Of course, No. 12 is synonymous with Randall Cunningham, the original human joystick, in these parts. While Cunningham is in the Ring of Honor as of 2009, his number is not retired. Nobody has dared donned the 12 jersey since. The question is, should anybody ever where it again?

Should Randall's No. 12 jersey be retired by the Eagles? The stats don't suggest so when compared to the likes of Ron Jaworski.

The problem that the NFL has that other sports don’t is the fact that you have 53 guys who need numbers each week. You can’t retire too many and need to save them for very special players.

The Eagles have retired just seven numbers in their history:

• 15 Steve Van Buren
• 40 Tom Brookshier
• 44 Pete Retzleff
• 60 Chuck Bednarik
• 70 Al Wistert
• 92 reggie White
• 99 Jerome Brown

No quarterbacks on the list. The question becomes is Randall the best — or even second best signal caller behind Donovan McNabb — in Eagles history? Sure, Randall could run and make highlight films week after week.

Still, is he worthy of a retired number? Cunningham went to three Pro Bowls with the Eagles (1988, ’89, ’90). He was a league MVP in 1990. Dude threw for 22,877 yards and 150 TDs as an Eagle. He also rushed for nearly 4,500 yards and 32 scores. His Eaglex career completion percentage was 55.7 percent and he had better than 60 percent just twice.

Solid numbers that put him in a hall of Fame discussion, although the Hall has yet to call.

While new Eagle Steve Smith is No. 19 for now, allowing him to suit up in No. 12 isn't the worst idea. Maybe, it's time the Eagles gave the number out again.

But, one number that has to stick out is one — as in career Eagles playoff wins. He was 1-4 in the playoffs and had the best defense behind him a number of years. If McNabb gets ripped for “failures,” where are the Randall bashers?

Honestly, McNabb’s number should be retired before Randall’s, but that argument will rest until McNabb retires. I doubt No. 5 gets issued as quickly as Brian Westbrook’s did. So, we’re not going to bring his numbers into this.

The best comparison for Randall is likely Ron Jaworski, the first guy — an only besides McNabb — to wear an Eagles jersey in a Super Bowl.

In ten years in Philly, Jaws threw for 26, 963 yards and 175 scores with a 55.3 completion percentage. He made just one Pro Bowl and won the Bert Bell Award as the NFL’s best player in 1980, the same year he guided Philly to the Super Bowl. Jaws also won three playoff games and took the Eagles to the Super Bowl.

Ron jaworski has similar numbers to Randall Cunningham, yet his number wasn't retired.

Yet, Jaws’ number was not retired and was issued to Roger Ruzek, Bobby Hoying and others.

Taking the body of work in relation to Eagles history, the bottom line is that randall’s number likely isn’t deserving of retirement. Was he beloved by the fan base? He still is. But, is he a truly “special” player in terms of a career?

Considering the amount of time that has passed, it wouldn’t be horrible to see Steve Smith wear No. 12. Of course, he’s wearing No. 19 right now so maybe this argument lives on for another day.

In DC, apparently they want to remove all barriers to help McNabb escape town quickly. A driver who has not yet been identified ran into and destroyed the fence protecting the yard and house of McNabb earlier this week.

Police indicated to the Washington Post that the driver hit a nearby mailbox before wreaking havoc on McNabb’s property.

The incident comes on the heels of rumors that the Vikings will look into dealing for the former Eagles signal caller.

Who would you rather trade for?

Quarterback A is a six-time Pro Bowler who led his team to five conference championship games and one Super Bowl while throwing for 32,000 yards, 213 TDs and just 96 picks.

Quarterback B has thrown for 2,082 yards, 11 TDs and 14 picks, and attempted just 319 passes in four NFL seasons. He has whopping seven starts under his belt. Granted, he threw for more than 300 yards in three of those starts. Still, his body of work is less?

Who do you want? Who brings more in a trade?

Conventional wisdom says it’s quarterback A. Only, this is the NFL where youth means more than production.

Quarterback Kevin Kolb is likely to bring more value in a trade than Donovan McNabb did a year ago.

For the Eagles, quarterback B, Kevin Kolb, is likely to bring more in a trade than McNabb did just a year ago when he was still considered a Pro Bowl talent around the league.

