He looked like everything the Eagles had hoped for when he led the Birds over the Kansas City Chiefs and he showed some of the same potential when he threw for over 300 yards against the New Orleans Saints.
Now after the debacle against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, all of that seems so long ago.
I remember checking out Kevin Kolb in practice during his final apprentice year behind Donovan McNabb and he would make precision throws in practice that would amaze me. He had that quick, short throwing stroke that allowed him to give rid of the football in an instant.
Kolb processed the information then nearly instantly got the ball out of his hand in the practice workouts and most of the time, it was on the money.
I wasn’t in there with them, but I’m told that Kolb was brilliant in the classroom. He studied the game plans each week and knew them inside out, which allowed him to gain the confidence of his young teammates by talking over the pass routes when they came to the sidelines during the games.
Many times he sliced up the Eagles defense in red zone drills on Fridays during the season. At times, the first offense with McNabb at the helm would struggle through their Eagles red zone period against the defensive backups, then Kolb would get in there with the offensive scout team and light up the Birds number one defense.
His confidence grew while his teammates and coaches saw what he was capable of doing.
Despite his exploits at practice, Andy Reid was unconvinced. He wasn’t going to be foolish enough to believe that running the offense in seven-on-seven workouts in shorts or with that red “Don’t hit the quarterback” jersey was proof that Kolb could run the offense against a good defense.
Kolb was shaky in Baltimore when McNabb was pulled. He made a mistake down in the red zone that broke the team’s back. He struggled last year in the opener against the Panthers, after McNabb went down with broken ribs.
Reid didn’t know what to expect when he started Kolb against the Saints and the Chiefs, but the youngster played well and gained the confidence of Reid in those two games. That confidence grew to the point where Reid agreed that it was time to trade McNabb and let Kolb take over.
After making the decision to trade McNabb, it seems that Reid and Mornhinweg have taken it for granted that Kolb is a seasoned pro. It seemed like they’ve taken far too many things for granted with Kolb.
First of all, I told you during the off season that the Eagles shouldn’t have been creating all of this hype around Kolb, regarding him being better than Donovan McNabb.
Say what you will about McNabb, the guy won and he won a lot. His winning percentage trails only Peyton Manning and Tom Brady during his time in the league. The Eagles were a playoff and Super Bowl pick in nearly each year he spent here in Philadelphia.
Hyping Kolb was a way of telling Eagles fans that the fourth-year pro was going to step in for McNabb and the offense was not only not going to miss a beat, it was going to get better immediately under Kolb. I heard the team new GM Howie Roseman tell everybody how he got rid of the ball earlier than McNabb and made quicker decisions.
Tremendous expectation was created around Kolb. I noticed a difference in him in the camp after McNabb was traded. I remember the Eagles trying to run a red zone drill and Kolb threw a couple of interceptions and looked horrible.
Kolb was up and down at training camp this summer. The young quarterback who had come across so cool and calm before McNabb was traded, didn’t seem so cool and calm after Easter night in April.
On Flight Night which was the first coming out party for this new version of the Eagles, the display of the team’s passing game was more like “Fright Night”. They were terrible. The first team offense has been struggling ever since.
For some reason, the young quarterback has gone backwards in his development. I don’t know why. It could be that he’s not dealing with the pressure of following McNabb too much. Maybe it’s the physical pounding that you take at the quarterback spot that has thrown him off.
During his weekly news conference after the Chiefs game, Mornhinweg sounded puzzled when he said that Kolb was missing on things that we know he knows.
The kid is throwing directly into the teeth of coverages. He is reading the coverages, he’s guessing or deciding who he’s going to throw to before he takes the snap.
Whatever it is, Reid and Mornhinweg are going to have to get it fixed and they must get it fixed in a hurry. The concern is not about Kolb losing the city, the concern is about Kolb losing the confidence of his teammates.
The fact that he has a former Pro Bowl quarterback backing him up only makes things harder.
Maybe he’s related to Bobby Hoying.
Against New Orleans, Kolb scored only one TD in the first half while New Orleans racked up 34 first-half points. Did New Orleans relax?
This organization could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. They’re the absolute best!!!
