The way to defend Donovan McNabb these days is painfully obvious.

Get to him early, get to him often and above all – get to him late.

McNabb takes so long to warm up and then tires so noticeably in the second halves even mortal players bring him down without much trouble.

The reconstructed knee is only part of the problem.

McNabb still doesn’t get rid of the ball fast enough. This is most noticeable when the opposition is packing the field in the red zone and there’s nowhere near as much field to defend.

The Jets obviously studied tape of the Eagles’ loss to the Giants for they dropped McNabb three times Sunday. Three sacks is not nearly as bad as giving up a dozen sacks as the Birds surrendered to the Giants. But 3 sacks doubled – yes, doubled - the season-total of their anemic pass rush entering the game.

Unless the Chicago Bears are brain dead McNabb will see components of that pressure again, although the visitors also like to play the Tampa Bay cover-2 zone.

If he doesn’t start making faster decisions he’s going to find himself and his still not 100 percent right knee tiring in the second quarter.