Anybody who says Kevin Kolb only had a half of football to prove himself worthy of taking over as the team’s starting quarterback is ignoring an entire off season of workouts. Kolb showed his stuff at countless OTA’s and mini-camps. He also had training camp and three preseason games.
Andy Reid said he’s willing to be the “bad guy” in this situation, but he isn’t really the bad guy, he’s the good guy. Reid didn’t want to hurt the public reputation of Kolb and tell everybody that the young man disappointed him in his performances as the team’s starting quarterback since Donovan McNabb was traded.
Reid was being nice by saying Kolb’s benching had nothing to do with his play, but everything to do with Michael Vick’s play. That wasn’t the truth and I hope Reid told him in private, so Kolb doesn’t fool himself. He’s got to look in the mirror if he doesn’t want it to happen again.
I believe Reid told him the truth after reading what Kolb said earlier this week. “I have confidence in Andy that he’s doing what’s right for our team, for Mike, for my career, and that’s the only way I can approach it … I have to have faith in it and keep moving forward,” Kolb said. “In this business, there are a lot of changes, and if you can’t roll with them, and get better from them, then you better just quit. And that’s obviously not the card for me. I plan on getting better from this.”
Notice Kolb said “get better from them, then you better just quit”. Reid told him he’s got to get better. I don’t think Kolb believes Reid is the “bad guy”. He knows who the “bad guy” is.
Reid was a bit more truthful with Peter King of Sports Illustrated when he said he thought Kolb would get crucified if he played now.
Should a coach think it’s a coincidence that an offense which set a team record for scoring a year before, and now can’t get in the end zone, but the change in production has nothing to do with putting in a new quarterback? Even a blind man would be able to see that they’ve got a problem at the position which was changed.
I’m willing to go further than NFL Network analyst Mike Lombardi, who asked if anybody had any seen any video of Kolb playing well this summer. If somebody has video of Kolb playing mistake-free football for one quarter, I’ll give them a monetary award for it.
In addition, anybody who is trying to portray Kolb as a victim, needs to stop. It’s got to be embarrassing for Kolb to see and hear people making him a victim, when he and his teammates know he wasn’t doing the job.
Notice that not one Eagles players said Kolb was playing well. All they could say was we still believe Kolb is a good quarterback.
Hopefully he’ll get another chance and will have learned from this setback. There are thousands of NFL players who didn’t pan out in their first NFL try, but made changes and eventually succeeded in their NFL careers.
I heard he was going to blame “Barack Obama” …
Kolb played bad but it’s not ALL his fault, only a biased idiot would think that. This OLine got Kolb the sack as much as his play has. So Kolb didn’t play well all offseason, well I’ve heard reports from this site that the DLine has dominated the OLine all camp which tells me the OLine has sucked just as long as Kolb has. All I’m saying is things would’ve turned out a bit differently if this kid got some protection. Now we’re in a situation that we need a player of Vick’s unique ability cuz the OLine can’t protect him either (got sacked 6 times last week and could’ve been more). This is only going to lead to Vick getting hurt unnecessarily and then where are we at…back to Kolb bashing because we still have an OLine that can’t keep a QB off his back no matter who’s huckin chuckin footballs back there.
Yeah that offense that couldn’t get diddly done against the last 2 Cowboy games
Come on G you know the damn O line is crap and Vick is also going to find that out
How much will the Browns give up for him?
Kolb has never played particularly well as a pro. People go nuts over the fact that he had 2 300 yard games last year. Both were against bad defenses, and he threw 3 picks in the Saints game. He has 7 interceptions in his short NFL career (and only 4 TDs). Think about that, if you added up all of the minutes he’s played in the NFL, it would probably come to 4-5 games, and he’s thrown 7 picks already. In his limited play against GB week one, his passes were not crisp at all, he was merely putting the ball in the general direction of the receiver.
