RON CORTES / Staff Photographer
Teammates gather around Donovan McNabb after the quarterback went down with a fractured rib in the third quarter. Kevin Kolb took over for the rest of the afternoon in Charlotte, N.C.
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McNabb's injury creates questions
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The obvious question wasn't the only question after Donovan McNabb left yesterday's season opener against the Carolina Panthers with a fractured rib.
The obvious one: When will McNabb be able to play again?
Coach Andy Reid did not have the answer, and McNabb was unavailable for comment after the team's 38-10 victory at Bank of America Stadium.
"We'll just take it day by day and see how he does," Reid said, refusing to rule out the possibility that McNabb could play in the Eagles' home opener Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
All signs point to Kevin Kolb getting his first career start against the Saints, which means he'll probably also run with the first-team offense during practice this week. Kolb, who completed 7 of 11 passes for 23 yards without leading the Eagles to a score in relief of McNabb yesterday, said a week of preparation should help him.
"Hopefully that will make a big difference, because we need to be smoother than we were today," Kolb said. "We know we need to put up some points because New Orleans can score."
If McNabb cannot play Sunday, the Eagles will also probably need a backup quarterback because Michael Vick is ineligible to return until Week 3. The logical option would be to re-sign veteran A.J. Feeley, but other teams could also have interest in him. Given that Feeley's return to Philadelphia would probably be temporary, he may look for more job security elsewhere. Attempts to reach Feeley last night were unsuccessful.
Another interesting question circulating in the Eagles' locker room after the game was whether the Panthers' Damione Lewis should have been penalized for a late hit on McNabb. Lewis, a 301-pound defensive tackle, landed on McNabb's back after he scored the game's final touchdown.
"To me, it looked like it was an unnecessary hit," safety Quintin Mikell said.
Reid said McNabb raised the same point in the trainer's room after the game.
"Donovan just asked me that," Reid said. "I don't know. It looked like the guy's momentum was going forward. They didn't call it, so I presume it was legal. I really haven't gotten a clean picture of it."
The play will no doubt be reviewed by the league, which often administers fines even on plays that did not result in penalties.
This is the second time McNabb has suffered a serious rib injury, and the last time was on a similar play against the same team. In the Eagles' 14-3 NFC championship loss to the Panthers in 2004 at Lincoln Financial Field, McNabb was knocked out of the game in the third quarter when hit late by former Carolina linebacker Greg Favors.
McNabb said shortly after that game that he thought Favors' hit was illegal. Favors strongly disagreed.
Lewis was unavailable for comment after the game, but he showed concern about McNabb's injury immediately afterward, hanging around a group of Eagles players as the quarterback was examined by doctors in the end zone.
Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
