If you haven’t heard the news, Donovan McNabb has been traded from the Eagles to the division rival Washington Redskins.

The fact he was traded to the Redskins was and still is the most surprising aspect of this trade, but you wouldn’t know that if you logged on to Facebook (I am a college student this is how we gauge public opinion) on Sunday night after the news broke. You would think the McNabb trade was the apocalypse or some secret conspiracy.

Here is some people’s Facebook status from Sunday night:

The Eagles are very dumb. Donovan McNabb is the best QB to ever come through Philly. He went to NFC Championships with receivers like James Thrash, Freddie Mitchell, and Todd Pinkston. You finally give him two good receivers and two good tight ends and trade him? There goes the first Super Bowl to Philly.

and

Donovan McNabb, Dona-Dona-van McNabb, Thrown under the bus, this s— is really sad, Kevin Kolb takin’ snaps, I think I’m gonna relapse, My reality is blown; the Eagles are a joke, I’m literally f—in’ sick, watchin’ Kevin throw picks, To the opposin’ team, this must be a f—in’ dream, Andy Reid’s a fat bastard; the Philly fans are cowards, Dnabb is f—in sick, suck my d—, Michael Vick, Wings to the ‘Skins, for a couple crappy picks, in the blink of an eye, say goodbye, contemplatin’ suicide, This trade is whack, all we need is D-mac back, He shattered all the records, leaving Kevin playin checkers, Now we are the low dwellers of the NFC East cellar.

Eagles fans must have an awful short-term memory, or are “stunods” as my dad likes to say (I am hoping it is awful short-term memory). McNabb trade rumors first made the news cycle starting around March 24, and have been in the news cycle ever since. Remember he was supposed to be traded to St. Louis, then to Oakland, then to this team, and that team? ESPN and other NFL analyzers would attempt to connect McNabb to a team by unbelievably stupid connections. Al Davis went to Syracuse a hundred years ago, which means McNabb will most likely go to the Raiders. It was like watching Glenn Beck connect Obama to Hitler. Good analysis! Not!

On this very website, Andrew O’Brien (co-creator) wrote an article titled, “The nine levels of Hell: McNabb’s trade destinations”. In the article O’Brien wrote, “With the Donovan McNabb trade talks in the national spotlight, it seems all but certain McNabb will be dealt in the coming weeks leading up to the NFL draft—seems being the imperative word.”

Again I ask why Eagles fans are so surprised. Eagles fans are not known nationally for their “smarts” or “thinking” ability (trust me, this is hard for me to say since I am an Eagles fan). They are known more for harassing other team’s fans and throwing snowballs at Santa. Just look at who WIP has on the air in the morning, Angelo Cataldi, who is one of, if not the worst, sports talk radio host. He just babbles on and on without a clue. This is like listening to the Glenn Beck radio show. Both are great at giving their listeners facts. Not!

Eagles fans tend to go with their guts and their hearts. All Eagles fans live and die by the Eagles. They think about one thing and one thing only. They don’t look at other variables. It is either this or that. All of which lead to conclusions based on shoddy evidence. Eagles fans have always jumped to conclusions. Remember McNabb being booed at the 1999 Draft? Not too long after the draft they were cheering and chanting for McNabb to be put in the game.

And now fans are ready to jump off a bridge with the thought of a new era starting with Kolb as the QB.

Eagles fans have every right to be angry at the organization and apprehensive about the future. Fans can be mad about where McNabb was traded. Fans can be angry a great QB was traded and the Eagles organization decided to choose a relatively unknown QB (to fans) over a Pro Bowl QB. Fans can be mad there might be a year (or two) of subpar play. But, fans cannot be mad about the actual trade—McNabb for a early second-round pick (2010 Draft) and either a third- or fourth-round pick in 2011 draft. This trade gives the Eagles 12 draft picks in an upcoming draft full of talented players on both sides of the football.

Can the Eagles organization be arrogant, egotistical, and narcissistic? Yes. A great example is trading McNabb to the Redskins instead of shipping him off to the West coast where McNabb would be out of sight and out of mind of fans relatively fast. But, do they usually make good personnel decisions? Although there are a few exceptions, the answer is yes. Do fans have all the information the organization does about personnel? No.

It is time for Eagles fans to trust the organization.

Where I seem to butt heads with other Eagles fans is over Kevin Kolb, starting QB (at least until the end of 2010). Fans seem to be very angry about Kolb starting at QB—most likely because they know nothing about him. However, without any evidence the fans have already written off Kolb as a capable QB. Not only that but when they are making the argument against Kolb, they compare him to McNabb, an 11-year NFL veteran and a six-time Pro Bowl QB. That comparison is insane! As I stated earlier, Eagles fans make false conclusions using shoddy evidence.

It is time for Eagles fans to look at the facts. McNabb, Vick, and Kolb all have contracts that expire after the 2010 season. Vick has lost a step (or two) and was never really a great “quarterback”, he was a great “play-maker”, which he still has the potential to be, but not as a starting QB. McNabb has given the city of Philadelphia a decade of winning along with a decade of inconsistency. He is the most accomplished quarterback in the modern history of the franchise, but he failed to accomplish the one thing that everyone wanted the most: a Super Bowl.

It was evident the McNabb era would end either by trade or free agency. In my opinion, it was better to get something rather than nothing for McNabb. Kolb, although he hasn’t had the arena to demonstrate his abilities for the fans (he’s only started two regular season games and preseason games, which no fans watch), he has demonstrated to the organization and players that he is a natural leader, a much better West Coast offense QB than McNabb, and has the backing and respect of his teammates as a whole. By all accounts and reports, Kolb is ready to be the starting QB of this Philadelphia offense.

Eagles fans want success in the short-term. They are not thinking about the consequences of keeping McNabb. If the Eagles were to have kept McNabb for the 2010 season, they would have been going in blind when it came time to have contract talks with Kolb at the end of the 2010 season. What evidence would they be able to use in making their decisions? Two games? The answer is none. So yes, the Eagles took a chance trading McNabb and going with Kolb. But it was a chance that had to be taken now, not a year from now.

The odds of the Eagles winning a Super Bowl in the 2010 NFL season were slim. Their defense is not the defense of the early 2000a. As a matter of fact, their offense, without McNabb, averages 4.6 years of experience and their defense averages 5.5 years of experience. This is a young team, which is being built to win in the future. It is only logical to change things up after 11 years of being an excellent team who lost four NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl.

From now on, Eagles fans should look to the future and the potential of this young football team. This is not the first time a franchise QB has been traded and it won’t be the last. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, and many more have stepped in to replace outstanding quarterbacks.

Kolb is ready. He has lived his whole life around the game of football. He is a student of the game, and a natural born leader who has the whole team excited, rejuvenated, and ready to follow him to the promised land. It is now time for us fans to do the same.