Does anybody remember when quarterback Trent Green got hurt in the preseason of 1999 and then journeyman Kurt Warner took over? Warner set the NFL on fire while leading the “Greatest Show On Turf” to a Super Bowl title.
Warner became the starting quarterback because he played so well. Nobody even thought about making Green the starter again. The great Dick Vermeil, who is a players’ coach if I’ve ever seen one, was the coach of the St. Louis Rams then.
Like most coaches, Vermeil always went by the rule that you never lose your job because of an injury. Still Green never got his job back and I never heard Vermeil apologize and he wasn’t labeled a liar.
Viking quarterback Brad Johnson suffered an injury and lost his job to Randall Cunningham in 1998. Cunningham took Minnesota to the NFC Championship game in that season. Dennis Green was the Vikings coach and he didn’t apologize and wasn’t called a liar.
A coach never has to apologize for putting a better player on the field. He needs to apologize when he doesn’t put the better player on the field.
As for players not being able to trust Reid because he let Kolb lose his job through injury, it’s not too complicated. If you get hurt and a player takes over and plays the position demonstrably better than you did, you’re probably not going to get the job back.
I just heard Chris Pronger of the Flyers commenting on the Eagles quarterback situation and he didn’t seem to be mad at Reid. Pronger talked about proving himself so he doesn’t wind up in Kolb’s position.
Do you hear anybody crying about Reggie Brown not being treated fairly because DeSean Jackson took his job when he was injured? The fans forgot about Brown immediately after Jackson displayed his speed on one of his patented deep routes. They couldn’t wait to see Brown leave town.
I’ve been in and around the NFL for decades and I’ve seen countless numbers of coaches change their minds, then bench and release players who they had promised something to. Andy Reid isn’t doing anything that hundreds of coaches haven’t done before him.
Reggie Brown must really suck if he get’s cut by Tampa Bay & Brad Childress decides to pick up Hank Baskett over him
kind of starting to beat the dead horse with this topic. Andy made the best decision for this football team at this particular moment, got it. Can we get some color on who is calling with regards to Kolb and what appropriate compensation would be if we traded him.
I guess the bigger question is that about Coach AR
#1) Was he or anyone else doing a closer evaluation of Kolb performance during the Summer Camp/Preseason to notice that maybe Kolb was just not ready yet and that Vick had improved and a real good grasp of the Offense…
#2) If this evaluation proces was done accurately and thoroughly, then why have the play calling in the very first game with a new QB (who everyone knows is going to be nervous) and start out with some of those gadget plays and rotating Vick in every few plays.. (I would think Coach AR would want a nice easy flow and run some simple/basic plays for Kolb to get into a rhthym and to calm his nerves down
#3) Where was the evaluation process about how shaky this O/line has been, it’s not like they were healthy and playing well all Summer Camp and in the Pre-season Games. In fact, in most of the training camp drills with OL Versus DL, the Eagles front line mostly dominated (by 2nd & 3rd stringers a lot of the times too ..
I tip my hat for Coach AR for making this decision and making it now, there are no weeks off in NFL,
with only 16 games, you can’t waste a game or 2 to help a player get their confidence,rhthym,mojo back.. but I question why the biggest area of the team (OL/QB) were not really addressed and evaluated more closey and a plan of action implemented before the Season even started..
#3) should be that the Eagles DL dominated over OL is many of the drills…
Reid’s biggest mistake over his tenure is allowing the offensive line to erode. He’s thrown money at at it (Peters and the Andrews brothers), he’s cut loose older players (Runyan and Thomas), he’s drafted mediocre players (Justice, Gilles, Dunlap, McGlynn). Nothing has worked.
How does a team like the Colts give up an average of 17 sacks/year over the last 10 years, while the Eagles gave up and average of 33/year over the same period?
I can’t wait for week 4! Strap it up EAGLES! This will be a great ride!
LMAO Thanks G, I live across the river from St. Louis and I had forgotten all about Trent Green. He was on the NFL network saying how Reid made a mistake going with Vick! Now I remember why. LMAO!!!