I think the Emperor is butt-naked!!
This was the headline after the New Orleans game.
With McNabb sitting out, Brees tosses three TDs as Saints trounce Eagles
Drummer, congratulations, you have been 100% currupted by Songs. You have started to sound exactly like one of the most looked down upon posters on Gcobb. You post as if one half of football can make or break a NFL quaterback. That sir, is absurd.
Schiller – Did Kolb throw those 7 interceptions in one half? I love the way you dismiss reality. Besides, I couldn’t care less what you think of me.
A fumbled kick-off return and a INT brought back for a TD in a span of a couple of minutes late in the
2nd Quarter and the game was over.. So I do agree with Drummer that 2nd Half Stats don’t mean much when your up or down by a whole lot, teams go to a prevent defense and just make you catch in front of you and take away the big play but make you take time off the clock since the outcome is already been decided…
This was exactly what i was asking about yesterday. Thank you Gary… Micah didnt understand what i was looking for but you nailed it. I honestly think we are seeing the end of Andy Reid here in philly. I am hopeful that they can turn it around but….. this FO has BOASTED about Kolb. They should have shut up and let this thing just happen.
I dont care much for the F.O. but I do think Jeff L wants to win badly. If things dont turn around i think we will see MAJOR changes all around.
Nope. But you have become songs duce. And you have completed your assessment of Kolb – which I say is ridiculously early. Have fun being songs’ clone.
I think it was never Andy’s decision to get rid of McNabb. I think he always wanted him but it was the other guys in the FO that wanted Kolb. They saw Kolb in those 2 games and told Reid we’ll extend your contract if you start over with Kolb. So if I’m Reid, I’m taking that deal even if I don’t really want to. Reid was going to live and die with McNabb but I firmly believe the pressure was too much for him not to make the move. Just like he didn’t want to bench McNabb against Baltimore he didn’t want to trade him. This is why McNabb is on the Redskins because that’s Reid’s olive branch to McNabb by not sending him to the Raiders or Buffalo.
Kolb filling in vs NO and KC…he was an unknown. Had weapons to play with against a weak KC team and before NO solidified their defense last year around mid-season (we played them week 2). I think those 2 game stats were very misleading, but also a glimpse of his strengths. Reid threw him in the middle of a fire against the Ravens, plugging him in at halftime to burn into flames.
The best way to describe Kolb right now, unknown. I personally feel he has displayed more bad than good but thats not an entirely fair assessment. When I played sports I was a mediocre practice player, but I came to play on gamedays. I would take A.I. and his practice rant over a practice QB star, but it is early.
McNabb was misjudged and the same thing is happening to Kolb, because of Reid and his philosophy (and i am a Reid fan, but how often do people change?). Given the circumstances, not every player gets the luck of being placed on a team that fits him and goes on to succeed, thats just the luck of the draw. Kolb has to get healthy, make the best of his opportunities, and LEAD because thats what a QB is supposed to do.
Wmonell, while you and I disagree on Reid, I certainly appreciate your posts. You not only write with valid reasoning, but you’re also polite. Please continue posting.
Scorp, for a period of time, there were rumors that the front office was trying to force out McNabb against Reid’s wishes.
Schiller, actually I was just having fun. If you read my posts, you’ll see that my ire lies with Reid. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again. It is my opinion that Reid set both QBs up to fail.
As for you trying to dictate what people posts, good luck with that!!!
My bad, New Orleans was up 34-13 3 minutes into the 3rd quarter.
drummer – haha thanks for welcoming me really appreciate it. what exactly is your stance on Reid?
i appreciate Reid for all he has done. Not necessarily his philosophy but we’ve had success with it and i support him to an extent. He needs to change some things and i dont expect him to, resulting in a new coach for the 2012 season but thats just me lol.
Yeah drummer. I think they wanted to get rid of McNabb for a while but could after the injury. They need him to get healthy again so another team would give up a lot for him. They even admitted they were looking at it after the Arizona NFC Champ game. How are you trying to move a QB after the NFC title game boggles my mind. But I don’t think Andy ever wanted to get rid of him. I think Kolb was drafted as a backup/insurance for another serious injury in the even McNabb couldn’t be good again. Some people need to face it that some QBs are just backups. They can play spot work and cleanup. But that’s it. Everyone isn’t fit to start at the position week in and week out. We will have to see about Kolb though. But I just don’t ever think Reid wanted McNabb gone. Kolb could be the reason he loses his job. Vick could be the reason he keeps it.
