A number of years ago, a phenomenal athlete came out of college as a can’t miss prospect because of his out of this world athletic ability. He was a quarterback with the speed and ball carrying skills of a star running back.
First he was given $40 million dollars to carry a league, but the league folded. He was then acquired by an NFL team with another multi-million dollar contract and promoted to be the savior of the franchise. He led them to consecutive 2-14 seasons and threw only 11 touchdowns during that time, while surrendering 21 interceptions and completing only 55% of his passes.
The former phenom was classified as a “major bust” and given away to a team led by a noted head coach and quarterback guru, who had marveled at the potential of this quarterback protege.
The team which acquired him already had a franchise quarterback, but the head coach and quarterback guru felt he could correct his fundamentals, teach him how to work through his progression of receivers and ultimately make him a superstar quarterback.
At the age of 30 in 1991, that former left-handed athletic quarterback, Steve Young, who had been classified as a bust, took over for Joe Montana in San Francisco and went on to become a two-time league MVP and Hall of Famer, while leading the 49ers to an NFL title.
Vick could follow in Young’s footsteps as another phenomenally talented left-handed quarterback who resurrects his career. I don’t think there’s any question that Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg see some Steve Young in Michael Vick. After all Mornhinweg worked with Young while he was in San Francisco.
Vick has a stronger arm than Young ever had and like young he runs with the ball well enough to be a halfback in the league.
Nobody would have taken the Eagles coaching staff seriously when they signed Vick, if they had told them what they they thought they could do with Vick. But, the same thing was said about Bill Walsh and the Niners when they signed Steve Young. People were saying why would they do that with a guy like Montana on the roster.
Any educated football person would have to admit that Vick has made a great deal of progress since he joined the Eagles.
First they had to get Vick in shape and he’s done that. He has lost about ten pounds from a year ago and he’s got his jets back.
They’ve been working with Vick on his footwork. Many times a scrambling quarterback doesn’t set his feet properly when throwing the ball. He’ll start to run then decide to throw the ball without resetting his feet. A quarterback’s feet are set one way when he’s going to run, but they have to be repositioned to throw.
They’ve convinced Vick stay in the pocket and give each route a chance. Notice that Vick is able to stay in there much more and deliver the ball to his receivers. They’ve worked with him on going through his progressions on each play. He does it over and over and over.
They’ve worked with him to develop his touch on shorter routes. He gotten much better in that area. The work on his footwork has improved his accuracy, but he still has a ways to go.
On Sunday he made great throws to all of his receivers and he hasn’t uncorked a long one to DeSean Jackson, yet. He read the defensive coverages and got to ball toJackson on a key third down conversion. One of his throws to Jackson was a frozen rope on an out route that displayed arm strength not commonly seen in the league.
He hit Jason Avant across the middle a couple of times with accurate throws against tight coverage. He put the ball where only Avant could catch it.
You can’t make a better thrown than the one he made to to tight end Brent Celek down the middle against two-deep coverage. There were three guys converging and he threw it perfectly. Celek said he didn’t even get hit because the pass was placed so well.
Vick is reading coverages quicker and better before getting the ball to his open receivers. Say what you want about Vick and his previous time in the NFL, he is learning the west coast offense, making progress and developing as a quarterback.
Think about how he brought the Eagles back in that game by utilizing his arm and his legs. The Eagles coaches and players all saw what Vick can do when given the chance. One would have to believe that he’s only going to get better as he plays mare often.
I know you hear that Vick is ancient and Kolb is a spring chicken, but the truth of the matter is there’s only four years separating them. Kolb is 26 and Vick is 30. The Eagles are going to have a decision to make the rest of the season and this off season as well.
If they can get Kolb straightened out and going in the right direction, they’ll say good-bye to Michael Vick because his contract is up. If they can’t get Kolb straightened out, Vick may be the guy that leads the Eagles for the next five or six years.
