Still, he didn't or couldn't bring himself to say McNabb was out.
"I think [McNabb] will struggle to practice this week, but we'll see how that goes," said Reid, who added another quarterback, former Eagle Jeff Garcia, to the roster yesterday. "We've seen him [not practice, but play] before and have some pretty good games."
You hope Reid is just saying that as a bit of gamesmanship, to make Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams think for as long as possible that he has to game-plan for McNabb.
But when you hear a coach say that a broken rib is not an injury that can get worse and that the potential for a punctured lung is not a concern "right now," you tend to wonder if somehow Reid is thinking McNabb might be able to go on Sunday.
And let's not kid ourselves, because
we've seen Reid give into McNabb's "linebacker mentality" before when dealing with injuries.
In 2002, McNabb fractured his ankle in the first half of a game against the Arizona Cardinals and still played the second half. He missed the last six games of the regular season but came back to play in the playoffs when he wasn't yet 100 percent.
In 2005, McNabb was diagnosed with a sports hernia after the third game.
The Eagles had the option for McNabb to have surgery and a possible late-season return or have him play for as long as he could tolerate the pain. McNabb started the first nine games before he was shut down for the season.
To be fair, McNabb was immediately ruled out when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on Nov. 19, 2006, missing the final six games, and he sat for two games after he injured his ankle and thumb in 2007.
Playing through pain is just part of the culture of playing football. Most players are taught that from when they first pick up a ball in peewee football.
