The old Donovan McNabb
is back, and he might have baseball to thank.
The quarterback, feeling only a few lingering effects of a season-ending ACL injury 18 months ago, smiled and joked with reporters at the NovaCare Complex after Tuesday's initial Organized Team Activity (OTA).
McNabb, taking his usual starting job behind center, threw passes to about 20 different wide receivers, tight ends and running backs, and he said it felt like he was back to normal.
He credits a new offseason training program led by Brett Fischer – who works extensively with Major League pitchers – for his comfort.
"At this particular point, the excitement has built up a little bit more," McNabb said. "And any time you go through months of training, pushing yourself and readjusting your workout plan every year to challenge yourself and you come back into camp to test things out, it feels great."
QB Donovan McNabb spent time with MLB pitcher Randy Johnson's trainer
McNabb worked with Fischer in Arizona during the offseason with a throwing program, which concentrated on using his legs for balance and stability. It's a method that Fischer has used on pitchers for years.
"I felt that early on last year, I used a lot of upper body instead of using my legs," McNabb said. "Now knowing how the whole body feels, it's kind of just (like) coming off the mound."
McNabb mentioned five-time Cy Young award-winner Randy Johnson as one of Fischer's most notable clients.
"He's still throwing 97 miles an hour, at 40-some years old, so clearly something's working," he said. "Not saying I'm 40 or feel 40."
McNabb said that he still has confidence in his legs and the scrambling ability that has made him one of the NFL's most feared signal-callers since he entered the league in 1999. But he also said that, as a veteran, he has become wiser.
He even cracked that trademark smile when a reporter included him in a list of the Eagles' fastest players.
"When you get older in this game, you learn more and more each year. And it's not about running and doing all that," McNabb said. "But now that I feel like I have my legs back under me, if (the play) calls for me to do that, then I'll do that and I know that I can get away from people.
"But as the experience kind of builds, you sit in the pocket a little longer, work through your reads, have that confidence in the guys up front that they'll hold their blocks and you can get it to the open guy."
