So, quick show of hands: who still wants A.J. Feeley as the Eagles starting quarterback? Yeah, didn't think I'd see many hands (I'm guessing very few, if any of you would have raised your hand if we were in the same room).

I very rarely break out the "I told you so," but I've been a Donovan McNabb guy all the way and have told anyone who will listen to me that McNabb is the best quarterback the Eagles have had and any success without him should be credited to Brian Westbrook and the running game.

Now, all of my readers don't deserve this "I told you so." If you have been in McNabb's corner the last nine years, read this column and say "Yeah! Right on Fleishman!" If you have been rooting for anyone but number 5 to lead the Birds, read the rest of this column and learn some loyalty for crying out loud!

I get it; everyone loves the backup quarterback when they see what they can do in limited minutes. But let's all get real here, A.J. Feeley was the backup quarterback for a reason. He failed as a starter in Miami, and never even saw the field in San Diego.

The reason everyone wanted him to start last year was because of his 4-1 record in 2002 when he filled in for McNabb and Koy Detmer. I'll be completely honest with you, he wasn't good in 2002 (the defense allowed just 11 points per game in his five starts) and he's not good in 2007.

More importantly, where were all of these proFeeley fans when Jeff Garcia led the Eagles to the playoffs? I know you all were there when Garcia and the Eagles got crushed by the Colts last year, but after that I didn't hear any more calls for A.J.

So now that Feeley has thrown seven interceptions in his two starts, while McNabb threw just six picks in 10 starts, can we all agree that the best chance the Eagles have is with number 5 at the helm?

Now I'm not oblivious to the fact that McNabb has missed games in four of the last six seasons. I agree that a solid backup quarterback is needed for this team, but let's support the quarterback who led us to four straight division titles, and to the playoffs five straight seasons.

Everyone knows that the NFL really stands for "Not For Long" and we live in a "What have you done for me lately?" time, so you can say he hasn't led us to a division title since 2004, but let's examine what McNabb has done recently.

Last year when everyone started ripping on Donovan McNabb, he happened to post the second best passer rating of his career (95.5). That 95.5 was good enough for fourth best in the NFL. John Elway never had a passer rating that high. 95.5 is better than any passer rating Tom Brady has posted until this season.

Even this year, McNabb has 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. His passer rating is 87.3, which is BETTER than his career rating of 85.4.

Could it possibly be that the man so many Eagles fans want run out of town is actually getting better with age?

Let's think about this rationally.

First off, McNabb isn't old. He's 31. In fact, A.J. Feeley is just six months younger than McNabb! Secondly, did the Eagles waste Donovan McNabb's talent by giving him just 1.5 seasons with a star wide receiver? Yes. Should the Eagles go out and get a star wide receiver to help McNabb and Brian Westbrook? Of course.

Finally, before giving up on McNabb's career with the Eagles, shouldn't we wait to see how he does next year when he is fully recovered from his knee injury? Obviously we should!

I want to make this last point clear. McNabb isn't perfect. But after seeing Lofa Tatupu become Feeley's favorite receiver, and seeing Jeff Garcia get hurt mid-way through the season (because he's actually old and can't make it through a full season just like the Eagles thought), shouldn't we support the best quarterback ever to wear Eagle Green?