In the back of my head, I believe Marty Morningbreath really soured on Kolb. He made some comments over the summer and recently about Kolb going backwards. He also praised Mike Kafka as the best young QB he’s ever been around.
I have a really strange feeling that the Kolb experiment may be over, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets moved at some point.
I really think this is a moot point since Vick is the starter now. No need to beat the drum. We are going 15-1 now right?
It’s interesting that people say Vick has only played 6 quarters but on the other hand were ready to give Kolb the franchise after 8 quarters of play where 1 of the quarters was garbage time. Just interesting.
All these Kolb supporters for a guy who’s done not one single thing worth noting. Some guys are just best suited holding a clipboard. Is he? For the time being, I guess so. But all this Kolb love is sickening. Dude has done squat. And all the media and fans want to make it seem such a sad day in Philly cuz Kolb was bench and make it seem like he’s a victim but we spent years getting mad at McNabb for “playing the victim”. Pretty ironic.
I do think the offensive line has played a role in Kevin Kolb’s benching but Kevin has played a role in it as well. Some readers seem to want to give him a free pass as if he has played well. Notice none of his teammates say he has bee playing well.
McNabb played behind this line and didn’t get a free pass. He also played behind a line that allowed him to get sacked 12 times in a game, but did he get a free pass then either. Now Vick has to play behind this line.
It was a tough situation that Kolb was thrown into, but this is the way things are done in the NFL. Either you produce or they find somebody else who can produce.
G that’s a great explanation. Your article seemed a little harsh but this comment is point on. Fact is Vicks surivability will still bepushed to it’s limit’s with this o-line. Vick is the starter and he is an Eagle so support the tem. No need to rip down Kolb though, the seasons gonna play out and we have no idea how so.
This says it all for me
” NFL Network analyst Mike Lombardi, who asked if anybody had any seen any video of Kolb playing well this summer. If somebody has video of Kolb playing mistake-free football for one quarter, I’ll give them a monetary award for it.”
Glad to see the follow up G, but it looks like the real reason they went to Vick was because they have no need to struggle through the probable 3-13 season Kolb would have endured. Almost every starter struggles the first year and it was obvious to everyone watching the last two weeks Mike Vick can still play maybe even at a higher level than before he went to prison. The rest of the NFC hasn’t looked good and this could be a year were an average team like the Eagles goes to a superbowl. Why would you bother going through growing pains of a young QB when you have Vick. He is only 30 if he plays great you sign him to a longer deal. If he fails then you turn to Kolb when the season is lost. Troy Aikman finished his rookie year with an 0-11 record as a starter he completed 155 of 293 passes for 1,749 yards, 9 TDs, 18 INTs, and I don’t know that we have the next Aikman.
Starting Vick over Kolb right now is just a good football move for the team to win. regardless of the PR backlash AR might endure or whatever it’s just the right football move to make. I just hope he lasts the full season.
McNabb didn’t play behind this sham of an OLine except for the last 2 weeks of last year. How did that turn out? For the majority of McNabbs career here he’s played behind a fairly stout OLine when everyone was healthy and had 2 bookend OT’s that were dominant and keep him clean for the most part. A crappy OLine doesn’t afford you 14 seconds to allow a play to develop does it?
Good rebuttal G. You are on point with this article. In all my years watching football I’ve never heard so many excuses for one player. I challenge any Kolb supporters to find another instance where a QB who was considered to be good or with the potential to be good got benched in order to protect him from his own offensive line. A player that’s only good under optimal conditions isn’t really good at all. If he played a bad game in the rain would you use that as an excuse too? Unbelievable!
WWW and the comments about the O Line – I watched some of the replays of the sack that gave him the concussion….. the angle was from the right sideline showing Justice straight on – Justice did a decent job on the block – Matthews just ran all the way around him. Kolb had time to set up and pump fake, then he started to roll left, he slowed and pumped again, and then started to run again and got pulled down. I think Kolb held the ball too long – too pump fakes is plenty in this league.
