No. 5 Will Always Love You, Though Feeling Isn't Mutual for Some in Eagles Fan Base

“No. 5 will always love you.”

With five days before Sunday’s opener, our jersey countdown to kickoff reaches Donovan McNabb, the player most responsible for ushering in the modern era of Eagles football where expectations were raised and often through the roof.

A borderline Hall of Famer, you could have removed the adjective before that descriptor had one of five different runs to the NFL Championship Game resulted in a Super Bowl championship.

Instead, McNabb reached just one Super Bowl and failed to get over the hump.

A small portion of a spoiled fan base that never lived through the dark days of Pete Liske or Mike Boryla running the controls deemed McNabb a failure despite being the best Philadelphia QB of the modern era by a wide margin and arguably the best of all-time.

McNabb’s winning percentage in the regular season was a gaudy .652 and he played in 16 playoff games between 2000 and 2009, winning more than he lost against the toughest competition (9-7).

McNabb was the Eagles' starter for just over a decade (1999 to 2009), leading the team to almost annual playoff appearances (2000–2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009), five NFC East division crowns (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006), the five NFC Championship games (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2008), and Super Bowl XXXIX.

By the time his stint ended he was the franchise’s all-time leader in pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.

An early dual-threat McNabb was just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 30,000 passing yards and 200 touchdown passes, while also rushing for over 3,000 yards, and 20 TDs. The first three to do that -- Fran Tarkenton, John Elway, and Steve Young -- are all in the Hall of Fame.

The Syracuse product was a six-time Pro Bowl selection and a member of the Eagles’ 75th Anniversary Team and his No. 5 was retired in 2013.

The disconnect for some with McNabb began on draft night in 1999 when a local radio host fueled fans with misinformation, making Ricky Williams out to be the second coming. When the Eagles selected McNabb at No. 2 overall, the fans who were brought up to Radio City Music Hall in New York reacted poorly.

Despite hindsight clearly defining the Eagles were right with the selection McNabb never lost the chip on his shoulder from that, conflating a small portion of the fan base into a much larger one.

There was also his public feud with Terrell Owens, which still rages to this day. And again a large portion sided with Owens, who had one very successful season in Philadelphia before imploding with unprofessionalism.

Owens still downplays McNabb’s talent even though the latter had plenty of success before his arrival and after his departure.

Finally, there was the one Super Bowl McNabb did reach, Super Bowl XXXIX, in which he threw three interceptions and was sacked four times in a loss to New England. The major controversy, however, was McNabb’s fitness and slow pace of play while others claimed an illness.

Perceived upset wins by Tampa Bay and Carolina in NFC Championship Games were also laid at McNabb’s feet more often than not.

The run ended in the spring of 2010 when McNabb was shipped in-division to Washington for two draft picks.

Current number 5:

None. The number will never be worn again and the Eagles retired the number for McNabb in 2013.

Top 3 to wear number 5:

3. Jeff Feagles. One of the more consistent punters of all-time Feagles had a 22-year career in the NFL with four of those seasons coming in Philadelphia (1990-1993). The Eagles were Feagles’ second team after he originally caught on in New England as an undrafted free agent out of Miami-Florida.

Feagles was very consistent in his time with the Birds, averaging between 40.0 and 42.2 yards-per-punt over those four seasons. After Philly, Feagles spent four seasons in Arizona, five in Seattle, and seven with the New York Giants.

2. Roman Gabriel. Gabriel, once the No. 2 overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams and the No. 1 overall pick in the AFL Draft (Oakland), arrived in Philadelphia late in his career as a trade pickup after threatening the Rams with a contract from the Las Vegas Casinos of the since-forgotten Southwestern Football League.

It wasn’t a great era for Eagles football but Gabriel immediately improved a 2-11-1 team in 1972 to a more respectable 5-8-1 bunch in 1973, making his fourth Pro Bowl and being named the Comeback Player of the Year for getting Philadelphia headed back in the right direction.

In 1973, Gabriel led the NFL with 3,219 yards and 23 touchdowns. His best season was with the Rams in 1969 when Gabriel was the NFL’s MVP.

1. Donovan McNabb. See above.

Runner-up:

Mark Royals. Another long-time punter who spent 15 years in the NFL, Royals had a very short cup of coffee in Philadelphia back in his rookie season of 1987 when he was the team’s punter for one game.

Others: Joseph Kresky, Davey O’Brien, Tom Skladany, and Dean May.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM, and every Monday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportMap Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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