I don’t care how many people deny it and I don’t care how many times it’s denied, there is a quarterback controversy here in Philadelphia. Any time the backup quarterback plays better than the starting quarterback, there’s a quarterback controversy.
That’s the situation we have now with Michael Vick, Kevin Kolb and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Before the game began today in Detroit, Andy Reid made an announcement that Kolb and middle linebacker Stewart Bradley had been cleared to play next week. It seemed like Reid’s attempt to shutdown the quarterback controversy which has dominated the Eagles news here in Philadelphia for the past week.
It was good news for Kolb and Bradley and good news for the football team but it didn’t diminish the quarterback controversy because of the way Vick played against the Detroit Lions.
Like it or not, Michael Vick is playing the best football of his NFL career. He showed all the naysayers he can run the offense out of the pocket. He made all the throws both deep and short, while moving the Birds up and down the field on the way to 35 points.
At times, Vick was a like a Ninja with eyes in the back of his head. There were pass rushers with free shots at him, but they came up with nothing but air in their finger tips. I don’t know how he made it out of the game in one-piece, but anybody who watched the game has to give him credit for being one tough son-of-a-gun.
The Lions defense was doing everything they could do to get to Vick but he was finding ways to make plays. He used his legs, experience and quick release to make things happen. The most amazing thing about Vick’s performance was the fact that he made most of his plays from the pocket and ran only four times.
Despite being under constant pressure and being sacked six times, Vick finished with an above 100 quarterback rating for the second week in a row, this time at 108.0. Vick performance was remarkable and is sure to have a line of teams trying to sign him when the season is over.
The first touchdown to DeSean Jackson was a thing of beauty. Jackson ran a simple stop route, Vick got him the ball and little DeSean took off and outran the Lions secondary for six points.
Vick hit Jeremy Maclin with a touchdown throw just before the half, despite having two Detroit defensive players right in his face. Lions pass rushers were turned loose on him all day long. I know Kolb will be starting next week but I don’t know if he can survive behind this offense line.
Vick bought time on one play in the second half by escaping the pass rush and rolling out to his right. He keeps his eyes downfield now rather than taking off on a run. On the forementioned play, he and hit Jackson with a throw near the sideline after buying time. It showed the development of Vick as a quarterback because he turned a chance to run for twenty-yards by throwing it to get a twenty-yard game.
Vick did throw a couple of ill-advised passes that should have been picked off, but all in all, he did a remarkable job and has put himself in position to make millions next year for somebody else.
Kolb will start this week, but the quarterback controversy will not die down until he goes in there and plays well. I hope they’re not rushing him back because he sure to get hit next week after the Jaguars see how bad the Eagles offense line plays.
If Kolb doesn’t play well, the clock will be ticking on him, but Reid will be able to stay with him for a while. Regardless of how adamant Reid is about staying with him, at some point, Kolb will be removed from the lineup, if he doesn’t start playing well.
Yes, Reid will be patient with Kolb because he is the guy, who they drafted and gave the job to, but they can’t continue to keep him in there forever, if he doesn’t start playing well. The football fans of this city and the players on the Eagles roster know they have a guy on the bench who can get it done.
If Kolb had played today, he would have been sacked 15 times and would have been carted off.
His play not only poured gasoline, but lit the match, started a blaze, then dropped a nuclear weapon on top for good measure. The Kevin Kolb era ended today, unofficially.
Kolb’s teammates lose money every time he plays a bad game, because their individual stats are diminished. If DeSean Jackson catches only 40 passes this year, he could lose millions of dollars.
While he’s holding the party line, publicly. He’s no idiot and things could change dramatically if Kolb plays poorly against the Jags. Hey, Jackson didn’t waste any time stabbing McNabb in the back. So, I know he won’t have a problem sticking it to Kolb.
G, you wrote “Vick did throw a couple of ill-advised passes that should have been picked off, but all in all, he did a remarkable job and has put himself in position to make millions next year for somebody else.”
Is is possible that the Eagles resign Vick and trade Kolb to the Kingsessing Roadrunners for a bag of balls?
Vick was sick. Can you say first place? Dallas is 0 and 2! Shady with three tds! Everyone but mike bell caught a ball of two, backup te mills and fill in fullback included. So here’s my question though, are all the front office and reid haters going to give them credit for signing vick? Are we, (me included) going to admit that we jumped the gun in dismissing the vick experiment as a pathetic failure? Isn’t that just more proof that we tend to quit on players too early (justice, laws…)? Hint hint, its possible kolb becomes pretty good.. AND give the FO credit for getting our fix for FS in nasty nate allen! Two NFL games, two picks……
Anyone seen the profootballtalk article about how the cowboys by far are spending the most on player salaries this year. And their 0 and 2. How do you like that all ye ‘eagles are cheap, not in it to go for the superbowl by paying more money’ people…. thoughts?
