McNabb more like Elway than we thought?

"I don't want to sound like a crybaby so I don't talk about it," Elway told SI's Rick Reilly, "but it's just gotten to be too much. I'm torn up inside right now. [The fans] talk about my hair. They talk about my teeth, how much I tip, how much I drink, how I'm playing, when I'll talk to the media. I'm sick of it."

Reilly asked Elway if he would like to be traded. "I don't know," he replied. Did he want to quit? "I don't know," Elway said. How much more was he willing to take? "Not much," he said. Clearly, the guy was having a meltdown, and it was all due to the pressure of playing quarterback and living with the scrutiny that comes with it

You can't help but notice the parallels between Elway and McNabb. Elway was in his seventh season in 1989. McNabb is in his eighth season as a starter. Both men had led their teams to the Super Bowl but came up short. Both were drafted with the expectation they would lead their teams to a championship, but the trophy case was still empty and patience was running out.

You can add another layer to this by pointing out in 1992 the Broncos used their first round draft pick to select Tommy Maddox, a quarterback from UCLA. In other words, instead of bringing in a player who could help the Broncos and Elway win right away, they drafted the quarterback they would groom as Elway's successor. Elway was perplexed, rightly so, just as McNabb was perplexed this year when the Eagles used their first pick on Kevin Kolb.