Kevin Kolb, Philadelphia Eagle

[smeags]

so munson, considering the offense is going to actually use the WCO playbook unlike the last few years, meaning a ton more short and intermediate passes you still think kolbs arm will hold back the team ?

[SunMo]

spaghetti arm!

[PhillyPhanInDC]

so munson, considering the offense is going to actually use the WCO playbook unlike the last few years, meaning a ton more short and intermediate passes you still think kolbs arm will hold back the team ?

Don't get sucked in smeags.....don't try to reason with it.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

So, people are surprised that the Eagles could have gotten back more in a trade for Kolb than McNabb?

Pretty sure you don't trade away the best QB the franchise has ever had to a divisional rival and give his replacement an 8-figure pay raise unless said replacement is thought to be "legit."

Plus, it's not like Heckert is an outsider.  He's probably the one who pulled the trigger on Kolb in the draft.

the key to that deal would be getting first rounders that are young

POTY nominee, definitely - might be the funniest thing IGY has ever posted

[smeags]

so munson, considering the offense is going to actually use the WCO playbook unlike the last few years, meaning a ton more short and intermediate passes you still think kolbs arm will hold back the team ?

Don't get sucked in smeags.....don't try to reason with it.

haaaaa

[SD]

the key to that deal would be getting first rounders that are young

POTY nominee, definitely - might be the funniest thing IGY has ever posted

Agreed and munson's idiotic retort was equally funny considering he completely missed the point (as usual)

[PhillyPhanInDC]

All aboard!

Eagles QB Kolb gets some pre-snap backing from Jaworski, Baldinger

By PAUL DOMOWITCH

pdomo@aol.com

THE QUARTERBACK torch has been passed from the six-time Pro Bowler to the 25-year-old probie, and now, all eyes will turn to the little town of Bethlehem on Monday as everyone anxiously waits to find out whether the Eagles' faith in Kevin Kolb is justified or misguided.

Were Kolb's two 300-yard performances against the Saints and Chiefs early last season an indication of things to come or simply the result of what can happen when you throw the ball 85 times against two bad pass defenses? The Eagles believe it was the former. Critics of the April trade of Donovan McNabb to the Washington taterskins currently are leaning toward the latter. We will discover the truth soon enough.

For what it's worth, Ron Jaworski and Brian Baldinger agree with the Eagles. The two former players and current ESPN (Jaworski) and NFL Network (Baldinger) broadcasters are anticipating a smooth McNabb-to-Kolb transition in South Philadelphia.

"I have extremely high expectations for him and this offense,'' Baldinger said. "I think they're going to be a top-five offense in the league this year.

"What's going to be different is, you're going to see a lot more yards after the catch. I think you'll see an offense that doesn't have as many three and outs. I think there's going to be more rhythm to it. And I think, at the end of the season, people are going to say, 'Hey, you know, Andy Reid is a pretty damn good coach. I like that play-calling.' ''

When the Eagles selected Kolb with the 36th overall pick in the 2007 draft, Jaworski panned the move. He had Kolb rated no better than the eighth quarterback in the draft. Kolb ended up being the third one taken, behind only JaMarcus Russell (first by the Raiders) and Brady Quinn (22nd by the Browns).

Now, Jaworski has done a U-turn on Kolb and thinks he absolutely, positively has the right stuff to be a successful quarterback.

"I know the sampling isn't huge right now, but he's gotten much better,'' Jaworski said. "I was pretty critical of Kevin when he came out. Because I didn't see enough throws [at the University of Houston] that projected him to the NFL passing game.

"But like [the Packers'] Aaron Rodgers, he's gotten better every year he's been in the league, playing behind McNabb. Rodgers played behind [Brett] Favre. He learned the game, learned how to play the game. He practiced, he studied and he got better.

"I think Kevin falls into that same mode. And I think his arm has actually gotten stronger. He's always been accurate. The two games he started last season, I thought he was very accurate. The key to playing the quarterback position is anticipation. That comes from the comfort level he has. Understanding the offense. Understanding reading coverage. The anticipation was there.''

Kolb is a different type of quarterback than McNabb. He doesn't have McNabb's big arm. But he has better mechanics than McNabb and is more accurate. He is a rhythm passer who gets the ball out quickly and allows his receivers to gain yards after the catch.

"I really like his decision-making,'' Jaworski said. "If you go back to last year, I thought the two games he played, he made outstanding decisions. The speed with which he reads the coverage, watching him last year, he knew where to go with the football. I remember very few bad decisions.''

