’s also one of 14 QBs in history with 90 or more wins and 70 or fewer losses. Nine of the other 11 who are Hall eligible are already in Canton, with Phil Simms and Steve McNair the exceptions.

Finally, McNabb is one of 23 quarterbacks to make six or more Pro Bowl teams. Of the 18 who are Hall eligible, 16 are already in. Only Jack Kemp and John Hadl aren’t.

The only modern Hall of Fame quarterbacks to not win a championship are Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Moon, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Fouts, Sonny Jurgensen and Y.A. Tittle.

“I would vote for myself for the Hall of Fame,” McNabb told FOX-TV in 2012. “Dan Marino never won the big game. But does that mean his career is a failure? No. Not at all.

“When you sit and look at the numbers — and that's what it is when it comes to the Hall of Fame — my numbers are better than Jim Kelly, better than Troy Aikman, better than a lot of guys in the Hall of Fame, but the one thing they do have is a Super Bowl.”

Kelly actually never won a Super Bowl, of course, and McNabb does have superior numbers to the long-time Buffalo Bill, although he reached three fewer Super Bowls than Kelly.

McNabb finished his career with the Redskins in 2010 and the Vikings in 2011, so he will be eligible for the voting process in 2016 and induction in 2017.

The Eagles did not win a playoff game in the three years before they drafted McNabb, and they haven’t won since trading him.

“That guy had his team in a position to win a championship for (a lot of) years … and that’s hard to do,” Moon said.

“People don’t really give you the credit you deserve until after they see you’re gone and see what happens after you’re gone. They [the Eagles] went through some very lean years after he left. I’d like to see him be the next African-American quarterback in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”

Contact Us