Is it possible that kolb plays better, catches on, then we trade vick for a high draft pick(s), during the season while his value is high?
Hell-to-the-yeah, G. Hell yeah. Vick is machine. That guy can take one hell of a beating. I was watching those hits saying to myself how tough he is. Kolb would have been murdered out there today. Is our line THAT bad or is the Lions D that good? They beat the crap out of the Bears the week before too. Man, that spin move that Vick put on Jackson when he came free from the end. Darn. That would have ended Kolb’s season. Good Lord, the boy is already scared enough out there. They CAN’T keep him in there by the time Washington rolls around. Their D is going to murder Kolb.
Drummer, DeSean never even got close to stabbing McNabb in the back. Pay attention. But you do have a point in the stats department and those guys in the lockerroom are going to have a say. I hope they resign Vick this year, Kolb is not good.
Vick was so phenomenal as a QB, that “if we don’t resign him to at least a 3 year or more deal as a Qb”….we will officially be THE WORST NFL TEAM. I’m sure every other team is licking their chops to get a piece of Vick (to sign). There is NO FIRST ROUND Talent that could come in here and make an immediate impact like Vick. He’s the man, just admit it all you naysayers. Hmm thats funny, where are you Vick haters at; Kinda quiet don’t ya think? Anyway, the D needs to step their game up from ST to the D-line and LB’s. In AR press conference couldn’t you tell he sure was uneasy answering questions about Vick’s play yesterday as well as questions about who he will start. To tell you the truth, McNabb masked his deficiencies as a coach, and so is Vick. These guys are pure born athletically gifted ironmen who want to win it all, and will let nothing stop them. I think reid is a control freak who wants to keep them tamed and use fundamentals etc and crap. Screw that, even still; Vick was a great pocket passer and thats what’s probably bothering AR. That you have a complete Qb who can run and throw while playing like fire, and you have a slow dud on the other end who you named a starter without even having a battle in training camp. No other coach that I know has done that, even with sure starter Sb Qb’s’ they have a battle in camp. All the buzz around the sports world is whether Reid will continue tap dancing around his true feelings concerning his QB’s. He Will get BOOOOOOOED if kolb sucks and has no passing yards or rythm with his players in the first quarter of the next game. To tell you the truth I’m more disgusted at this AR Qb crap that I cannot think another minute about this stupidity. I’ll probably write you guys sunday before or during the redskins game; unless there is a stupid comment that I just have to respond to, or something crazy concerning the team. Until then …Peace. Go EAGLESSSS!
One last thing. Go to nflnetwork.com videos or google “Why Vick should start in week 3”? And Deion and Michael Irving sums up what I and true eagles fans feel. Check it out if you haven’t already. They’re telling the truth. They sum up exactly what I am feeling, and what I would say.
Hell with Deion and irvin even if they are right, TOOOO Helllllllll with them, there enough said. Good point Rocko, still the hell with deion and Irvin ……more peace and GO EAGLES! Oh everybody does it seem like 20+ points per game is starting to look like the norm for offenses this season, tough for any defense even very good ones to look good this year. Hmmm just wondering, any views on this.
shilll- how can a person stick of for a front office so much? You must know one of these guys. BUT…you are wrong! First let me say that as much as I hate Andys philosophy , I never had a problem with his drafing so i will just leave that alone. 2 The FO picked up Vick so that they could TRADE him away (as we all know they tried like hell) but NO ONE WANTED Vick. Vicks play is surprising everyone even the FO. Did you hear who Vick credits with his new work ethic and style? DONOVAN MCNABB, the guy who the FO blamed for all our failures. As far as paying thie players….we will see when they reufse to pay djax. Watch brilliant FO (with 0 rings) trade Vick now because that was the original plan.. We will be stuck with Kolb.
BTW schill Nate allen you are happy about? I would rather have Dawkins, another superstar we screed. Trevor Laws? Come on. 1 game.
1 more thing shill the defense was putred….how can u sit there and talk about trevor laws.
G, don’t be so quick to say that Vick will be playing for another team next year. Remember, Lurie said that Vick was the QB that was LEAST likely to get traded this past offseason. Why would he say something like that? Because he knows. The organization knows. And I think deep down Andy knows, Vick is the best QB for the job right now behind this horrid offensive line. If Kolb doesn’t shine in this next game against the jags (which I will be at and will see first hand how well/bad he does) — then get ready for the Mike Vick experience, because it’s going to take over for a couple years.
