Eagles, Tebow and the backup QB
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Eagles, Tebow and the backup QB
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
I hate to be a killjoy, but I have to shoot down a juicy Eagles-related story that’s been making the rounds this week.
Shortly after Donovan McNabb was traded to the Redskins, SI.com’s Peter King reported that the Eagles have expressed interest in University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. ``I have heard the Eagles will now focus on Tebow and are likely to join the parade of teams working him out and spending time with him,’’ King wrote.
With all due respect to what Peter heard, the Eagles aren’t expected to be participating in any pre-draft Tebow parade. According to a league source, they currently have no plans to bring Tebow in for a pre-draft visit or work him out elsewhere. They had representatives at his Pro Day workout last month, but that’s been it.
Does that mean they absolutely, positively won’t draft Tebow later this month? No, but it’s extremely unlikely, particularly as his stock continues to rise. With seven picks in the first four rounds, they can afford to take a flier on a guy, much like they did with injured Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu in the fourth round of the ’08 draft.
But right now, Tebow is no worse than the fourth-rated quarterback on most teams’ draft boards, behind only Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy. Best guess is he’ll be taken no lower than the third round and possible even earlier. If he slipped lower than that, then the Eagles might take him. But that’s not going to happen, which is one of the reasons they don’t feel the need to bring him in for a visit.
With McNabb gone, the Eagles currently only have two quarterbacks on their roster. So you would think there’s a pretty good chance they’ll select one in the draft. But the fact that they have been unable to trade Michael Vick has put them in a little bit of a bind.
Reid never will admit this, but while he likes Vick as a Wildcat weapon, he doesn’t have a lot of faith in his ability to run his offense if something were to happen to Kevin Kolb this season.
The Eagles still are hoping to move Vick, I’m told. But if they can’t, they really can’t afford to go with Kolb, Vick and a rookie project as their three quarterbacks. They would have to bring in another veteran quarterback – like Marc Bulger – to kind of play the role Kolb did last season, which was the No. 3 quarterback on game day behind McNabb and Vick, but the guy who would actually replace the starter if he got hurt.
If the Eagles are able to trade Vick before the conclusion of the draft, then they could bring in somebody like Bulger to back up Kolb and take a young quarterback in the draft.
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The Eagles have finalized their preseason schedule:
The preseason opener is Aug. 13 at home against Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m.
Week 2 is at Cincinnati on Aug. 20 at 8 p.m.
Week 3 is at Kansas City on Aug. 27 at 8 p.m.
Week 4 is at home against the Jets on Sept. 2, with a 7:30 p.m. start.
If Tebow does make it to the Nest, then who better to develope a QB than Big Red/Gray Reid? Do Favre, McNabb (to an extent) ring a bell? Tebow may never become the next Montana, but Montana was viewed in the exact same light as Tebow is viewed now. History will decide whether he ends up a gem or a bust (Ryan Leaf-esque) and the Birds could always use more leadership. Tough call here: take Tebow and the worst thing to happen is Detmer/Hoying 2, or let him go and face him twice a year & in the playoffs....Hmmmmm....— 1611kjv- Do you people forget that Vick was our only QB to hit a WR in stride, on the money in the Dallas game resulting in our only TD?— Mark1npt
- I agree with Zeru77 one hundred per cent, most of these people just don't want to see Vick for reasons other than dogfighting, it kind of sounds like the media is trying to plant in peoples head that Reid is planning on moving Vick, because he is not comfortable with him, but mainly because he traded McNabb to a team that they will have to see twice a year, kind of tells me that he is very comfortable with Vick and Kolb. Kolb played two games last year and didn't impress me that much in either one, granted Vick didn't play a lot, yet at the middle of the season when it was obvious Vick was getting his skills back he had the injury, he did quite well in Atlanta before that, and when he did return the last game with the Cowboys, he threw that 76 yard touchdown, fact is had Vick been given more time to play in that game maybe the Eagles wouldn't have lost, and at the minimum they would not have got their asses kicked as bad as they did. And for those Philly fans who want to talk about character there in Philly, well for you, there were character issues in Philly long before Vick, crime rate to high to say otherwise, and there is certainly an issue with animal cruelty and dog fighting, so character issues can't be to great. I don't believe that Kevin Kolb will be that great, and most don't want to see Vick out shine Kolb, plain and simple.— charmaine
- why is it that everytime I post a comment on this site, that it is routed for approval and then it never displayed, are you picking and choosing what you want to post, if so let me know and I for one will not post on this site.— charmaine
