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Every Eagles fan knows where they were and what they were doing last Easter when they heard their franchise quarterback had been traded. The rumors were swirling that the Eagles were listening to offers for McNabb but none seemed very heated. Teams like the Rams, Raiders, Bills all inquiried in the six time Pro Bowler, but McNabb was not interested and the Eagles agreed to send him to a team that had a chance at winning. Let’s face it, none of those teams have come close to even being competitive and it was hard enough for Donovan to win a Super Bowl in Philly.
But no one expected to see Donovan shipped to a divisional foe on Easter Sunday. The Redskins gave the Eagles an offer to good to pass on and they pulled the plug on it. It was official. Donovan McNabb traded to the Redskins. The Eagles did the unthinkable and parted ways with the best quarterback in the history of the organization. Nobody thought they would see the day when the marriage of Reid and McNabb would divorce after 11 years.
So after months of anticipation, the day has finally come. And my how fast it went. McNabb will return to Philadelphia this Sunday as the opposing quarterback. When he arrives at the stadium, he will head towards the visiting teams locker room. A path he is not very familiar with, but I think his teammates will point him in the right direction if he gets lost. But everyone will remember the path McNabb had as Eagles quarterback. For 11 seasons, it was filled with heartbreak and triumph. Year in and year out, the question was: Will this be the year when Donovan grabs the bull by the horns and the Eagles win the Super Bowl? Will Donovan take that next step and cement himself as an elite quarterback? Can he win it when the game’s on the line in the fourth quarter? And each year ended with the same outcome and the same feeling of nausea.
It will be all about Donovan McNabb and how well he plays on Sunday. He has started off strong but the same issues still linger even though he is wearing a different uniform. McNabb has said, that, for him, this is just another game against another team. Deep down, though, Donovan would want nothing more than to stick it to the Eagles. It will be his way of saying you made a mistake by trading me because we know he would never dare say those words publicly. But then again Donovan is never one to shy away from speaking his mind.
The city of brotherly love invites one of its most famous sports figures back to where it all began. And the whole world will be watching.
Maybe Andy Reid was right on this one. Last week, I displayed my frustration with Reid for selecting Michael Vick as the Eagles quarterback against Jacksonville. I thought it was unfair to bench a quarterback, whom you anointed as the savior, and had every intention of playing him this year despite some hiccups along the way, after one half of football that wasn’t entirely his fault. There have been many times where coaches juggle quarterbacks because they’re under intense pressure from their respective organizations to win now. That kind of philosophy doesn’t translate into wins. It provides constant headaches, not just for the coaches, but the players especially, because they know neither quarterback has any chance of winning a close ballgame should it come down to that. It provides a huge distraction and takes away from focusing solely on your next opponent.
And that’s not what the Eagles needed right now. They did not need that distraction. This is a talented, young football team who can compete with the better teams in this league. If you’re indecisive about who is your quarterback, all the potential for this season will fall like a stack of dominoes.
So Reid decides to go with the hot hand and stick with Vick. He made it very clear that this is not just an experiment. This is the way it will be all season and I have to commend him for that. And I have to commend Michael Vick. Without question, Vick has grown up, both on and off the field since his incarceration. No one could have expected that Vick would progress this quickly as a quarterback. Yesterday’s win against the Jaguars was a good indication. There was only one time where Vick pulled the ball down and took off running- a 17 yard run that he scampered up the middle for a touchdown.
Behind the scenes, it’s obvious that Vick has committed himself to become a quarterback and not just an athlete playing quarterback. He has proven all the naysayers wrong who questioned if he can learn how to play the position correctly. From where I was sitting yesterday, Vick showcased that he has done just that, and done it ever so quietly.
The truth is by becoming a quarterback Vick has only enhanced his dangerousness. In Atlanta, teams knew that if you can contain him, he will not be able to beat you with his arm because he could not read defenses, and if he feels the slightest pressure, will take off and try to make the play on his own. But now, you have a quarterback who understands coverages, is accurate on his throws, makes the throws under pressure and seems to know exactly where he wants to go with the football. Besides all that sweet stuff, he has found his speed, and those gazelle-like legs look faster, now, than when he was in Atlanta.
Vick said so himself that he has realized it’s a lot easier to score by throwing the football rather then running. He has other athletes around him they can make the big plays and does not have to do so himself. The Eagles are 2-1 and sit in first place in the division. With Michael Vick as your quarterback, the Eagles are that much better. And Andy Reid realizes that. Reid hasn’t made too many good calls in his tenure as Eagles coach, but, this time, he got the right call.