Kolb did not play well the last pre season and first half. Then he got hurt – Vick got his chance to show what he could do and is doing a great job – now Kolb needs to win his spot back.
Before we get too far down the road blaming and poking fun at the line and the QBS and the coaches, we may need Kolb to be back in there at some point this year. Lets hope he doesn’t suck and that he gets it all back in one sock. Vick plays a very aggressive style of football (how many QBs try to dive over from the two against a DB) and we need a solid #2
McNabb played behind a stout oline throughout his career? lol. Thats a joke right. Dont make me bring up Strahans career stats against Big John. I know big John got the best of Strahan too. That was a Madden thing. He only gave up 25 sacks to Strahan over 10 years lol. McNabbs oline was never this bad but i wouldnt call it STOUT eithier. I think Tra made pro bowl 3 times and runyon about the same as an alternate in 10 years. Throw in Andrews 3 and thats it. 2 1000 yard rushers in 11 years is hardly stout. Hell we havent been able to gain 3rd and 1 for 10 years. Orlando Pace, W Jones, L Allen etc were stout. They gave up 3 sacks a year. They were dominant.
Hey g way to tell it how it is. Notice only a few commets to this article and its mainly by kolb supporters. Stop trying to make the line the excuse i dont care if it was flag football he aint the best qb on the team n neva has been. I dont know how he has supporters unless they went to houston or hate the chiefs. He has done nothin to earn fans. I. Certainly wouldnt be surprisd to c a trade soon while this bum has any value. Guys talk bout cowboys but he couldnt handle any blitzes from jax bengals saints anyone. Hes a bum n it came to light sorry i know yall were excited but get like ryan mallett then be.excited for ur great hype.
Dont understand How Kolb can be a bum after 2 starts. He might not pan out but to label him a bum is totally ridiculous. As is annointing a man with 70 career start and basically not very good at that as taking this team to a superbowl. To be fair Vick might have had his best game as a QB on Sunday. He’s gonna have to continue to grow. The potential is there but he needs to prove it. People need to be fair.
COME ON COME ON!! Kolb wasnt that good in those 2 starts last year!! The saints game he made some bonehead mistakes in that game making poor judgements in that game!!! and KC was horrible last year i would like to see him play against the KC team now but it wont be 24 yards total passing in the first half maybe -24!!! He was a bad decision hands down!! you know all good QB’s come from the SEC!!! We should trade him now!!
Thnx jroc i need not say anything now
Yeah PW, I don’t even know how a guy who’s done squat has a bunch of fans. Doesn’t make sense to me. You earn it on the field and as of right now, he’s done nothing on the field.
jroc757: You’re a loon about SEC QB’s!!!!!
Brees from Purdue (Pac 10), Rivers from NC State (ACC), A. Rodgers from Cal (Pac 10), Montana from ND (independent), Farvre from S. Miss (Conf-USA now), Unitas from Louisville (Conf-USA now), Brady from Mich (Big 10), Bart Starr from Oregon (Pac 10), Aikman from UCLA (Pac 10), Warren Moon from Wash (Pac 10), Marino from Pitt (now Big East), P. Manning (SEC), Flacco from Delaware (MAC?), Warner from N. Iowa (forget conf), St. Young from BYU (WAC), Romo from E. Illinois (conf???), E. Manning from Miss (SEC), Rothlisberger from Marshall (MAC), Stabler from Alabama (SEC), Testaverde from Miami (independent then), B. Griese from Purdue (Big 10), etc etc
QB’s come from all over the nation and few from SEC.
SEC Qb’s play against more talented players thats my point!!! And why are you going back in time!!! U must have gotten out of your hot tub time machine or something!! Unites…….
The reason why the broncos picked up tebow 1st round because he was in the SEC!! (BETTER LEVEL OF TALENT) you can name all the guys from the past all you want but where talking bout now IGGLES!! Jay Cutler good QB played in the SEC Eli Manning good QB SEC! NOW IGGLES NOT THE PAST I MEAN NOW!!!!
