Really Donovan? You’re going there? Your using the race card… even though this means that OJ might not be able to use it to het himself out of jail? That’s just selfish… and that’s just an awful cop out. Awful… just awful.

Before I even get into this, I’m gonna let Donovan drop some knowledge on you:

“There’s not that many African American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra,” McNabb told HBO’s James Brown in the program that aired Tuesday night. “Because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn’t want us to play … is low, so we do a little extra.”

When Brown asked McNabb whether the media treads more lightly on white starters such as the Bengals’ Carson Palmer or the Colts’ Peyton Manning, McNabb said, “Let me start by saying I love those guys. But they don’t get criticized as much as we do. They don’t.”

Okay, so let’s start with point number one Donovan makes: “There’s not many African American quarterbacks”. Okay, well, there’s not many white running backs, wide receivers or cornerbacks. Do all the honkies out there get to say that maybe white players are treated unfairly in those positions… are they “playing this position, which people didn’t want us to play”?

How about Chad Pennington, whose departure from the field due to injury received cheers from hometown fans. Then there’s Doug Flutie who was too everything to play quarterback. Let’s face two things. Donovan gets tough treatment for the following reasons:

• He’s not the prototypical QB, not because of race, but becasue he’s not 6′5″
• Philly fans are ruthless. He was of course booed before he ever took a practice snap by Eagles fans
• QB is the one position where wins and championships are the keys to being successful (Think back to Peyton Manning who, before winning the Super Bowl last year, was considered to be lesser of a QB for never having won the “big one”)

And, hey, maybe I’m wrong, but I hate it when race is thrown out there as if there was no other possible reason for Donovan McNabb to be criticized. I’ll be the first one to admit that we still live in a very racist country, but that doesn’t mean it’s an answer or excuse for every situation. Let’s think about QBs like Joey Harrington, or even Alex Smith before you play the card:

Apparently, McNabb is unaware of the how closely Alex Smith’s play is being picked apart in his third season as the 49ers’ starter, despite the team’s 2-0 record. How three-and-outs and handoffs to Frank Gore are interpreted as alarming regression, rather than a product of overly conservative “play not to lose” game plans conceived by coach Mike Nolan and rookie offensive coordinator Jim Hostler.

McNabb probably hasn’t checked with Steve Young, who once received bags full of hate mail from Joe Montana loyalists for doing nothing more than replacing an injured legend as the 49ers’ starter.

And Kerry Collins? He was routinely hammered by fans and media as a starter for Carolina, the Giants and Oakland. Joey Harrington claims to have received death threats during his ill-fated days as the Lions’ starting quarterback. Bears starter Rex Grossman was skewered during Super Bowl week in February. Chad Pennington’s many injuries often are rallying cries for vocal Jets followers.

So for rudely, selfishly, and ignorantly playing the race card, I would really love to put off the seals for a day or two and club Mr. McNabb in their stead.

• Black QB or white, scrutiny is equally thorough (San Francisco Chronicle)