The Eagles jumped at the 37th pick in last year’s draft and what turned out to be the 103rd pick in this year’s draft. That equates to 618 value points according to the NFL Draft Pick Value Chart used by league GMs. The 37th pick is worth 530 points, while the 103rd pick is worth 88 points.

Rumors have teams willing to part with a first for Kolb. The last pick in the first round is worth 590 points. However, teams drafting toward the bottom of the first round generally aren’t shopping for starting quarterbacks. The lone exception is Seattle which has yet to extend their aging signal caller Matt Hasselbeck. The Seahags own the 25th pick, which is worth 720 points. Right there, Kolb has brought more in value than McNabb did.

Even if the Seahawks don’t chase Kolb and instead settle for trying the Matt Leinart reclamation project (and, after Mike Williams resurrection under Pete Carrol last year we wouldn’t rule any USC stiffs out), the fact is there is a precedent for a Kolb deal.

Donovan McNabb ended up bringing 618 value points to Philly according to the NFL Draft Value Chart used by league GMs.

ESPN.com’s Mike Sando did a great job comparing Kolb right now to Hasselbeck when Green Bay dealt him to Seattle. Hasselbeck’s value was 580 points. Kolb is likely worth a tad more than that since he does have NFL experience. Hasselbeck was stuck behind Brett Favre and never had a start.

So, the Eagles are looking at trade value right around the last pick in the first round. Again, a team needing a QB will be drafting higher. That’s not to say that the Eagles would get a top 15 or 20 pick straight up for Kolb. The 20th pick is worth 850 points. The Eagles will likely need to deal Kolb and a late second or early third to get a pick that high. Or, they’ll need to swap first round picks and get a later pick back in exchange.

Still, the bottom line is Kolb will bring back more value than McNabb did when he was still a Pro Bowl talent. To me, that’s amazing. But, it also lets you know that NFL GMs place a higher value on youth than proven production.

That was the only true love he experienced the entire season. And, now that he has been benched by the doofus sinking the ship even further into the abyss in Washington, McNabb has to realize that he was appreciated for his efforts in the City of Brotherly Love.

The feeling of pure anger or restrained jubilation — depending on your views of Donovan McNabb — that we felt on Easter Sunday last spring have taken a backseat thanks to the fine play of Michael Vick this year.

Still, no matter what side of the McNabb fence you were on, you need to remember that the Eagles are still owed a conditional pick from the Washington Redskins in next spring’s NFL Draft. And, the pick may very well be known by the end of the day tomorrow.

Donovan McNabb and the Washington Deadskins free fall this year likely means the Eagles will get a fourth round pick in 2011 to complete the McNabb deal.

The Eagles received a second round pick (Nate Allen) plus a conditional third or fourth round pick in 2011. The pick was slated to jump to a third round pick in 2011 if Donovan McNabb made the Pro Bowl, or if McNabb was under center for 70 percent of the snaps and the Redskins won nine games.

McNabb has a better chance of sniffing sweat on Fat Albert Haynesworth’s jock strap than he does of heading to the Pro Bowl. Tossing 15 balls to opposing players pretty much kills any chance of a trip to Hawaii.

With a 5-7 record, one more loss will take away any chance of nine wins. Thus, the pick looks to be a fourth rounder.

At this point, let’s have fun rooting for the Deadskins to continue their free fall. Should they lose out, we’ll be looking at a high fourth rounder, which is pretty darn close to a third.

Whether he admits it or not, Donovan McNabb has had Oct. 3 embedded in his brain since the NFL released its schedule this spring. He’s had this game in mind since enjoying his Easter dinner in April, you know, the night the Eagles decided to upstage the start to the Phillies 2010 magical season.

The most prolific passer in Philadelphia Eagles history returns to the place that will define his NFL career, the place where he grew into a winning NFL quarterback. Anyone who so much as watches the evening news in Philadelphia, or glances at the headlines staring at them from the newspaper boxes around the city knows No. 5 is coming back today.

Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick may enjoy each other's company before the game. Once the ball is in the air, however, McNabb's smile will dissipiate.

While the hoopla will resonate around South Philly between now (10 a.m. in the east) and the 4:15 kickoff, the fact remains that the game could be far from memorable for McNabb and his Redskins teammates. Sure, McNabb is still McNabb. He’s a competitor who will leave it all on the field in an attempt to show up Andy Reid and Joe Banner and his good pal Michael Vick.