The real issue shouldn’t be about Vick/Kolb
The real problem is the O line
Unless Reid starts running the ball and finds a way to fix the O line Vick–Kolb–Kafka–Garcia–Feeley will all get a chance at being QB
Its funny the ARROGANT PHILLY MEDIA (excluding G) never ONCE hammered Reid about , using time outs, being pass happy, predictable play calling, or any other blunder but want to kill him on this? He made the Eagles a better team and these arrogant SOBs are mad because Kolb was accessible for THEM.
Yeah the whole “you can’t lose your job to injury” thing is crap. Ask Drew Bledsoe. Players lose their job to injuries all the time. It just so happens that in most cases the guy that is injured is better than the guy that replaced him so he gets his job back. But if the backup shows to be better, the starter will become the backup. Reid owes it to his players, the organization and city to always put the best players on the field at all times. It’s not about feelings or what people think, it’s about winning.
Many more players would lose their job to injury but the fact of the matter is that the replacement isn’t better which is why they are on the bench in the first place. But in cases where the backup is better, you gotta let them play regardless of what was said at one time or another.
E-money, I do agree with you about the o-line but you can’t make a fair comparison about sacks. There are several factors regarding them. How many of the sacks are the QBs fault and how many did thy escape. For example, McNabb could have been sacked 10 more times a year but because of his strength and his ability to get away from defenders he didn’t. While on the other hand, he could have been sacked less if he didn’t hold the ball too long at times. So it’s hard to make that kind of comparision depending on the offense and QBs. How many deep drops does Peyton Manning run a game? Damn near all their snaps are out of the shotgun whether it’s run or pass. I agree with your point but with the comparison it’s just too many variables to consider for it to be valid.
Scorp, I agree that there are many variables involved in the sack statistic (Donovan does hold onto the ball a long time), but it is still a telling fact. I do believe, as Paul Domowitch theorized, that the poor offensive line play factored into the decision to put Kolb’s development on the back-burner, which is a real shame considering that improving the offensive line was Andy’s big pet project last off season.
rcp…sorry buddy it’s really not about Vick /Kolb anymore…Vick is the starter for the rest of the season and I know you’re happy with Reid’s commitment to the run last game letting Mccoy rip off well over 100 yards. Look at last game which addressed your concerns..another thing….even if we do run the ball …like most teams we will be in long down and distances and would need to be able to throw on 2nd & 3rd down and in those cases it’s good to know we have the QB who can beat a blitz and make the defense pay. Even with good offensive lines, real good defensive players get shots on quarterbacks..We’re blessed with an exceptional QB that can actually make our offensive line better while they continue to get there feet under them.
There’s really no Oline out there that can stop an all out blitz with out maximum protection, which puts the pressure on the QB to beat it before the heat comes…. Vick did exactly that, so it’s time to stop blaming the offensive line and admit Kolb stinks and makes every position on offense worse.
I’ll take Apples to Oranges for $600, Alex.
Trent Green was out for the season. By the time Green was ready to play…
Kurt Warner:
1)Had one of the best QB performances for a season.. EVER
2)Won the Super Bowl
3) Was the Super Bowl MVP
4) Was the League MVP
Good comparison G. You’ve done Warner and Young now.. any other all-time greats you want to compare a career average QB to?
P Man – vick looked like crap in the pre-season – at least the game I saw. Kolb looked OK. Everyone wants to comment on the LC game and Kolb – but everyone was talking about LAST YEARS KC – not the KC that has looked pretty good the first two games of this year.
E-Money – I don’t think Andy ‘let’ the O Line erode. The Eagles have invested heavily (pun intended) in the O Line – the Andrews Brothers, Peters, extensions for Jackson, Justice and Hermanns, draft picks and finding solid UFAs – but much like any investing, some investments hit it big (Hermanns a 4rth rounder from a Div II school), some take a while to develop (justice) some flop (the Andrews) some frustrate you (Peters) and some take a long time to show rewards (Justice).