They have the rest of this season to make a decision. Should they go with Vick or go with Kolb? What a difference a game makes.
I have no faith in this coaching staff to do anything. They cant even figure out how to use time outs , or get 1 yard.
thanx G im loving where this article is going
i know which guys arent gonna like this 1 already lol
They can’t trade Michael Vick, because his contract expires after this year. Only some odd eventual CBA could possibly change that. The Eagles would have to do a sign and trade. Even considering all of those things it’s far more likely that Kolb is a bust which a lot of people, including myself believe.
Just purely based on the fact that the Eagles have to cut out most of the deep routes and out routes with Kolb and they can keep all of the playbook while Vick is in and the fact that they want use the Wildcat with Vick primarily to show defenses that they have access to deep routes as well as running from the QB spot should say a lot to the coaching staff about the limiting factors Kolb places on the team. With Vick throwing a lot of those low passes in traffic that were caught that alone says a lot about his development even just in the last couple of weeks where he would have thrown a high ball before and possibly got it intercepted on a miscue. The comparison to Young is feels eerily close to the mark for this Michael Vick version 2.0 story.
PhillyWill, Shut up already.
I’m down for having Vick as our starting QB. Always have been — it’s his off the field attitude and “friends” that I’m not too sure about. If Vick becomes the franchise QB and then gets in trouble again, we’re screwed.
I feel bad for Kolb but if Vick shows that he can lead the team, just let him do it.
BTW, Vick’s second half of football was one of the best halves of football I’ve seen a Philadelphia QB play against a LEGIT defense in years.
The other issue that is as much a determining factor for the outcome of this QB controversy as anything else is “Locker Room Psychology” right now I’m sure there are fissures developing in the foundation of respect Kolb has with the offense. With the way Samuel chest bumped Vick after his first TD it’s clear to me that probably more defensive players are supporting the idea Vick being named the starter immediately. Even with the friendship and the respect Kolb has built for himself among offensive players there’s no NFL player that will buy into the idea that the best guy, at any position, shouldn’t be playing for any reason. Kolb failed his concussion test which means that it’s likely that Vick will start against the Lions. If that should happen and the Eagles have a good game, the locker room is only going to give Kolb two games to get exceptional…after Reid can’t expect much in the way of support if he wants to try to develop Kolb through the regular season.
Even Celek is wavering talking about the team “…We were just coming together more.” with Vick in. Kolb has two games.
No comparison to Steve Young who had the ability early in his career to read coverages and have some touch on his passes that Vick has still has not mastered..(it also helped that S Young received better QB Coaching in COllege and early in his carrer as opposed to Vick)
But in the Eagle Offense and especially with the way this O/Line is playing, Vick will have the opportunity to make lots of plays with his legs and some big plays with his arm..
I guess we can hope that McCoy can be the next Gayle Sayres and J Avant the next Paul Warfield,
and B Celek the next Dave Casper and J Maclin the next J Rice and so on and so on,
Vick will be the Starter this week in perhaps the biggest game of the season for the Eagles who are in a must win situation I believe, if they want to remain competitive for 2010 Season
I will be pulling for him and the Eagles for they cannot afford to start the Season 0-2 with such a young and fragile team..
You are talking about a coaching staff that had 8 months to prepare for the 1st game, and had their team come out on the fist play and line up in an illegal formation.
I agree with ozzman, I have no faith in our coaching staff, none at all.
Steve Young as athletic n SF because he was taking advantage of what the defense was giving him, and putting pressure on that defense. While equally as athletic, Michael Vick was athletic last week because he was teamed with an offensive line that cannot protect him, he HAD to run or he would have had a concussion like Kolb. It was a nice comparison G, but there are big differences between this Eagles team and the SF team that Young inherited from Montana.
Also failed to mentioned that Steve Young receivd great coaching from Bill Walsh
while Vick is getting his from MM & AR , so the comparison needs to stop right there..
