Jeff Garcia questions Donovan McNabb’s work ethic

Donovan McNabb was one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL during his prime with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was a six-time Pro Bowler who led the Eagles to a whopping five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl during his 11-year career in Philly. If McNabb focused more and tried a bit harder, Jeff Garcia says he could have been even better.

Garcia, who served as a backup for McNabb in 2006 and 2009, questioned his former teammate’s work ethic during an appearance with Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow on 94WIP this week.

“Donovan had a great career, and had a great career there in Philadelphia,” Garcia said, via NJ.com. “Not to take away from anything that Donovan did, but I think that Donovan, I believe, could have been so much greater if he did have a better understanding at times. If he did put more time and effort into what he needed to do every day of the week leading up to game day in order to be the best he could be.”

Garcia also stopped barely short of saying he ran the Eagles’ offense better than McNabb in 2006, when McNabb was injured and Garcia played in eight games.

“I know that when I stepped into the huddle with that [’06 Eagles] team, I think there was probably a greater confidence in me from the standpoint of my understanding of the system because of how I was able to speak it, because of how I was able to operate it,” he said. “It was just different than how Donovan operated it.”

The Eagles were never able to win the big game with McNabb under center despite reaching the NFC Championship game five times. Some Philly fans have blamed Andy Reid for that while others blame McNabb. Either way, McNabb feels he is Hall of Fame worthy and thinks he is the most highly-criticized quarterback in NFL history. Two years removed from the game, and it would seem Garcia is doing his best to keep that going.