RCP – I did not see the game this week – but the boxscore states McCoy ran for 120 yards – the Eagles rushed 28 times for 168 yards, and passed 34 times…. so kind of missing what it is you are saying – if the stats are missleading let me know – but a 28/34 run to pass is decent
E, I don’t disagree. I just think it’s unfair to compare our line to the Colts o-line for the past decade when the QB plays a part in that and the Colts have one of the best QBs in the history of the game. It also doesn’t play into the fact that for the first half of his career McNabb wasn’t a good pocket passer and he had no one to throw the ball too. I do agree that our lines have been poor over the years, but I’d leave it at that and not compare it to others teams where there are so many different factors. If you compared our defense to the colts defense over the past decade, our would vastly out perform there. But that comparison tells nothing. But that’s just me.
Hey Navy, hope all is well for you,
Back to Pre-Season, the Entire offense looked like crap in the Pre-season if you ask-me
(Martell,A Howard,R Copper) were about the only players that looked good to me..
I think the one big trend we saw, is that Kolb seemed to play a little more scared,each time out,
he got a little more happy feet and his confidence dwindled week by week and of course culminated in the Opening game which was a disaster for him and the entire Offense which I blame a lot on the Coaches AR/MM for such a stup,silly game plan and especailly starting out the 1st 2-3 series or so..
I think It was a mistake to dress and even attempt to PLay Center J Jackson the first 2-3 weeks of the season and I stand by that.. Coach AR panicked on how bad this O/Line is this year and stuck J Jackson (who is a tropper and fought the good fight) before he was healthy enough to stay healthy..
This move not only caused their best Center J Jackson his enitre season, but also impacts the remainder of the O/Line which impacted the QB position…
This was a very poor decision by coach AR (just like putting Kolb/Bradley) back in after sustaining head injuries, it’s about being awatre of your team in the field of play while a game is unfolding and I am sorrry, I think Coach AR is one of the worst at recognizes what happens during the game at liev spped… How many times has he answered a media question, Hey Coach, what did you think of Center McGlynn’s play.. Reid “I will have to look at the tape” are you kidding me.. watch the dame game on the field and you get a rteal sense of how is playing well and who isn’t…
I get so upset that I can’t even spell correctly..(kind of like a typing comedian Lewis Black)
I am going to take a walk…
Haaa, Paul. yeah walk it off brother, and if you trip rub some dirt on it.
Good point Dawk, lets get some Jag match up info, somebody tell me how much pain our “D’ is going to superglue to them Jag fellas. tell me about that speed “O” of ours, lets talk football baby, not personnel.
As always, LONG LIVE THE EAGLES…GO EAGLES, as in go spank some Jag tail, here kitty kitty.
Pman – living the dream – made it to Canton on Sunday.. other then that looking for a place to watcht he birds/jags – going to 2-1. I haven’t figured out at what level coaches stop telling players ‘you earn it’ and ‘every job is up for grabs every week’. Vick is playing very well – and the films I saw on ESPN today, the O line looked solid – but they were highlights …
On kolb, I flew back through Houston and was wearing an eagles shirt – got in a conversation with a person who remembered Kolb from his college days and couldn’t stop talking about how great he was..
Kid picked a college in Ohio.. who would have thunk it… Widener got #2
Hey Navy
Was is that School outside Youngstown..
thnx
Gotta agree with Paul
Eagles should have been concentrating on the run for Kolb’s first couple of series
Run a Vick play on the first play of the game and Kolb comes in with what first and 20
Pass happy Reid hasn’t adapted his offense in all the time he has been here
Hey Songs
Even G Cobb says the O Line is in sad shape
And as far as Vick being the QB the rest of the season –right 6 sacks with the super mobile QB –yeah right the O line is not a problem
Pman – Springfield OH
Is Kelly Washington still available? If so, why haven’t the Eagles signed him? Seems like a no brainer to me.
Nothing is a no-brainer for the Eagles right now.
I think Coach AR, his Staff and the entire FO are swishing and swirling around in a big jacuzzo trying to stay afloat.. Not a good last 6 weeks for this Eagle Organization..