With the current state of the o-line and Kolb not showing good progression Vick gives you the best chance now to win a lot of games and get back in the playoffs. With a QB like him, you never know how far you can go because of his legs. That just changes the game. And with him you don’t lose the ability for big throws down the field either. He can flick his wrist and the ball will go 40 yards. We would be much more explosive with him back there. That’s not a slight against Kolb, it’s just the truth. I’d rather watch all that speed on the field making plays and winning games than see Kolb get killed back there. That could actually be worse for Kolb in the long run. We will see but if Vick plays well against Detroit, we win and Kolb comes back against the Jags and we lose, Kolb will be greeted by a bunch of boos going against McNabb and the skins. And if he starts stinking it up against McNabb then he’s really going to hear it. The best thing for Kolb may be not to play the next couple weeks until he’s fully healed. I just don’t want to see him get hurt again and he will behind this o-line.
This is an interesting topic. I noticed that Vick didn’t play like his normal self against the Packers. He threw some nice touch passes, especially the one to Celek. I had hoped that he would come here and be taught how to play as an NFL QB, but based on his pre-season, I didn’t think it was happening. Then came Sunday. I hope it continues.
birdo whatver ur name is
no need to take offense i wasnt talkin about u i have never read a post from u ever so if u feel guilty then thats on u lmao
pman is 1 of the guys i was talking about and u can see in his comments i already knew whay he would say
hey pman sf 49ers ur lock for sunday was like the 1 blowout of opening day
told u seattle was much improved
Paulman flip flops more than anyone but that’s because he can admit that his original assessment was incorrect. I can respect. Some of the other schmucks on here will act like they were right from the gate. Birdo claims he’s right with everything so def don’t pay his post any mind.
Yesssss! Thanks G. This has been the best article that you and your staff have written since our poor loss and the resurrection of Vick. The guy is a natural beast! he gives us the best chance of winning. Kolb is finished (give him the clipboard and let him take more lessons), sit his a– on the bench. true eagles fans would rather win than let their personal hatred toward an athlete because a personal issue cloud their true judgement. “KOLB IS NOT THE GREAT HOPE, GET OVER IT ALREADY”. the time to win is now. Hell, even if we don’t make it to the playoffs etc, at least we get to see a dynamic athlete put on one a hell of a show and giving it his best in rallying the troops for a push at a postseason showdown! When Vick stepped in, the whole teams confidence skyrocketed. The time is now. Great article G, I know you really know what it will take for us to win. Even Warren Sapp picked vicked to lead our troops while the other soft panzy commentators choked on the whole “let Kolb grow and lose while growing at the same time”. PURE CRAP. Any coach would sense would put his best player in. You never see an MLB Manager keep his highest paid player/pitcher on the mound if he’s screwin up, he takes him out and sits his a– on the bench; next man in. Lets go for it all now.
its just some dudes pman’s gonna hate regardless
mike vick allen iverson TO Ochocinco guys with alot of swagger lol
guys who wear platinum chains he hates em hahaha
What would Buddy Ryan say or do in a situation Like this?
Well…Buddy Ryan wouldn’t have traded McNabb first of all. Then to get more hypothetical, if somehow the brass traded McNabb without his input, Ryan would have never named Kolb the defacto starter with Michael Vick on the team and not allowed an open competition environment to develop at summer camp. Buddy Ryan like so many other winning coaches has a “Prove it…” attitude, he was never a guy that believed in hypothetical, “Unproven Greatness from Within.”
Anyone remember that it was Bill Walsh that told AR about Kolb?