I think we’ve won in spite of Reid and on the backs of both Westbrook and McNabb’s talents.
McNabb had his faults, but some of them I attribute to Reid. How many coaches would play their QB on a broken ankle (although McNabb threw 3 TDs). I recall Reid calling pass after pass when McNabb had the sports hernia. That’s an excruciatingly painful injury. Under any and all circumstances, Reid called pass after pass and McNabb became jittery.
McNabb also took a lot of beatings because of Reid’s predictability and lack of weapons. Who could forget the Carolina debacle when Ricky Manning didn’t allow our receivers to break the line of scrimmage? How can anyone complete passes like that?
McNabb heightened his “escapability” by dodging dog toys all those years in Arizona. I think it was further proven on Sunday that no QB without superior elusiveness, is lost in this offense.
G, I agree 100%,
I think its a little bit of both, feeling the pressure of following in Mcnabbs footsetps (some big steps to follow in )and also having his confidence shaken up by the pounding that he is taking at the QB position. However, it comes with the territory. The QB position is a very challanging position to play it requires mental focus. Andy Reid and the Eagles Organization didn’t help Kolb by building such high expectations for him among the fans. If anything they did more harm to him than anything. After that game on Sunday I would think this will probably put Kolb a big step backwards in the way of progress.
Scorp, we are definitely on the same page.
Drummer – hell no I’m not trying to dictate what people post. I am ABSOLUTELY trying to poke fun at anyone who echos songs. As far as setting up QBs to fail, I think Reid did is darned best to do everything possible to set up McNabb to succeed. I think the team had so many issues/holes when he first arrived (99), that he had a hard time building a team around McNabb. Reid had no idea Sean Andrews would start out great and then have major head/back issues. It’s not Reid’s fault that TO blew up on McNabb/greed. And it’s not Reid’s fault that Dawkins got greedy/insulted ego and walked/Lito/Sheldon/etc. The playcalling is Reid’s fault, up until Marty – who I blame a lot. So I dont think Reid setup McNabb to fail. I really don’t. I think McNabb let the philly media/national media/ negadelphia Eagles fans…f with his ego enough to the point where he couldn’t bear the role of QB in philly (psychologically). If you’re saying Reid setup Kolb to fail, I disagree. So far Reid has set him up well, he just had a crappy half of football. Let’s say Vick starts v. Detroit (due to Kolb not passing the tests), then when Kolb comes in week three as the starter, with the Oline worked out (I see McGlynn playing well at C and Wells being upgraded to start in place of Cole), then Kolb has all the weapons/opportunity he needs. He will be in a good spot to develop, although he’ll have to block out all the hate from fans/the media. If you want to talk Oline, yeah, Reid could have done better this offseason, but you can’t say they didn’t try.
Wmonell, that was the short version. Personnel decisions, game-day management/coaching and other variables to be considered.
Reid puzzles me. He’s outstanding in many areas, i.e., motivation, play design, but he seems to overlook the obvious, to the point of serious detriment.
I think there is a good chance that Kevin Kolb is not up to the task of the NFL. Let’s face it, there have been a lot of excellent college players over the years that just couldn’t make the adjustment to playing with the best of the best. In the 8 games he’s played in prior to Sunday, he has 7 picks and only 4 TDs. People have touted his accuracy, but honestly, I don’t see it in either the short game, but especially in the medium to long game. People love his “son of a coach” pedigree, but the Detmer brothers had the same pedigree. They too were very good college quarterbacks, but perennial backups in the NFL.
I do think that we need to commit at least a portion of this season to finding out for sure whether he is the future of the franchise, but the lousy offensive line will make it difficult to tell.
Maybe AR and MM are not all that great at Develpoing QB’s after all..
drummer i catch ur drift i feel you on all that, cannot disagree really. i always thought reid and mcnabb would go out together.
E-Money, well written. Thanks.
