Kevin Kolb And Pass Offense Finish Strong In OTA’s

There are a lot of things written and talked about concerning the Eagles, but the most important story about the Eagles is the development of young quarterback Kevin Kolb.

The trade of Donovan McNabb won’t be decided by the play of McNabb in Washington or the play of rookie safety Nate Allen who was drafted with the Eagles second round pick.

It will ultimately be decided by the play of Kolb.  If he turns out to be a great quarterback, no one will care that the Eagles traded McNabb or what they got for him.  The same is true if he doesn’t pan out.

It’s all about Kolb, his immediate play and his development.

As I have written here in early post, he struggled in the immediate camp after the draft and he wasn’t consistent in the rookie OTA’s, but he got into a rhythm during the recent OTA’s which involved the entire team and the third-year quarterback was impressive.

At times, he looked a machine back there in his three, five and seven step drops with the ball coming out there on the money.  He and his receivers got it going at times and looked like a good watch in operation.  They were connecting play after play.

Kolb was doing what the Eagles front office predicted which is hit his receivers in stride, so that they can catch the football and do something with it after it hits their hands.  He was especially impressive with those ten to twenty-yard throws.

He loves to work the middle of the field at short, intermediate and deep distances.  I would say this is the strength of his game at the moment.   You’re going to see a lot of completions over the middle to tight end Brent Celek and the wide receivers.

This young passer has shown time after time that he can get the ball to his receivers in some very tight areas.  This will be a tremendous asset as long as he doesn’t take it too far.

His short and compact throwing motion will serve him well.¬† I know I’ve said it before but his passing motion makes me think of Chase Utley’s hitting stroke, short and compact with no wasted motion.

Kolb was also effective throwing ball on short out routes and those intermediate outs.  He can’t be careless with those outside throws because he doesn’t have monster arm strength.  Those outs routes take a while to get there and if picked off turn into easy touchdowns for the defense.

If Kolb can stay away from interceptions he should have a good year.  This will mean not turning into Brett Favre when it comes to attempting too many tough throws.  Having confidence in his throwing ability is one thing but throwing the ball up for grabs in another.

The new Eagles starting quarterback also showed he is able to get the ball deep to DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, but he  lets it go earlier than McNabb did.

Many times he throws it before the receivers have created separation from the defender, so it will be vital that he makes good decisions and is careful about when to throw it and when not to throw it.  Throwing the ball early is great when the passes are completed but it means taking more chances and being more vulnerable to throwing interceptions.

This young man has the ability to be a good quarterback but it’s all going to come down to whether he can stay away from the harmful and costly interceptions.  He will have great throws for big plays and touchdowns but he must stay away from the picks.

I also doesn’t want to see him trying to be Superman with the scrambling because he’s not going to be running away from anybody in the NFL.¬† He must take what’s there, then throw the ball away.