Baldinger also sees a different Kevin Kolb now than the one he saw 3 years ago, when the kid came out of the University of Houston.

"He looks like a man now,'' Baldinger said. "He's much bigger and stronger physically. From a mental standpoint, I think he has a complete grasp of what to do, where to go, where his outlets are. He understands protections. He knows how to prepare. And he's got good ball placement, which is what this offense is based on.''

Reid is a disciple of the West Coast offense. But the version of it he ran in the 11 seasons McNabb was his quarterback was much different than the one they used to run in San Francisco with Joe Montana and Steve Young, or the one Reid's mentor, Mike Holmgren, ran in Green Bay with Favre.

He played to McNabb's strength, which was the bazooka arm, and tried to minimize his primary weakness, which was inaccuracy.

"If you look at their offense under McNabb, it was more of a vertical passing offense,'' Jaworski said. "You can say it was, in theory, a West Coast-style offense. But I don't think it ever was. It was more of a downfield, protection-style passing game. Which, to me, was the right thing to do considering the guy you had at quarterback.

"You exploited the big arm that Donovan had. You had the potential for big plays with the long throws. But it really wasn't the West Coast offense you saw with Young and Montana. The short, quick, accurate throws. That's what you'll see with Kevin.''

McNabb ranks 22nd in career touchdowns (216), 24th in career passing yards (32,873) and third in career interception percentage (2.1). But he's no better than 45th in career completion percentage (.590). He's been over 62 percent just once in his 11 pro seasons. Kolb completed 62 of 96 passes last season for a .646 completion percentage.

"Donovan could only throw fastballs,'' Baldinger said. "He had no touch on the ball at all. This guy has all the touch. He throws a really catchable ball.

"Donovan's got a strong arm. One of the guilty pleasures of guys with strong arms is they love to show it off. Unfortunately, if you're coming across the middle and you get your head turned around late and the ball's on you like fire, you probably don't catch a lot of those balls. But if it's thrown with touch and it's on the spot, you have a good chance of catching those balls, even if you get [your head] around late on it.''

[Munson]

the key to that deal would be getting first rounders that are young

POTY nominee, definitely - might be the funniest thing IGY has ever posted

Agreed and munson's idiotic retort was equally funny considering he completely missed the point (as usual)

I could have reworded it to say "McNabb + more young talent" and it would have had the same meaning. Slow your roll.


Smeags-That all depends on how much he's grown in terms of reading the D/looking off the D instead of staring down his receiver. If he's throwing a come back route to Celek over the middle and he stares at him the whole time during his 5 step drop, any LB not named Trotter should be athletic enough to jump in front of the ball. Same with comeback/out routes on the outside. McNabb was inaccurate and tended to throw fastballs at guys 10 yards away, but the upside to that was if someone was reading his eyes, his arm strength could make up for it before the defender could get to the ball (or the ball was in the dirt). Liking the article that Phan just posted though, that his arm has gotten stronger.

It's about that time of year where hopeful homersim is creeping in, and I think Kolb's gonna be decent. This year will be kind of a wash with the lack of oline and defense, and it being his first year as a starter, but I think he'll end up progressing to the point where he's at least as good as McNabb was in his prime. Only problem with that is McNabb at his best couldn't win us a SB. So either this guy needs to be a little better or the team around him does (or the coach has to change his philosophy). Hopefully his accuracy can be that big of a difference maker, but we'll all have to wait and see. But with the Phillies sucking right now I'm getting more and more hyped up for this season to get started.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Zero chance anyone's actually reading that.

[Munson]

You read it. Zealot.

[Diomedes]

Zero chance anyone's actually reading that.

lmao

I got three words in, looked over again to see who this is, and then skipped to your post, ha ha.

[Munson]

The lack of a bolded Munron in your post makes me sad

[Diomedes]

Sorry Munron.  You'll survive.

[PhillyPhreak54]

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20100725_How_the_Eagles_moved_on_from_McNabb.html?viewAll=y#ixzz0uhZ4f0Y1

The last part in the Inky's series, this one about the McNabb trade.

Last September, the Eagles' team charter flew back from Kansas City, from an early afternoon game against Chiefs, in time for Howie Roseman to grab dinner back home in Center City.

Then the vice president of player personnel, now the GM, Roseman had a television on in the background as he ate.

"Sunday Night Football came on - there was this graphic about Kevin Kolb, how he was the first player in NFL history to throw over 300 yards in his first two starts," Roseman said

Nice editing and writing. The game was in Phildelphia, sports writers!

[Rome]

LEADER