Big Ben Supports Donovan McNabb and His Ignorance Surrounding Tie Football Games

Remember last Sunday, when the Eagles improbably tied the Bengals? And not only that, but quarterback Donovan McNabb conceded that he didn't know an NFL game could end in a tie? Shocking, right?

I'll admit to being taken aback after hearing McNabb confess as much during the post-tie press conference, but I hardly think it's as big a deal as some people are making it out to be three days after the fact.

And it certainly has no bearing on some Philly fans wanting McNabb run out of town. It's sorta like John McCain going on Saturday Night Live two days before the election; sure, he was funny and less angry-robot-seeming, but at that point, everybody had already decided who they were voting for.

But I suppose it's always fun (and easy!) to paint athletes with the broad brush of stupidity. If nothing else, it requires much less work than being original. Oh, Al Gore, what hath you wrought?

Whatever, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came to McNabb's defense during a Tuesday radio appearance:

"I think people are making too big a deal and are being too hard on Donovan, because you'd be surprised - I bet at least 50 percent of the league didn't know that at the time," Roethlisberger said.

"You'd be real surprised. I think people just assume that the quarterback should know it all and that everyone should know that stuff, and it's not necessarily true, because who ever thinks about that stuff?"...

"How often does it come up?" Roethlisberger said. "The rules change so often that you never know what happens. People are being way, way too hard on Donovan and making way too big a deal of this."

Yes, the dude making these comments is the same one who head-butted a car sans helmet some 30 months ago. No, the irony is not lost on me. Still, I think Big Ben's right: people are making way too big a deal of this.

Should McNabb know about ties? Yeah. But for all the pointing and gawking from the media, I find it pretty laughable that these are the same people who routinely yell "FUMBLE!" whenever a player on the punt return team touches -- and then loses -- the ball after a player on the coverage team touched it first.

I know, the media aren't actually playing the game, but you'd hope they'd know the rules of the sport they're covering. Or is that asking too much?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-19-2008 @ 12:39PM

steelers4life said...

ben i think you should be worrying about how you going tomlead the steelers into the playoffs and the promised land before you try to do something with the tie in the games ,worry about getting rid of the interceptions that you are throwing and losing the games ,and i really dont like to get down on my QB ,but ive been patient long enough,and some times he needs tough love ,so take us first to the promise land then you can worry about small potatos later

11-19-2008 @ 12:55PM

Brody said...

Like it or not, the QB is looked at as the brains of the team. It doesn't look good when he's unaware of a fairly simple, straight forward rule. Rule changes? Nothing significant has changed about OT for quite a long time. A QB should be a student of the game, moreso than any other position out there. It's pathetic that McNabb didn't know about this rule.

11-19-2008 @ 4:33PM

Ryan said...

Well Brody there are too many rules and plus maybe they should change this rule because it's stupid and yes people are making too much of big deal just like Ben said. Maybe Donovan should have known but they shouldn't be hard on him beacuse he was trying.

11-19-2008 @ 3:38PM

Too many rules? The guy is a PROFESSIONAL. That's not an excuse. That's like an architect just saying "There's too many angles and too much math." It's his job, and he plays at the highest level there is in the world. There's no excuse. I've never played football at any level, and I know 90% of the rules. I'm just a dumb fan. McNabb is a PROFESSIONAL QUARTERBACK. This is what he does for a living.

11-19-2008 @ 7:52PM

Brody you don't know anything about Donovan McNabb and so what if he didn't know it's not a big deal. He didn't know. He was more focused on the game and yes he is a professional quarterback but not everyone knows the rules but I think everyone is making much of a big deal when it's not and that's is sad. So I think people who make a big deal out of this need to get a life and move on because people don't know everything in life.

11-19-2008 @ 3:41PM

G-man said...

Cmon, this discussion is about Donavan and Ben's support for him. I agree with the youngman, and once again, he has proven how good of a man he is, in his support. For the record, Ben has been a godsend to this city , the fans, and the team. We have all been looking for a good QB since Bradshaw. We got him now. I say we support Ben, and help him get over the problems he is having now. Actually, the first step would be to get rid of the current offensive line !