Donovan McNabb is another version of Kordell Stewart

Hey Philly fans, what is 41.4? No, sorry, you wish it was Allen Iverson’s shooting… Hey Philly fans, what is 41.4? No, sorry, you wish it was Allen Iverson’s shooting percentage, but we all know that’s way too high for him. Actually, 41.4 is Donovan McNabb’s quarterback rating.

For the past three years, I have been saying McNabb was nothing more than another Kordell Stewart, and McNabb’s terrible start has given me another opportunity to make the comparison. Let’s take a look, shall we?

I will skip the obvious similarities that both are mobile quarterbacks that can make plays with both their legs and their arm, and I will also ignore the fact that both made their mark on the National Football League in Pennsylvania.

Anyway, both quarterbacks have led their team to two conference championship games, and both teams lost those respective games. Stewart, however, has been to a third conference championship game and won it, earning a chance to play in the Super Bowl; it does not matter that Stewart was a wide receiver at the time.

OK, so both of them have a tendency to choke in big games, but how are they doing this season? Well, both teams, the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles, are 0-2 and have struggled on offense. The Bears have scored 20 points this season, while the Eagles scored only 10.

However, the Bears and Stewart did not have the expectations of the Eagles and McNabb. Many experts predicted the Eagles would be Super Bowl winners, or at least conference champions. The Bears were predicted to finish third or fourth in their division, sometimes predicted to finish ahead of the Detroit Lions.

How bad are McNabb’s numbers? In two games, McNabb is 31 for 82 for 334 yards passing with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. Steelers starting quarterback Tommy Maddox compiled more numbers on Sunday than McNabb had all year. Maddox went 28 for 47 for 336 passing yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions in the Steelers’ 41-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Stewart has even put up comparable numbers to McNabb’s, this season, going 27 for 55 for 232 passing yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions, giving Stewart a quarterback rating of 50.0.

I realize it has only been two games, and it is a long season, but right now, who is playing better on a worse team? Anyone who watched the games the past two weeks knows that the answer is Kordell Stewart.

Elsewhere in the NFL, Ravens’ running back Jamal Lewis broke Corey Dillon’s single game rushing record of 278 yards, by running for 295 yards in the Raven’s 33-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Good for him. I am a Steelers’ fan and basically couldn’t care less about this event, except for one detail that made me respect the feat more than anything. Lewis said he was going to do it earlier this week.

During a phone call with Cleveland Browns’ linebacker Andra Davis earlier in the week, Lewis said he would break the record if given 30 carries, which was twice as many as he had against the Steelers in week one. Lewis’ final statistics: 30 carries for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

Does anybody, at this point, care about Maurice Clarett? The former/current Ohio State running back has made more news off the field then any player has this season on the field.

If I can make a plea to ESPN, it would be this: only cover people who actually play. No one cares about Clarett at this point. I would not even mind if they showed the two billionth promo for “Playmakers” instead. I am sure even people in Columbus, Ohio are tired of this; keep Clarett off my screen.

However, I have an idea for ESPN, if they insist on shoving Clarett and “Playmakers” down viewers throats: wait until Clarett is officially done with college football and cannot enter the NFL, and do the next best thing – cast him in ‘”Playmakers.” Bring him in as a late round pick who can compete against “D.H.” next season.

Hell, you can use some of his actual stories in the script, this would give ESPN an opportunity to combine coverage and promos of both into one. When will ESPN learn that too much of a good thing makes it bad?

Matt Miloszewski is a columnist for The Pitt News and is sick of “Playmakers,” Maurice Clarett and Philly fans talking up an overrated Donovan McNabb.