Wmonell, whether agree or disagree, I greatly appreciate your observations.
Paul, I think I see growth in Vick. He was totally erratic in Atlanta and during the pre-season. This week should give us a slightly better idea.
Schiller – You said ” I think Reid did is darned best to do everything possible to set up McNabb to succeed.”
I have to disagree. We threw more passes than any team in the NFL, but had less-than-average receivers. Then, when we finally get a No. 1 receiver, McNabb breaks records and goes to the Superbowl.
With all of that evidence, what did Reid do when TO flipped out over money? He went back to mediocre receivers.
The lack of any semblance of balance in play calling led not only to a lack of protection but a lot of injuries. I could go on and on, but I digress.
Kolb had the opportunity to learn the offense for 3 seasons, he’s got weapons, and the defense is improved, but the offensive line is in shambles. Kolb is not a scrambler. He needs a top-flight offensive line to succeed. Brady and Manning don’t scramble either, but they ALWAYS had great offensive lines.
We’ve got some good posters this year. Can’t say the same for last year, with all the name calling. I love exchanging thoughts and ideas.
Schiller. I agree in the fact that Reid has tried his best to set his players up for success. I don’t think anyone think’s he’s not trying. But maybe his way isn’t the best. That’s the debate. Not whether he wants to win or if he tries to being in impact players or whatever. We know they TRY but sometimes a person’s best just isn’t good enough even if they try really really hard. I will never say Andy is a bad coach. I don’t think he is but I just think he isn’t good enough.
Pauly, that may be true. Everyone wants to hop on Reid because of Favre and McNabb. I do firmly believe Reid has had an impact on both of them being good but don’t over exaggerate it. Favre was an MVP QB before Reid became the QB coach and McNabb still has the same shortcomings that he had when he came in the league. He’s a better pocket passer but I think that has more to do with him being a hardworker and his own personal goals. But we will see.
Scorp, I’m not suggesting that he did it intentionally. I’m saying that his system is flawed.
Thanks for the compliment drummerwinslow. I do think the biggest single issue with this organization is Andy Reid. While he has been successful at guiding teams to the playoffs, he suffers from the same issues over and over again. Time management was abysmal again on Sunday. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a team lose a timeout in the fashion that the Eagles did, but I won’t be shocked if it happens to them again. Opening day preparation has been below average. Some of the other bone-headed things that appear to be constants:
1) over-commitment to the pass.
2) overvaluing of “injury discount” draft picks.
3) overvaluing of speed over power.
4) love of gimmick over solid fundamental football.
5) inability to draft quality offensive and defensive linemen in early rounds.
6) undervaluing of the linebacker position.
7) terrible hurry-up offense
8) inability to minimize boneheaded penalties.
In my opinion, Favre is the most overrated turnover machine in the league, and has been for a very long time. He’s blown more big games than he’s won. His defense was largely responsible for the superbowl win. I still refer to it as Reggie White’s Superbowl.
It’s incredible how one game can change the way a player is viewed. Peyton Manning, was labeled as a QB who unable to win the big games. Then he won a superbowl. Last year, however, he throws a pick to lose the superbowl. Does he now revert to his previous title as a loser? I don’t think so. He was good all along, but it takes an entire team to win.
drummer, I don’t disagree there. Sometimes a person’s best just isn’t good enough. Maybe with a different QB on a different team in a different time it would work. But right now, I just think Andy’s philosophy and the players he assembles to fulfill it isn’t good enough. It worked for a while with a very good defense and talent with McNabb and Westbrook but maybe that was just a case of talent overshadowing the system or coaching flaws. I think we’ve all heard the expression “Your best sucks”. I don’t think Reid sucks but just not good enough.
E-money, you’ve got a few in your list that I hadn’t thought of before.
When I compare Reid’s success with McNabb, as it compares to Buddy Ryan’s “Just make plays” philosophy with Cunningham, I appreciate Reid.
Please don’t misconstrue that to mean I don’t like Buddy. He’s my all-time favorite Eagles coach – bar none! Yeah, I know one playoff win, etc., but he was soooooooo entertaining and that defense was scary good. The House of Pain Game, alone, was worth a million bucks.