The bottom line is that the Redskins just don’t have enough to play with the Eagles. The list of Redskins studs starts with McNabb and ends with Chris Cooley. The line is better than the Eagles, only because Philly’s line is worse than the Sisters of the Poor. Their “stud” running back is Clinton Portis who is getting drilled before getting first downs when he’s not busy ripping female reporters or justifying dogfighting.

Donovan McNabb will display a similar facial expression when leaving The Linc today.

Santana Moss has seen better days and that doesn’t bode well for McNabb when he drops back to pass. McNabb is still a nice passer, but gone are the days of breaking Mark Carrier’s ankles.

On the flip side, Vick is explosive with his feet and is capable of being a solid passer against crappy defenses. The Redskins defense is the diarrhea of the NFL’s toilet bowl., ranking dead last as a team. Yeah, Vick, DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek and Shady McCoy should have a field day. Oh, and Riley Cooper is primed for a breakout game of his own.

Sorry, Donovan.
THE PICK: Eagles 34, Redkins 17.

Add NFL.Com’s Gil Brandt to the list of the lazy national reporters who fail to do any actual reporting when discussing Philly fans. In his list of top four player matchups this week, Brandt discusses McNabb-Vick. In his a$$essment, Brandt generalizes how Philly fans felt about McNabb and the perception of Vick now.

“For some reason, despite all of his success, Donovan McNabb never fully won over the Eagles fans. Michael Vick, on the other hand, has become a fan favorite after just two wins,” he writes.

Donovan McNabb's relationship with Philly fans is being overblown this week, especially when compared to the Michael Vick "lovefest."

OK, first of all, sure Vick is a fan favorite for his play on the field after two games. So was Kevin Kolb, Bobby Hoying, Ty Detmer, Koy Detmer, Bubby Brister … you get the point. That’s not to say Vick will flop like those stiffs. However, it also means Vick is far from a Ring of Honor candidate in the fans’ hearts.

Now, on to McNabb. To say he never fully won us over is probably, unfortunately, accurate. But, in this context it makes it seem like Vick has done what mcNabb couldn’t. And, that’s just not true. In his first few seasons as a starter, we stood behind McNabb — all of us. Then, from the post Super Bowl T.O. drama, some fans started pulling support for the guy.

He did win us over, but not for life. That is what Brandt likely meant, but failed to document. A little research and he would have discovered that and made his article a bit stronger.

Really? Do we need another scene like above? Really, do we?

On NFL Live Tuesday night, former stiff quarterback Trent Dilfer was pleading with Eagles fans to cheer McNabb. He pretty much put us on blast saying we complain about our reputation for our behavior, yet rarely do anything to correct it. He said he hoped we’d prove him wrong, but doubt we would.

I initially though Dilfer was being a dope and picking on an easy target. I thought he was being as lazy as a TJ Simers from the LA Times, who takes shots at us every time his paper flies him into our city.

I still think Dilfer is wrong. The right thing is to cheer McNabb during introductions — or at the start of the game if he is not introduced. Then, root against him the rest of the game. He’s not one of ours anymore, but you have to give the guy the respect due to a man who gave us 11 amazing seasons, including five NFC Championship Game appearances and a trip to only our second Super Bowl.

Will McNabb get the Brian Dawkins treatment? Look, he just didn’t connect with the fans the way BDawk did. To think he’ll be received like Dawk is wrong. Does that mean he deserves the T.O. treatment? Hell no. And, anyone who thinks he does needs to have their head examined.

Donovan McNabb deserves to be applauded to start the day Sunday for the memories he left us with during the last decade.

Which brings me to exhibit A: Angelo Cataldi and his Nerdy 30. Yeah, the same idiots who booed McNabb are planning a walk to the Spectrum to boo McNabb upon his return. How many of those guys actually go to the game? Probably none. Cataldi will hightail it to his home to watch the game with his cats.

He’s not a Philly fan. He’s a Yankee fan-turned-shockjock wannabe trying to maintain his ratings. Yet, he’ll get the publicity his insecurity covets. The footage will be shown on national TV, and we’ll all look like idiots in the process.

That’s not how it needs to go down. McNabb didn’t connect with Philadelphia for whatever reason, but he did his best to deliver the most incredible era of Eagles football this city has ever seen. He was involved in the community, but chose not to seek attention for it.