Apparently, Andy Reid has seen enough of Kevin Kolb. Reid announced Tuesday that Michael Vick will get the start this Sunday in Jacksonville a day after he said Kolb was the Eagles starter. It continues to blow my mind as to what goes on inside this man’s head. In his press conference yesterday, I was hoping to hear a better explanation as to why he decided to go with Vick. When I first heard the news, two thoughts immediately ran through my head: the first one was, what? did I really just hear what I think heard? And the second, you have got to be kidding me, Andy. I assumed that Kolb may have had a setback in his recovery. There’s no way that was possible because he was cleared to play. And then Reid said it. The explanation, “Michael Vick is playing out of his mind right now.” Another one I enjoyed was, “it’s a beautiful thing having two good quarterbacks.” And that’s when I took the remote, scratch my head a few times and changed the channel to something I could enjoy. No, it’s not a beautiful thing, Andy. This is a sloppy mess.
This season was supposed to be about developing Kevin Kolb and letting him play this season. Yes, we were going to go through our aches and pains. We all knew that. Even Peyton Manning went through them. You traded the best quarterback in franchise history because you felt Kolb was better suited to run this offense. Well how can you determine, after one half, in the first game, that Kolb is not the guy? Nothing went well for the Eagles in that game including Reid’s playcalling, which seems to be a recurring theme year in and year out. The only bright spot was, in fact, Michael Vick. Give credit to Vick. He brought the Eagles back in that game and nearly pulled off an upset. I’m sure the Eagles are better suited with Vick as the starter. But, for me, this is not right. Not for a guy who has waited patiently the last three years to get his shot. He had his shot, and, within two weeks, has found himself in that same spot, carved with his name the last three years. That spot is now reserved for Mike Kafka.
Kolb is now stuck in a rabbit hole that will not be easy to escape. His coach has basically said to him that I do not believe you can get the job done as my quarterback. Did Andy forget that Kolb threw for over 300 yards in his first two starts as the Eagles quarterback? How do we know we won’t see that again? The only way to find out is to play Kolb. Let him play and become the quarterback you envisioned.
Look at Mark Sanchez. Look at the progression he had as a quarterback because his coaches believed he was the guy. The Jets dealt with their growing pains in the middle of last season with him on the field. But look where they ended up at season’s end. Granted they lost that game to the Colts but Sanchez proved that he was their guy. And that’s what Reid must do with Kolb. He has to give him an opportunity to play. It’s not doing either of them any favors.
The only time-out Andy is using is on Kolb. Well, I guess it’s good to see that he’s finally putting them to use.
The mood in Philly is somber. For the first time in quite some time, the Eagles are not ensured a playoff spot. For the first time in quite some time, the Eagles do not have a Pro Bowl quarterback leading them, at least not yet. And for the first time in a long time, the Eagles’ rushing attack will balance out their passing game. Okay, I was lying about that last one. Did you really think Andy Reid would ever do that?
With Donovan McNabb bolting for the rival Redskins, the Eagles are left with an upstart young gun in Kevin Kolb and the misunderstood Michael Vick. Personally I think Vick should be leading these Eagles, but I’m not the brilliant coach Reid.
Now that Brian Westbrook is gone, the impressive LeSean McCoy will get the bulk of the carries. The Eagles have the receiving talent in Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, and others. It’s now up to Kolb to get the ball to them. Personally, I think people have read too much into his pair of 300-yard passing games last year. The good thing about sports is there is always the chance to prove people wrong.
The dirty birds could drop to last place in the division this year. It all rests on the shoulders of Kolb. I’m going to say they will finish 9-7, good enough for third in the division.
By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network
In the next few weeks leading up to the beginning of the 2010 NFL season, I will be making predictions for every division in both conferences. I am starting off with the always tough NFC East, where every team in the division has a chance to be over .500. I am starting off with who will finish last in the division and work my way up to the division winner.
4. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles went from the second best team in the division to the worst with one huge trade during the off-season. Everyone knows who it is, their franchise quarterback, Donovan McNabb. Last season football commentators said either McNabb or Coach Andy Reid will probably be let go by the Eagles in 2010 if they did not win the Super Bowl in the 2009 season. No one believed that it would actually happen, but here we are now in 2010 and McNabb is now playing for the Washington Redskins. Out of all teams, why would the Eagles trade McNabb to a division rival? The Eagles play the Redskins twice every year, imagine if the Redskins win both games!