Vick could have been sacked around 15 trimes and Justice was letting his man get by him. So far this season the O line is pourous as is the D line. Please don’t get carried away with a win over Detroit.
BigE, what DO you like about the Eagles and WHY are you a fan? When ppl talk well about Kolb you look for ways to bring them down. Same with Vick. Same with the Philadelphia Eagles as a team. Are you EVEN a Philadelphia Eagles fan? Just wondering
Drummer:
You are right. If Jackson stabbed McNabb, he will Freddy Kruger Kolb.
Vick took a beating and kept on ticking
Anybody think he can do that for 14 more games
With this O line ANY QB will be an endangered species
If Kolb starts that game were 0-2, it’s that simple..I dont know what is going on with the whole “Kolb has got to start” thing..but last I checked the object is to win games not cater to people’s feelings’s..Start Vick..It’s not even close.
jimmy mac, if it was that easy, Kurt Warner would have never been replaced by Eli a couple years back. Drew Brees would still be with the Chargers. AJ Feeley would be starting for the Rams right now.
You have to throw the kid into the fire to see if he can play for a sustained amount of time. Kolb showed last year that he can play in the league — don’t throw him in the trash because of one bad half of bad football. We have to give him a couple games. If it turns out he’s not the answer, hopefully we’re not in too deep of a hole for Vick to dig us out of.
schill d5 427 yards yesterday like 2tds
vick 2 good games for birds
but somehow our starting qb is the worse 1 of the 3 kolb
i do credit andy for signing vick
i actually like andy reid as a person stinks as gameday coach
but u credit fo for trading 1 great qb and then benching another for who ? for what ? ricky watters style
schiller, I’ll give the FO credit for signing Vick if they make him the starter. It was never their intentions for him to play as much. They signed him as a charity case and a gimmick. It’s only by chance that Vick is playing this much. And I like it. I will give them credit for developing him which is why I think they should keep him. If they brought him this far, he could surely be one of the top QBs in the league within a year. If he can do what he does, there’s no way Kolb becomes a better QB this year or even next year. Sometimes a guy just has it and another one doesn’t.
And on your cowboy’s comment. Who cares about them? Once again you justify the Eagles decision by another team’s decisions. No one cares. How about our oline is still in shambles. Our LB core stinks when Bradley is gone. No blocking TE. DTs stink too. So yes they make some good decisions but they make some poor ones too. Now you want to act like everybody jumped the gun after one game, aren’t you doing the same thing now? This FO still makes dumb decisions some times and Reid still makes boneheaded mistakes on game day. That hasn’t changed. The good decisions made doesn’t make the bad one invisible.
Well BirdoBeamen, didn’t Kurt Warner replace a kid that the Cardinals had drafted to be the “future”? Leinart was supposed to be the guy. He sucked, Warner won the job because he was clearly better and who cares about Leinart now? No one. The same thing can happen to Kolb. You have to go with the better player period. How long does he have to stay in the fire when you have a guy on the team who’s ready to play and win now. Why wait when you don’t have to? QBs lose their jobs all the time in this league. If Vick is better and will be for the next 3-5 years, trade Kolb and extend Vick. It’s that simple.
Exactly PW. They don’t get any credit for Vick UNLESS he’s they make him the starter. They lose that credit when they put him back on the bench and put a bum back out there.
It would be easy to say extend Vick and trade Kolb……if Vick wasn’t a CONVICT. Look, I love Vick and I love what he brings to the table….but if we make him the man and trade Kolb, then Vick goes out and does something extremely dumb — we’re up ish creek without a paddle. I’m sure these things are weighing on the minds of the Eagles front office. They probably would have traded Kolb already if Vick was an upstanding citizen……..and he very well may become one…..but he has to prove it. Sadly, his off the field exploits can trump his on the field exploits. You have to be very cautious with this situation.
Ha, ozz, you say ‘come on, 1 game’ for trevor laws…. but vick – 1 game and he’s a superstar. Is that the same standard?
I never suggested that the positive of the FO (having Vick here) cancels out any of the negative things they do, or that it makes them or suggests they’re perfect. But we are having this Kolb/Vick discussion because Vick is on the team. He is another player that so many of you wrote off as a dumb thing the FO did, and many of you wanted him to never get a snap by the Eagles again. He now has 1 very good game, against the detroit lions. And now you are all changing to ‘they’re criminally stupid if they don’t start him’. Do you see how many of you are able to change on a dime, yet keep the hate on the front office? Observe yourselves.
