McNabb plays the race card

Donovan McNabb, who referred to wide receiver Kevin Curtis as "White Lightning" when introducing the starting lineup on Monday Night Football, is at it again. He told Bryant Gumble on Real Sports that "There's not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little extra." When asked about Manning, Brady, and Palmer, he said "Let me start by saying I love those guys. But they don't get criticized as much as we do. They don't."

Do they really? Mark Brunell was savaged in Washington over the last three years, while fans and those in the press called for Jason Campbell. Raiders beat writers are already calling for Daunte Culpepper or JaMarcus Russell to start over Josh McCown. Falcons beat writers are excited about the possibility of starting newly signed Byron Leftwich over Joey Harrington or Chris Redman. I'm personally leading the charge for Miami to start Cleo Lemon over Trent Green, and I imagine the Miami Herald will jump on that bandwagon soon. Last year, many people thought the Steelers should have started Charlie Batch over Roethlisberger after the motorcycle accident.

But with McNabb setting off this debate, Vikings coach Brad Childress will be in the crosshairs if he sits the struggling Travaris Jackson for the less than immortal Kelly Holcomb. Jackson threw four picks last week in an overtime loss. As a 2nd round pick from tiny Alabama State he shouldn't be starting in his second season on a team with a strong enough defense and running game to make some noise in the playoffs. Giving him some time to sit and watch would help him and the team, but thanks to McNabb it would create an additional distraction to the team.