I’ll flat out tell you the night before Thanksgiving in 2004, McNabb visited a hospital I worked at to meet with patients, take pictures and distribute incredible gift baskets he and his wife purchased on their own. He wanted no media. In fact, that was a condition of him visiting that night. I can’t help but imagine the countless other stories like that out there that went unreported.

Booing McNabb at the start on Sunday is a stupid thought. He didn’t win the Super Bowl. And, neither did 52 other guys that fateful February day. Yet, the rest of them are revered here.

Did we boo Allen Iverson when he came back with the Nuggets, or the Pistons? Did we boo AI when he resigned here last November? Hell, we acted like we won the NBA championship when AI kissed center court before an electric Wachovia Center last fall.

Sure, AI may have been a folk hero in Philly. Still, he’s a guy who made mistakes off the court and kept saying, “I’m a young guy who’s made mistakes and will continue to make them.” He’s a guy who got traded after skipping out on Fan Appreciation Night with Chris Webber.

McNabb never did us wrong like that.

For years I’ve heard, “the national media is stupid. We didn’t boo McNabb at the draft; we booed the pick.”

I’ve never understood that. Well, we have a chance to change that image. We have a chance to show Donovan we appreciated what he did for us. I have no doubt the majority of fans in the stadium will do the right thing.

To Cataldi and his Nerdy 30, carry out your little performance. But, don’t for a second call yourself a Philadelphia fan. Don’t wear Eagles garb. Wear WIP Radio hats because that’s the “team” you’re really saluting. Sellouts!

During the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, when John Lynch was gushing about Michael Vick and Andy Reid, the former all-pro safety started to say the truth before correcting himself. He should have stuck with the first version.

Lynch was saying “when the Eagles pushed out…when they traded away McNabb.”

John, I respect you and you should have just stuck with the initial thought. The Eagles did “push” No. 5 out of town for Kolb.

John Lynch should have stood by his initial thought when he started to say the Eagles "pushed McNabb out…" of town.

We’ll try to get the video, but let’s just say that the NFL is anal about copyrights.

In the meantime, let’s leave you with this thought, mr. Lynch and everyone else praising Andy Reid for the Vick move: If winning now was really the key to substituting Vick for Kolb, why not just keep McNabb?

What the national pundits fail to realize is not that people didn’t think Vick was the best QB for the here and now. Instead, it was the fact that this year was about building for the future and developing Kolb — for better or worse. If this season was about winning now, then why not keep McNabb. Playing Vick kind of defeats the purpose of trading a franchise QB within the division, especially if Vick leaves via free agency at season’s end.

One or two games do not define a career — unless you’re talking about a Super Bowl performance.

Still, Kevin Kolb’s legacy as a starting quarterback in Philadelphia could very well come down to this weekend’s game in Jacksonville — the place that started the beginning of the end of the Donovan McNabb era in Philadelphia. Sure, it took five years for McNabb to be shipped out of town, but the Super Bowl game really started the downfall.

Kolb’s career in Philly hangs in the balance this weekend? An overstatement, you say? Not really.

Kevin Kolb will return to the Eagles lineup on Sunday in Jacksonville in what could be a defining moment of his career.

Consider the fact that Kolb has not played well during the preseason or before getting his bell rung in the season opener against the Packers. Consider the fact that Michael Vick has played very well in six quarters this season. Consider the fact that there is now a quarterback “controversy” where there should be none.

If Kolb plays miserably and the Eagles lose to the Jaguars, the catcalls for Vick will only get louder. Nobody will care about the fact that he’s playing behind an offensive line held together with duct tape. Oh, and then he’ll have to deal with that and the return of McNabb to Philly in week 4. Talk about pressure.

The only way to take away that pressure is play well and win this weekend. Then, at least the Vick talk will fade to black for a couple of weeks.

Otherwise, he’ll face big-time adversity — something he has yet to show he can overcome.

Granted, you really can’t judge Kolb until at least midseason. Still, this is the NFL and this is Philadelphia. The same pundits who thought Kolb was a stud based on two games last season are the same ones who will trash him after two bad games this year.

Like it or not, this week may be the most important of Kolb’s career. And, it really isn’t an overstatement if you consider the situation he’s in.