I don’t know who you’re talking to Schiller but I have been defending Vick since last year. I don’t like ppl comparing off the field problems with what ppl do on the field. (I was the same with Iverson) But we have to take into account that if we make Vick the starter, his off the field troubles can kill us. Kolb is the safer bet off the field…..not necessarilly on the field.
We should have just kept McNabb and avoided all this. Then again, nah….
Hail to Schiller..
Mick Vick for Mayor or at least the Department of Education for Philadelphia..
Give him Keys to the City, a Parade, throw out 1st ball tonight at Phils game…
C’mon Schiller, fans finally have something to get excited about with this Eagles Club..
Why does everyone keep saying that Kolb has “ONLY played one bad half”? The last I checked, the offense sucked ass the entire preseason. I didn’t see a glimpse of hope when Kolb was in at QB and it has bled over into the regular season. Those two good performance last year were before the DC’s got tape on Kolb, the jury is out now. Please stop fooling yourselves about this Kolb guy.
Pman, I’m glad they do. I’m happy, very happy about it. What about my posts led you to say ‘cmon Schiller…fans finally have something to get excited about with this Eagles Club?’ I was posting on here last night that we should be excited about being in first place. About Nate Allen having a pick per game. About the cowboys being 0-2. About Shady’s 3 TDs and 100 yrds rushing. About the ball being spread around to almost every eligible receiver. About Vick playing very well. I said all that – there’s proof. So what are you referring to? My saying we should give Vick and Kolb the same treatment? That if Vick wins versus a bad team, and Kolb did the same, that we shouldn’t elevate Vick over Kolb because both KC and Detroit suck? C’mon Pman.
Kolb is another Joey Harrington, David Carr, Damon Moore, Chris Redmond…
Who said ‘Kolb has only played one bad half’? That is true for this season, as the preseason truly doesn’t count, but he did play last year a bit.
Schill I wasn’t referring to anyone on the blog, I’m listening to wip right now, and the defense for Kolb is always “he’s only played one bad half of football”. If I recall, he should have thrown about 6 or 7 pics in the preseason had the defenders been able to actually catch the ball. He threw into double and triple coverages in the preseason, and he did it again in first half of his poor performance. Not to mention the fact that he has yet to throw a touchdown this year, albeit not all of his fault, one was dropped, the other was called back. But what we saw in the preseason is pretty much what we saw in his first half of football. He wasn’t playing lights out before then.
Marcus, I hear ya. But seriously, F the preseason. It’s the preseason. If Kolb continues to suck it up in real games, that’s something to watch, but holding the preseason against an NFL player is unreasonable to me. Vick played poor in the preseason… so did McCoy, so did many many star players in this league and not so star players too. But yeah, Kolb played more than just a half, just not this year so far…
schiller is an idiot. He wants the eagles to succeed how he envisions it. He just ranted on about the FO decisions and not spending money like Dallas but disregard the clear fact that Vick is the best QB on your roster. His head is so far up Andy’s ass it isn’t funny. He’s permanently ignored.
Ha, scorp ignores someone by stating their name and then writing a paragraph about them. That’s the most gratuitous ignoring I’ve ever been subjected to. I want the Eagles to succeed in any way that is possible. I would be very happy, as happy as I could be, if Vick continues to start and play well for the Eagles. I would feel the same way if Kolb does that. I don’t like Kolb better than Vick. I have a problem with fans quitting on players too early or getting sold on players too early too.
Schiller, it’s not about quiting early on Kolb. If we didn’t have a pro bowl caliber qb sitting on the bench, then I would be willing to suffer through the Kolb experiment. The problem is, we gave one pro bowl qb away for him and they have another sitting on the bench behind him. So yes, he needs to sit on the bench and watch and learn. I’m willing to bet, that his team mates will almost always go with whomever gives you the best chance to win “right now”.
I’m in total agreement with drummer’s initial statement, those players can’t afford to wait 3 or 4 years for Kolb to get his stuff together. Desean is playing for a contract now, Trent Cole will be out of his prime by then. they want to win now. That was the mistake the FO made with McNabb, they wanted to develop talent around McNabb, instead of bringing guys in here to play right away. We waited on a number one receiver to develop in order to pair with McNabb, while Dawk, Westbrook, Sheldon Brown, and other good players played through their prime and into the decline of their careers.
