Actually he's over-rated, because the hype for years had him identified with the level of play seen now, which has always only been part of it. He's streaky and only got going after having his ego deflated with the benching. He was always coddled and too damn comfortable in philly, needed a fire lit under his complacent ass.
Don't know about self-preservation, the fact is that his coach has always been overly-protective, which is exactly why McNabb was so shocked by the benching after all the years of favoritism.