The Eagles were tired of having McNabb get them so close to winning it all and then failing. I can understand why the Eagles are frustrated, but Kevin Kolb, the Eagles new starting quarterback is not anything close to McNabb. There is also a chance of Michael Vick becoming the Eagles starting quarterback. I think Vick will give the Eagles a better chance at making the playoffs, but I guess the Eagles want to develop Kolb to be their next franchise quarterback. If Kolb struggles early the Eagles might give the ball to Vick, but either way I do not think they will be any better than last place in the tough NFC East. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin can only help the team in so many ways. The two speedy young receivers will make the Eagles a middle-of-the-line team instead of one of the worst teams. This will also help the new starting running back, LeSean McCoy find some holes. McCoy is a promising new look as the teams running back after Brian Westbrook held that position for the last eight years. This is the Eagles only improvement in my eyes since Westbrook became injury prone over the last three seasons. I think the Eagles will be 7-9 this season, which would be good for third in most divisions, but in the NFC East they are dead last.
Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network
When the Philadelphia Eagles acquired Michael Vick, it was met with a lot of publicity. Much of that publicity was negative. Seen as a criminal, many did not believe that he deserved a chance. And last season, many thought that Philadelphia was not properly using him.
With a hefty salary and a new heap of trouble, many Eagles fans are wishing for his release. There are other serviceable backup quarterbacks on the free agent market. However, the Eagles should not release Vick. What if Kolb gets injured? What if he stinks up the joint? Vick at least has experience at starting quarterback, even if he has more recent experience in prison.
He is exciting, and is still a fun player to watch. Yes, football is not all fun, but fun may be a huge factor in the upcoming season if the Eagles played mediocre football like they may. Vick provides excitement, and now that he has playing time under his belt, and a full training camp to prepare, the Eagles should not pull the trigger and release Vick. If they stuck with him this long, there is no point in ending it now.
by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network
With training camp approaching, despite many mixed feelings on the Eagles quarterback situation, one thing is clear; there is no real quarterback competition. As evident by the recent restructured contract, the job is clearly going to Kevin Kolb. Some believe he is unproven, while others are convinced that Kolb showed signs of greatness. Backing up Kevin Kolb is Michael Vick, who is in one of the most unique spots in the league. Even just seven years ago, Vick was the league’s most popular player, and was considered by many to be an elite quarterback, despite the fact that he never had great passing ability. But now, Vick finds himself frustrated at the fact that he did not see the field all that much last year. So where does this leave the Eagles quarterback situation for this upcoming year? One thing’s for sure; the NFL Football Lines for the Eagles winning games this year will be drastically lower than it was the previous season.
Kevin Kolb has had an interesting start to what the Eagles hope to be a successful career. Over his first seven games of his career, Kolb turned the ball over five times, and did not get any touchdowns. But this past season, Kolb put together two impressive looking games against the Saints and the Chiefs. He had five touchdowns in these two starts, and gave Eagles fans some signs of hope. But because Donovan McNabb was still in town, and the Eagles wanted to get Vick some snaps, Kolb did not get much playing time for the rest of the season. Struggling was an understatement for Kolb in his first two years, but he showed flashes of stardom in the two starts last year.
Backing up Kevin Kolb will be Michael Vick. Vick was mainly used for Wildcat formation purposes this past season. Vick had a few touchdowns, including a huge play in the Eagles’ playoff loss to Dallas. Many fans around the league feel that Vick was being misused. However, it was a case of Vick slowly working back into the thick of things. But now, there are no excuses for the Eagles to hold Vick back. No, he should not be starting in week one. On the other hand, the Eagles should give Vick plenty of playing time, including using normal formations. He claims he is faster than ever, and he has rare abilities. Whether those rare abilities still exist remain to be seen.
To sum it all up, there is no quarterback competition in Philadelphia. Kevin Kolb is the starter. But Michael Vick needs to be more than a backup.
by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network
When word broke on Thursday night that the Eagles had traded up in the first round to the 13th pick, everyone assumed that they would select playmaking safety Earl Thomas. The Eagles have been missing a playmaker at the safety position since Brian Dawkins was released before the start of last season and this seemed like it was too good to be true for the boys in the City of Brotherly Love. When Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the Eagles had taken Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham and not Thomas, everyone was stunned. While I was among the surprised, I thought it about it some more and I actually like the pick. I thought that going into the draft, Brandon Graham was the best pure pass rusher. The Eagles defense hinges on getting to the quarterback and Graham, teamed up with Pro Bowler Trent Cole on the other side, will provide nightmares to NFC East offenses.
It is also possible that the Eagles were just as high on their second round pick, saftey Nate Allen from South Florida as many were on the safety they passed over in the first round, Earl Thomas. Allen and Thomas are actually very similar players. Both are considered a little bit undersized, but accel in pass coverage and even have the ability to line up at cornerback. Allen is projected to be a big time playmaker in the Eagles defense, as he will be given the opportunity to play center field and use his excellent speed to make plays on the ball and help the Eagles get takeaways. The addition of Graham will cause quarterbacks to release the ball quicker and make poor decisions and the Eagles hope that their second round pick, Nate Allen will be the recipient of those poor decisions.
by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network
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