Career passing efficiency:
Cunningham 56%
Mcnabb 58%
Vick 54%
Roethslithberger 65%
Brady 64%
Manning 65%
Brees 70.1
Last four have 1 more Super Bowls
tydm says:
September 20, 2010 at 1:28 pm Career Passing is key to winning SB. Eagles and Reid philosophy of throwing all the time that 57-58% hurts us compared to 65(usually their superbowl year it’s more) it means more 3 and outs. I loved watching Randall, 5, and Vick, but i know what the results are. no, i am not a hater or racist, i am a mut myself and best friends are are races. But we need more pieces of the puzzle,especially running game, and sure let’s have a scrambling qb but his % better be over 64
Hey Tydm, Dilfer was at 55%
Jim McMahono 58%
Doug Williams 49.5%
Jeff Hostetler 58%, all qbs with Super bowls and =< 58%
You forgot Eli, 57%career 61 SB FEW exceptions which i would not risk.
Best formula winning superbowl: 1)GREAT defense
2)Very good 0-line(especially for running game)
3) qb with atleast 64% passing percentage
Did we ever have this combo no
did the last 5 SB winners yes
Dilfer,Hostetler, Williams are one hit wonders mainly backup qbs, meant their defense and 0-line was awesome, they did not pass much(We pass alot) mcmahon had walter, he had alot, lol,….what did he do when he was an Eagle with our good D not much
What schill and others were saying during the offseason..(I actually have them all saved)
“Kolb is a better fit for the west coast offense – “Kolb will step in with our skilled positions in place and the offense will be fine,….We should be more concerned with the defense”.- Kolb is more accurate than Mcnabb and we will have fewer ground balls, “Let’s see him in the preseason…
(When he stunk in the preseason the excuses started)…
Excuse 1 – “Kolb sucked” because of the offensive line”
Excuse 2 – “Kolb sucked “because of the playcalling”
Excuse 3 – “Kolb sucked “because of the vanilla playbook
Then we were told…..Let’s wait until the season before passing judgment.
Season Opener – Kolb is the worse player on the field and totally stinks…staring receivers down, lobbing balls up for grabs…actualy threw a ground ball,…. 24 yards in one half and could not outrun Betty White. Totally stinks on opening night in primetime
Then the excuses started again.
More excuses “He’s technically a rookie”, “Reid can’t be yanking him in and out”, “He stinked because we didn’t run the ball”
When these same Kolb supporters realized he just stink they came with a new set of standards.
Standard 1 – “We just need to play him so we can see what we have” – What? Didn’t you say he was more accurate and a leader and this offense should be better with Kolb after 3 years in the system?
Standard 2 – “If he stinks we still need to play him because Vick will not be here next year………… So… are you saying we must tolerate him stinking beyond this year too?
Standard 3 – “We need to play Kolb for if he’s not the answer we’ll draft within the top 10 and draft a future quarterback” – and what? Roll the dice again while you have a very good quarterback and weapon in Michael Vick here already?
Standard 4 – “We’re not going to a Superbowl so it doesn’t matter who plays”.
Folks, it starting to look like fans would rather fail with Kolb or start from scratch with an unproven rookie and waste all the talent we have at the skill positions instead of accepting that Vick might be our best option for the future…Why????
If we have a great athlete and improved QB in Vick it would make sense to improve the weak parts of our team on a quest to greatness….. wouldn’t it?
Why settle for less than what Vick have to offer? ….and if Kolb don’t work you’ll rather be terrible until our team find the next Peyton Manning?
It’s not adding up…. We would rather lose than have Michael Vick as our quarterback when it’s clear Kevin Kolb stinks.
I’m happy things have transpired early for this season will let us know more about our fan base and whether this organization is willing to compete for a chance of a championship every year like we were told …The whole nation is watching and I wouldn’t be surprised if this organzation choose to lose.
only in Philadelphia
improve the weak parts is crucial. How long will that take
BirdoBeamen- BIRDMAN YOU DON’T HAVE TO SLOBBER ALL OVER THE EAGLES LIKE A SAINT BERNARD TO BE A FAN. KOLB HAS NOT PROVED HIMSELF YET AND I HAVE MY DOUBTS ABOUT HIM BEING A FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK BECAUSE OF HIS ARM. i NEVER MISSED WATCHING A GAME AND HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE EAGLES FOR A LOOOOONG TIME. WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT A FAN CAN’T BE CRITICAL. MY MAING AGGRAVATION IS WITH THE
COACHING AND FRONT OFFICE AND THEIR LAPSES IN JUDGEMENT AND GAMEDAY BAFOONERY.
tydm ….good question…it can take this year….offer Mawae a deal for insurance at center, Start Lindley over Hobbling Hobbs and work on excution for the special teams, and with Vick at the Helm this team can compete for a serious playoff run.
I don’t want to wast another second on Kolb …let alone a season of him stinking up the joint, wasting our talent at the skilled positions.
This is blatant disrespect to Michael Vick