McNabb Is Approaching RGIII In The Wrong Way

Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb says he and his father want to have a sit down with Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and his father.  He may be sincere about wanting the chance to help RGIII with some helpful advice, but he’s going about it in all the wrong way.  Going public with the criticism is the last thing you want to do.

I’ve heard that he tried to set up the meeting privately, but grew impatient so he went public with his wish.  Going public is a mistake and then criticizing RGIII is going to all but end any chance of the youngster sitting down with him.  McNabb publicly criticized the young quarterback for doing too many things and he tries to rehabilitate his knee after off season knee surgery.

“I get some of things he’s doing to draw attention to himself: the Adidas commercials, going out and enjoying the life of a young, famous NFL quarterback.  I understand RG has a lot of stuff going on,” McNabb said to Mike Wise of the Washington Post.  “But if you’re coming off ACL surgery, you don’t need to be having a press conference at OTAs.  Every week?  Really?  It becomes a circus, a sideshow.  It takes away from the focus of what those sessions are supposed to be about:  the team.”

I do think McNabb has a point, but why not send him an email or a text message to tell him that, if he can’t get an audience with him.   Don’t say it publicly because that makes people put up their guard.  McNabb even went further with the criticism of the young Redskins quarterback.

“So when I look up on TV and see him up there talking all the time about how great he’s doing — or doing jumping jacks or someone else talking about his supernatural healing powers — I wonder to myself:  Is this about selling tickets to the fans or what?

“I don’t blame him.  They’re letting him do it.  But at some point, it can be counterproductive.  You can set yourself up for more criticism later.”

The former Eagles number five must see himself as the Michael Jordan of quarterbacks, which he’s not.  He shouldn’t act like he’s up on some type of pedestal talking down to the rest of the quarterbacks, be they young or old.  He had a very good career, but he didn’t dominate the sport to the point where he should get an audience with anybody he wants.  If he had pursued a meeting quietly he might have gotten one, but now that’s very doubtful.

McNabb even criticized Griffin’s father, RGII.

“His dad should have never done a one-on-one interview like that,” McNabb told Wise.  “You can’t say what he said because it almost undermines his son, who has to answer all the questions about it later.  Now, we all know what he said was right.  But that’s something you voice behind closed doors because otherwise it creates a wedge that didn’t have to be there.  No team needs those kinds of things hovering over them.”

McNabb put up some impressive numbers during his time with the Eagles, but he was never adept at maneuvering through public relations mazes and he still hasn’t mastered that art.