Unless fifteen signal callers pull out of the Pro Bowl this year, the Eagles will receive the Washington Redskins 4th round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft to complete last Easter’s Donovan McNabb trade.

At the time, the Redskins sent the Eagles the second round pick (Nate Allen) plus a conditional pick in the 2011 draft. If McNabb made the Pro Bowl, or he played 70 percent of the team’s snaps and the Redskins won at least nine games, the pick would have been a third rounder.

Donovan McNabb hands off a fourth round pick to the Eagles on Sunday. With the Redskins loss, the Eagles will get the Redskins 4th rounder in 2011.

With the Redskins pitiful 17-16, heartbreaking loss to the Bucs on Sunday because of a guy who couldn’t kick his way to first base in a kindergarten game of kickball, the team now stands at 5-8. The best they can hope for is eight wins.

As far as a McNabb Pro Bowl appearance goes, the man has 15 picks this year and has not showed much of his former stud self in DC.

At this point, hope the Redskins lose out — highly probable — so we get a high fourth round pick that may actually be worth something.

Terrell Owens once said, “I’m not the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl.” We all know who that comment was directed toward.

Donovan McNabb has a new critic of his conditioning. This time, it’s his head coach, Mike Shanahan. Shanny said that McNabb was unfit to run the two-minute drill in Sunday’s loss to the hapless Lions. He said the signal caller has been dealing with hamstring injuries for a few weeks.

Please.

This site has always backed McNabb, but the that McNabb has looked winded at times, which is to be expected for a 225-pound QB who runs as much as he does. McNabb has always worked out in the offseason in Arizona. We won’t question his commitment or his desire. He works his hardest to get into as good as shape as he possibly can. He just isn’t the best at cardio.

Donovan McNabb has not always been the best conditioned athlete despite his hard ass workouts in the offseason.

We will, however, question a head coach who benches his star quarterback with 1:45 to go in a winnable game. The bottom line is that McNabb may not be the guy Shanahan wants or needs to run his offense. And, nobody can take back his move to bench McNabb. We can already hear Fletcher Smith’s phone ringing with orders to start lining up free agent visits next spring.

I never for a second thought he’d get anything than applause up until kickoff since he is the most prolific passer in our history. He earned our respect and we know what he gave our franchise, our city, our memories for life. Nobody can take that away or forget about it.

When McNabb came toward the end zone during — a place reserved for heckling of opponents — for pregame warmups, here’s what was waiting for him.

And, if you think that is simply the minority, here’s what was waiting when he was introduced before kickoff. The beginning boos are for his teammates.

Everyone had Oct. 3 circled on the calendar for the quarterback showdown between the Eagles and Redskins. Only, instead of Kolb-McNabb, we’re looking ahead to Vick-McNabb.

Nobody doubted that Michael Vick gave the Eagles the best chance to win behind a piss-poor offensive line. Vick showed us what we already knew in dominating the Jaguars on Sunday with a 28-3 win.

The man completed 17-of-31 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns, while adding a 17-yard rushing score.

DeSean Jackson heads to paydirt in the first quarter of the eagles 28-3 rout of the Jaguars on Sunday.

The Eagles offense looked poor at times, especially as the offensive line allowed Vick to get sacked three times against a poor Jags defense. Yet, Vick made the big plays when needed.

In the first quarter, he hit DeSean Jackson for a 61-yard touchdown created mostly by Vick’s elusiveness and Jackson’s speed down the sideline.

In the final seconds of the first half, Vick found Jeremy Maclin for the first of his two touchdowns. Vick connected again with Maclin in the third quarter.

Jackson finished the day with five catches for 153 yards, while Maclin hauled in four passes for 83 yards.

Next week, the 2-1 Eagles battle to maintain first place in the NFC East when old friend Donovan McNabb leads the Redskins to town.

That’s how long the Kevin Kolb era lasted in Philadelphia. Barring an injury to Michael Vick, it’s safe to assume the eagles will try to get something for their “quarterback of the future.”

According to reports, several teams have called about the availability of Kolb. While the Eagles would be wise to hold on to Kolb, the reality is how can they do that?

Look, does anyone really want Mike Kafka as the No. 2 quarterback in Philly? Didn’t think so. If you deal Kolb, that’s who your backup is unless you can coax Jeff George out of retirement. Or Jeff Garcia.

Kevin Kolb's tenure as the starting quarterback in Philly was shorter than Bobby Hoying's.

Oh, I know people are still enamored with Garcia and what he did here in 2006. Well, that’s four years ago and Garcia did squat after that. He took one snap here last year and promptly fumbled. Oh, and that was late in a game Kolb had owned.

In reality, you have to move Kolb if you can get something of value for him. He’s not going to stay here. And, even if he did, how can the players or city ever really have faith in him now. The guy the team invested in this summer by trading a franchise quarterback and handing him $10 million in a signing bonus was relegated to the bench after 30 minutes of football.