PW- swagger or hype? how many of those guys have championships, TO with SF?
who cares
how many guys yall love got chips
bdawk bwest sheldon brown j trotter hugh douglas ike reese
please charles barkley so what them dudes can all play
This is hilarious – G tells the story of Young, who was dismissed as a bust early in his career, after playing MUCH MORE than Kolb has of yet, and then he went on to be a great QB with a lot of success. The story there is, that if you declare a guy a bust too early, that’s probably a dumb move because he could develop into QB gold later. And you guys see this as an endorsement of VICK? How about a lesson that we’re all judging Kolb way to much already – sure, he has looked bad so far this year, but he HASN’T PLAYED A WHOLE FRICKIN GAME YET.
Gobb was shaky as it was
The concussion isn’t going to help any with his confidence
Like I posted elsewhere, I have no allegiance to Vick or Kolb yet, I just want the team to succeed. But i know that it’s still too early to close the book on Kolb – I’m sure of that – and I know that Vick still has major ego issues that could blow up and he’s never played will in big games – sounds like Donovan to me.
Steve Young is just the highest rated passer of all time. This is the silliest article ever written. If Steve were to read this he would probably punch G in the nose.
Yea, agree with PM to quit making comparisons between Vick and Young. But G’s point highlighting that Kolb is no spring chicken (at 26)… and frankly at his age, fundamentals and reading should have been learned… I’ll say it again – only 2 quarters, can’t classify him as a bust, but if you look at the exhibition season (no TD’s… I think) and 2 quarters Sunday – he ain’t goin’ in the right direction. And with the way the line is going, like it or not Vick improves the P(w) by playing.
I give Kolb 4 more starts. By then you know.
Either way, I don’t play Vick unless Kolb is hurt. Why? I don’t want to go 8-8.. or hell ever 10-6. The whole point is to win a superbowl. You’re not going to win this year with either, and next year Vick is gone (thank god). I’d much rather go 3-13 and find out Kolb sucks so you can move on than to stick Vick in and be medicore and then not even have the high pick for a QB if you want one.
PW–both ocho and TO lost this weekend too. Are you looking for wins or entertainment?
Go by Showtime for entertainment, I want players that will help my team win. Take all the other crap and sell it to MTV.
I’m almost happy if Kolb sucks. At least you know. It’d be worse if he was up and down like say Alex Smith so the team sinks more time into him thinking he’ll improve but never does.
what eagle players fit this mold greenfan i dont know im from philly as well i havent seen any chips pass by recently maybe i dont know what im talikn about lol
hey green guys u like lost this weekend too
how much did kolb hlep out lmao
this will be the most talented 5-11 team ever
this will be a 5-11 team who with a qb probably would go 11-5
im loving every minute of this hope andy is gone by week 10
i know thats wishful thinking but u guys wish a whole lot on here
“i wish kolb were good, i wish he were better than d5, i wish he were just better than hoying” very sad its all wishful thinking i’ll tell u what bring the chiefs to the linc and feel good about urselves again
i live here too PW, so quite your barkin’
you are all over the place today, your posts sound like a crazyman talking to himself
To PW,
I am curious why you keep referring to this Eagle team as being one of the most talented in the NFL I think it’s slightly above Average..
Offense
The WR corp is pretty good, but not in the top 6-8 of the NFC Conference
The RB corp is average at best and not in the top 6-8 of the NFC Confernce
The O-Line is in the bottom half of the NFC Conference
The TE postion is 1 man deep, while most teams have 2 solid TE’s (something happens to Celek..)
The QB position is Kolb/Vick/Kafka – Surely in the bottom half of the NFC
Now for Defense
The Safety Position is improved from poor to pretty good because of N Allen
The CB is Average at best with Hobbs being a starter when he’s really a Nickle Back at best
The LB Corp (ouside of Bradley) is unproven,and very young and again in the botoom half of the Conference
The DL is probably the strongest area for the team and has very good DE’s but average DT’s
The Kicker and Punter are very good and the Special Teams Coverage units are very poor
I am no math major but when I look at the talent level on the entire team (and forget about play calling,clock managment,game-time adjustments from the Coaching staff)
I just see an average team no matter who is QB or even if D McNabb was the QB this season..
