'View' Husband Dimes Out Donovan McNabb
Tim Hasselbeck, a former Eagles' quarterback married to "View" host Elizabeth Hasselbeck, says it was known in Philadelphia that Donovan McNabb didn't practice hard.
The McNabb story is all the buzz in Philadelphia, where McNabb played for 11 seasons.
Hasselbeck called into ESPN's "Mike And Mike" show on Tuesday and said that Philadelphia Eagles' coaches couldn't get McNabb to practice at full speed, and if that were true in Washington, that would explain Mike Shanahan's decision to bench McNabb for not being fit to play.
Hasselbeck played for the Eagles in 2002, when McNabb was injured for part of the season, and Philadelphia lost the last game played at the Vet to Tampa in the NFC title game.
"I was a teammate of Donovan McNabb's in Philadelphia," Hasselbeck said. "One of the things that drove them crazy in Philadelphia was the lack of tempo at which he practiced."
Hasselbeck said Andy Reid often asked McNabb to practice at game speed.
" It was always something where you're leaving the quarterback meeting and it would be, 'Hey, listen, the head man wants a little more tempo today.' Nearly every single day.," Hasselbeck said.
That news comes on the heels of a report from ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Mike and Kyle Shanahan wanted to bench McNabb because of his practice habits right after the Redskins beat the Eagles.
Mortensen called the Shanahans' unhappiness with McNabb, "The worst-kept secret in the league."
Officially, Mike Shanahan said McNabb will start against the Eagles in two weeks, but the growing feud between the Shanahans and McNabb could come to a head at the Redskins-Eagles game.
Washington and McNabb have not agreed on a contract for next season, and several teams may want McNabb if Washington doesn't.
On Philadelphia sports talk radio on Monday, 610 WIP's Howard Eskin also supported another comment from Shanahan that McNabb had problems with recalling play terminology.
Eskin's co-host and former Eagles player Ike Reese disputed that comment, even though Eskin said his Eagles' sources said McNabb was known to have problems with "terminology."
Shanahan said on Monday afternoon that McNabb battled leg injuries all week at practice, and that from a "cardiovascular standpoint," McNabb couldn't handle the two-minute offense on Sunday, which is why one of the Shanahans benched McNabb for Rex Grossman.
Grossman fumbled away the game for Washington. He also played for Kyle Shanahan when he was the offensive coordinator in Houston last season.
Mike Shanahan then said neither quarterback had practiced the team’s two-minute drill since the first week of the season.
ESPN will have the Eagles-Redskins on Monday Night Football, and it should draw even more attention than McNabb Bowl I. And Eagles fans could get the last laugh.
The Birds play the Colts before going to Washington and will need a win to stay in the playoff hunt.
On Monday, the Redksins’ locker room was publicly divided on McNabb versus Shanahan.
The Eagles still have five NFC East games left and a win in two weeks in Washington would go a long way in helping Philadelphia get a wild-card berth late in the season.
Meanwhile, there will be job openings in Minnesota and Arizona next year, so there is no guarantee the Redskins would even keep playing McNabb (even though they insist McNabb is still the starter).