He has no future here. Truth be told, I’m never sure he did and was opposed to trading away No. 5 for that reason. But, what’s done is done. Reid wanted to find out about Kolb. I guess we now know the answer. And, our failure will be someone else’s problem.

Reid himself left the door open and said he can’t predict the future in the NFL when asked if Kolb would be here after the trade deadline. That in itself is big because Reid always gives you the “He is our quarterback (or one of them)” lines. Not this time.

So, where could Kolb end up? Try Minnesota to learn from and succeed Favre, the Raiders, Browns, Bills and Cardinals to start. Oh, yeah, that’d be great. Kolb throwing to Fitzgerald for the next few years.

Look, like it or not, McNabb will continue being a story, especially if new Eagles starter Kevin Kolb continues to put up impressive stats such as five-of-ten passing for 24 yards. He’ll continue being a story if the eagles play a defense who can pull in sure-fire interceptions.

Kevin Kolb needs to be evaluated for himself only this year. Comparisons to other QBs are counterproductive.

People will look at the Redskins record, McNabb’s touchdown-to-interception ratio and other stats. But, they shouldn’t. In fact, they can’t. Not if you want to be fair to Kolb.

Kevin Kolb and Donovan McNabb are not the same guy. They don’t play the same way. Even Leonard Weaver told DailyPhiladelphian.com as much last week before suffering a season-ending ACL injury.

“Kevin Kolb can’t be Donovan McNabb and McNabb can’t be Kolb,” Weaver told us.

To compare the two right now is absurd and unfair to Kolb. Whether or not you agreed with the decision to move McNabb, the fact is, as Brother Muzone said to Omar Little in The Wire at the end of season 3, “What’s done is done.”

The Eagles are where they are. They made the move at QB to see what Kolb could give them and the fourth year signal caller from Houston will get all season to show what he can or can’t do. Comparing him to McNabb and getting frustrated at his lack of production is counterproductive. Remember, Aaron Rodgers had a poor first year as the packers starter. He’s pretty good now.

Is Kolb the next Rodgers?

There’s only one way to find out. Comparing Kolb to McNabb — or even Michael Vick — all season isn’t the way.

While the national media came away impressed with new Eagles starting signal caller Kevin Kolb as an interview and a person, the question remains as to where they rank him among NFL QBs to start the season.

ESPN.com’s John Clayton revealed his ranking of NFL QBs today, and divided them into three tiers: Elite, Chad Pennington Division, and Hit or Miss. Clayton then gives odds on how likely a QB can reach Elite status.

To be fair from the onset, his Hit or Miss category is for unproven players. And, since they are young, it’s probably where they belong to start the season.

John Clayton released his rankings of NFL QBs today. Eagles starter Kevin Kolb comes in at 24. There are flaws with the rankings, however.

Kevin Kolb is listed as the 24th best QB to start the season according to Clayton. Here’s what he says about Kolb: “Kolb is the perfect quarterback for Andy Reid’s West Coast offense, which is why the Eagles traded Donovan McNabb to the Redskins. Kolb is a rhythm passer out of three- and five-step drops, and he should have a big statistical year.“

OK, so if he should have a big statistical year, and is perfect for Reid’s offense, how do you rank him 24th? How is he behind Jason Campbell and Alex Smith? The answer is, Clayton’s system is flawed. He shouldn’t have ranked them 1-33. (The Steelers get two spots because Big Ben couldn’t keep his pants zipped this offseason).

I doubt Clayton actually thinks Kolb is the 24th best QB. However, with the way he categorized them, and subsequently numbered them, that’s where the Eagles offensive leader sits.

Honestly, Clayton could have done this a bit better. To start with, he has 14 passers ranked as Elite guys. Doesn’t that water down the definition of the word? Elite means the top three, amybe five, guys at a position. Not 14. Do Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan and Eli Manning fall into the elite right now? Is Donovan McNabb still a true elite QB right now? All are very good and — as of right now — likely to be ranked higher than Kolb based on their body of work. But elite? Really?

Again, there is no issue in the category Kolb is grouped in. However, putting him as No. 24 in the league seems a bit low. That could change by season’s end. Clayton does give Kolb a 50-50 shot to develop into an elite guy — whatever that means in Clayton lingo.

Terrell Owens remains unsigned. The Eagles are set at receiver with DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant. Or, are they?

Don't expect to see T.O. soaring in South Philly again.

Jackson and Maclin are smaller receivers and both have already missed time with injuries. Avant came on last year and established himself as the slot receiver the Eagles have searched for since Reid came to Philly. The trio will give new starter Kevin Kolb explosive targets. But, can he count on them all year. Can Avant continue to be effective? And, at just 6-0 tall, is Avant ready to be effective in the Red Zone?

The fact is, the Eagles don’t have a big target outside of 6-4 Brent Celek. Could the Eagles use the 6-3 Owens in the Red Zone? Could they use him if, say, Jackson or Maclin go down and Owens is still sitting at home?