Do any of you realize we wouldn’t even be talking about kevin kolb if it wasn’t for the Eagles front office and the New England Patriots in 2007. The Eagles FO gambled that no one was going to take brandon merriweather, and New England knew what we were going to do and pounced. They screwed us out of a superbowl and now gave us this kolb fiasco. We wouldn’t even know the name if the eagles didn’t move back so much in the drafts like a bunch of pussies. the last two years they’ve done us justice but still… it took them long enough.
I am sorry but Kolb really never showed me anything that impressed me. Even the 2 games he played well nothing really jumps out .
Are you kidding me.. SEC QB’s have moslty been busts or primarily back-up status in the Pro’s…(outside the Manning Brothers). Here’s a list of SEC QB’s that are on NFL Rosters
Brodie Coyle,Tyler Thigpen, Jason Campbell,Matt Flynn,Rex Grossman,
Charlie WHitehurst, John Parker WIlson, and of course the biggest bust in NFL History Jemarcus Russell..
On the plus side from the SEC is M Stafford and we;ll see how T Tebow turns out…
The most NFL Ready type of QB’s usually come from out west (The Pac-10, Mountain Conference) t for those teams have more of a passing Offenses, better talent at WR and play more wide open football as opposed tothe more running,stronger defenses of the SEC and the Big 10..
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First off let me say that Kolb obviously didn’t have enough time to prove himself. With that being said however, I find it laughable when certain morning and after noon radio hosts denigrate what Vick did in “only” six quarters and against a “horrible” Detroit team or a team like the Packers who were ” only playing prevent defense”. Give me a break!! If Kolb had played well in “only six quarters”, these same people (Mike Missanelli, Rhea Hughes, Howard Eskin, Angelo Cataldi, Brian Startare,) would have talking about how great Kolb was and when were the Eagles going to trade Vick. Please people, at least have a bit of integrity about your opinions! My personal biggest problem with this whole team is that I still feel the biggest problem is not the offensebut the fact that u feel Sean McDermott is a HORRIBLE defensive coordinator and woefully inadequate and overmatched in this job. And I’m sick of our two starting defensive tackles who seem to never make any impact at all on any game. Bunkley and especially Mike Patterson need to be gone NOW! The problem is that there is not much behind them. This defense sucks since JJ passed away. I want McDermott gone yesterday!
I miss typed my statement should read that I feel the biggest problem is the defense, not u feel, but you know what I meant. lol sorry about the typo.
lol! Hot tub time machine!
What do u guys think of denard robinson , y cant any1 tackle him. Is he just this incredible or is it cause they playin bums, id say a bit of both but hes a human highlight reel. His stats r like video gm stats just ridiculous.
Is denard an nfl player?
He’s the most exciting player in College football so far this season hands down..
He’s is bringing back the University of Michigan from the doldrums and is probably saving their
Coach Rodriquez job …
He’s a lot like App State QB Armanti Edwards (who is now on the Panthers) was during his college days but a lot thicker and stronger.. He’s has a nice career ahead of him…
(he did bruise his knee today and only played a half..)
Robinson is a great college player. The most exciting and dangerous player in college. I dont know if there is a spot in the NFL for him. Can he return punts or kickoffs? Could he develop into a Josh Cribbs? Cribbs is a lot bigger and a beast. Hes 6 foot 190 pounds and not a pure RB. So I dont think hes a NFL player. But if healthy he will win the Heisman before hes done.
I think there’s a spot for D Robinson,
Can be like a Percy HArvin Type, catch the ball, run reverses, maybe return kicks/punts and probably be very effective in the Red-Zone as a WIldcat option for some teams…
Similar to Brad Smith of the Jets who was a great College QB at Missouri (though not as big but more explosive..)