What am I missing that I don’t see all of this top talent that you do…
Teams in the NFC that Desperation is already setting in and face a must win for Week 2
due to being over-hyped and having too high of expectations of themselves
List of 0-1 teams that Panick has set-in and whichever teams on this list goes 0-2 is probably on the outside looking in as far making the playoffs are concerned, and could possibly splinter the make-up of the team, and spiral into a terrible season (plus NFL Fox would have a cow too)
#1) Vikings
#2) Cowboys
#3) 49ers
#4) Eagles
Teams that are 0-1 and could really use a win but are not panicking about it yet
#1) Falcons
#2) Panthers
#3) Lions
#4) Rams
Teams that have a chance of going 2-0 that no one could see coming and could put themselves in a good position starting out the season for a playoff run
#1) Buc’s
#2) Seahawks
#3) Bears
#4) Redskins
The race is on, and this week we will see some desperate play by some teams who are in trouble if they lose again this week….
Paulman, I usually am against PW so take that into account.
PW is way closer to the truth than you are on talent. When people discuss talent in regards to NFL teams, they’re talking about do they have telented skill players. Not depth. Celek is viewed as on of the top TEs in the league, due to his stellar play over the last few seasons. That’s talent at the TE position – depth is an entirely different question. Desean Jackson’s name is synonymous, Maclin (despite local feelings) is seen nationally as a guy who had an impressive rookie year and shows speed, good route running and elusiveness – he does have talent. Avant is seen as one of the more talented possession receivers in the league. You are crazy if you think we don’t have telent at the skill positions. OL is never considered a skill position so why did you include that? And Kolb and Vick are considered to be very talented around the league (I’m talking reputation, not how they played V. Greenbay). And McCoy broke the rookie rushing record for Philly last year.
When people talk talent and the eagles, they talk skill positions on offense, – WR, TE RB. (and maybe QB). Philly will was correct there.
Paul Mancini aka paulman – i love what everyone has to say and reading opinions (and i have for a long time without posting), i dont question anyones knowledge or passion…but there is a title/topic for a reason maybe stick to it?
yes like thats fine pman if u’d like to downplay our talent here for ur own personal reasons but if u watch any channel espn nfl network local sports channels, when the philadelphial eagles are mentioned talent is the next word. this team has plenty of talent now if we can put it together seemd to be the question but the d has talent as well i mean shit u trying to tell me newengland d has more talent or just a better scheme
im talking talent so maybe we need to adjust our schemes
and pman if u read my post i said the most talented 5-11 team ever
“G” where do you get this stuff? what a great parallel…..This could be a great story if Vick who lost it all come back a better QB and lead this team to a Superbowl and I believe he can do it…The players elevate their game while he’s playing..We can get Mawae and make a run and this is a perfect opportunity with a suspect NFC east.
Schill…we are against Kolb starting because given opportunity he have shown he’s not a NFL quarterback…Why are you so adamant about this guy when there’s a better player on the team who the players respect and plays hard for?
kolb is pure “butt”……he a molestation waiting to happen
Are you kidding me? Who in they’re right mind think that Vick could ever be as good as Steve Young? Vick can run like the wind but he’ll never have Young’s passing skills. Young, a very good running QB by every measure, was a pass first run second QB. Vick never has and never will be that despite his new coaching. You can’t teach a QB that has run first since pee wee to pass first at the age of 30. Funny how these writers are slashing the Eagles coaches for Kolb’s failures thus far are more than willing to credit those same coaches for their ability to teach Vick to become a pass first QB. Come on, you can’t have it both ways.
Songs, I’m not for kolb. I’m not a kolb fan, I think its stupid to close the door too early. And I do not believe that vick can lead a team to the superbowl. And mawae is retired and not willing to sign with an nfl team. The players are behind both qbs and its well documented so stop trying to skew the facts. Look at the steve young story, they wrote him off too early, and how did that work out?