Would the Eagles even entertain the thought?

The initial thought is no. But for a team that signed Michael Vick, anything is possible. Owens has never been in trouble off of the field and seemed to be a model citizen in Buffalo last year. With McNabb gone, it would seem to be a fresh start for a second Owens tour in Philly.

In the end, we don’t think there’s a chance in hell Owens would end up back here. Still, it is an interesting thought if the eagles find themselves in a bind and Owens is desperate for a job.

While Westbrook openly visited and worked out for the Rams, Broncos and Redskins, only Washington has officially offered him a contract. Or, at least, that’s we’ve been led to believe.

Yet, a week away from camp, Westbrook has yet to sign with anyone. And, honestly, we have to question how smart that is assuming Westbrook truly wants to continue his career.

Brian Westbrook has stated his intention of resuming his NFL career next season. He has yet to sign with a team and camps start next week.

He’s coming off an injury-riddled season or two and is not nearly as explosive as he once was. If he is expecting to be paid like a top back, he’ll never find a job unless Al Davis really wants him.

If he is waiting for an injury to happen in training camp to open up other opportunities, we would find that strategy questionable as well. There are other backs out there, and even if he were brought in, he’d have to learn the offense and compete for playing time.

Finally, if his motive is to miss as much of camp as possible and remain fresh for the regular season, we again think he’s making a mistake as he needs reps to compete for playing time.

For instance, Washington has Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson and Willie Parker all on the roster. Questions surround all three, but the fact remains they are all former Pro Bowlers. For Westbrook to not get in there to compete, he must think another opportunity is opening up. Otherwise, he’s giving a head start to three other established backs.

The only other thing we can figure is that there’s a wild card team out there that knows what Westbrook can do and is giving him an option of signing later in camp so as to spare his body. And, Westbrook could be waiting to see who is under center for that mystery team.

Who are we talking about? Watch ESPN the next few weeks and follow the annual summer QB saga being courted by the bearded one, Brad Childress.

Then again, a guy who wears No. 5 in Washington also knows what BWest36 can do.

According to an internal source quoted in the article, “Joe’s the guy. Case closed.” Now, we are taking that out of context, but that is a strong quote. In context, the source discusses what irks Reid about banner is what Boston Joe says publicly sometimes. Still, the source indicates that Joe rarely loses any real internal debates.

Joe Banner and Andy Reid have worked to make the Eagles a top NFL franchise. Who has the final call? A source says it's Banner.

There is plenty of other juicy stuff in the article — and some boring crap as well. For now, let’s read into this one little portion. If Joe wins out on everything, and he is the one who says what the Eagles can offer players — as Sheldon Brown is quoted as saying — then you’d have to think that if Reid had his way, Brian Dawkins and, possibly, Donovan McNabb are still in Eagles uniforms.

Reid won with Dawkins and McNabb. You think he likes the prospect of entering next year without either guy?

While Reid may or may not have though McNabb was mentally right for Philly, you can bet he’d feel more comfortable with mcnabb behind center, especially if his job could be on the line. And, make no mistake, it is.

Banner is the one who said last offseason, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.”

If you don’t think that quote had something to do with McNabb being shipped to Washington, you’re kidding yourself. Banner basically took the Tampa Bay Bucs mindset that caused Tony Dungy to move to Indianapolis. Dungy had turned around the franchise but couldn’t get the Bucs past the NFC title game. They fired him, traded for Jon Gruden and won a Super Bowl. I’m sure we all remember that year as it was the Eagles second of four straight NFC Title game appearances.

Tampa made an unpopular move and won a title. Honestly, the Eagles run to the NFC Title game in 2008 likely kept McNabb and Reid here last year.

Now, how was moving McNabb Banner’s decision and not Reid’s? Reid said after the year that McNabb was the starting quarterback. He knows what Mcnabb can do. He, like the rest of us, don’t know Kolb’s full potential or lack thereof. Two games does not make a career. Last year at this time, we all though Kolb was the next second round bust in the Reid era.

Our guess is that, all things being equal, Reid would have made another run with McNabb. But, he also wasn’t going to put his job on the line to keep the only QB he’s known. Banner wanted McNabb dealt and once he inserted his own protege, Howie Roseman, as GM, No. 5 received a one-way plane ticket out of town.

Hard to believe it, but this pipsqueek is the most powerful man of our NFL franchise.

Reid is the guy who brought good football sense to Philly and he’s publicly touted as The Man at the NovaCare Complex. But, Banner is the guy who ultimately determines how the roster is constructed in terms of dollars and cents, and that does play a role in who is on the team. If not, Dawkins, Brown and McNabb are likely still here.

Sunday’s article confirms what we’ve all known for the last three years — Banner runs the team, not Reid. The only question now is this: Is it Super Bowl or bust for Reid? Is there a Jon Gruden on Banner’s radar?