AR has been overrated for years and now he’s going to be exposed. Too much blame was put on #5. Be careful what you wish for. He looks like Joe Montana in practice but Bobby Hoying II in the game. Kolb sucks.
Scorp, if I were the owner, I wouldn’t fire Reid. I’d bring in someone to compliment him. For example, I’d find someone who knows how to put together a run game. I’m not saying they should be a passing team, but they should keep the defense off balance and certainly have the ability to pick up first downs in short yardage and goal-line situations.
It might not work, but I’d try it.
preach on drummer
this organization can sell water to a whale
i really dont have much to post
i mean i knew all of this nonsense be4hand
i knew reid stunk
i knew we had a very good qb which wuld be hard to replace with an uknown
i knew d5 and 36 west covered up maksed plenty for ar and company but the biggest thing he was able to always take the blame for AR and company
the only thing differnet i see is that now some of u will see
u will get past hating d5 and see reid for what he really is a pretty good gm but not gameday coach
sad it took this to see but every week from now i will make 1 post on monday
I TOLD U SO
get used to it
TOLD U THIS A LONG TIME AGO
drummer, I’m with you on bringing someone in to help reid on offense, especially if it means letting Marty go. But I doubt they’d do it.
Phillywill, you don’t get to say ‘i told you so’ after game one. Any NFL coach, player, analyst, and most fans will tell you that drawing conclusions about how a season will go, based entirely on week one, is ridiculous. You’re jumping the gun big time. Big time.
Hey to all you fans that wanted change. You got it. McNabb had gone stale they say. I’m tired of going to the playoffs with the hope of never winning the big game. McNabb is the reason for everything wrong with the EAGLES! WIP leading the moron march!
McNabb had his faults. He is not Manning or Brady but he is a good QB. Build around your strengths! He only took us so far because of the lame talent around him. Sorry Reid will be exposed for the lame coach that he is. His game preperation use to be good. With that performance Sunday I even doubt that now!!!!!!!!!!!!!
schill i am fully aware of how early it is
according to u i was jumping the gun be4 the season even started please just remember to scho that 2 every1 at the end of the season
everything i have been talking is coming to fruition
i said AR wouldnt protect his young qb (1st play of game gadget play, 1st 4 plays passes lol )
i said ellis hobbs stinks and shoulda kept sheldon (hobbs gets smoked on a simple go route no twist no dbl move just str8 go route toast for 6 at a time we couldnt give a up a big play)
bring back bwest or a sign a formidable rb 1st series of game shady mccoy completely blows block on a 3rd down which i said we need a 3rd down back kolb gets pressured almost thorws a pick b west makes that block by the way
do i even need to menton kolb
did i say that we would be hearing the start vick controversy very early
i mean realy i couldnt have written this any better but yall know football and i dont lmao
whatever just pray #7 can mask AR terrible playcallin and fascination with not running
lets hope b graham and t cole can mask ellis hobbs lets just pray
just know what im saying when u guys only see 1 post from me on monday
I TOLD U SO
The season isn’t over, so I think it is pre-mature to judge of Kevin Kolb is going to do for the season. From what I have seen from Kevin Kolb, he has yet to impress me. The game against the Saint, he threw for 300 plus yards vs a “Bend Don’t Break Defense”. Then the game against the “rebuilding” Chiefs. The pre-season he sucked. My problem with Kolb is that he was anointed the greatest QB before he finished an whole season. Andy Reid was successful with McNabb because McNabb was raw talent. Andy Reid molded McNabb into the quarterback he wanted him to be plus being athletic. Kolb is a coach’s son. Never good, people like that thinks they know everything, and people, like the people in Philadelphia mistake that attitude for leadership (Read the ESPN.com and NFL.com). Reid has to get Kolb out of his bad habits, or this will be like the Scott Mitchell and Erick Kramer saga all over again.
Well if getting hit and he took a lot of them preseason is what is screwing up his mind the concussion ain’t gonna make it any better
And I doubt there are many QBs that can take punishment and still perform at the top of their game
Brady and Manning haven’t taken poundings because they have had good O lines
That is what was so amazing about 40 year old Favre