Kolb: If Cardinals don't, I want Eagles to win it all
Kevin Kolb spent the first regular season weekend of his NFL career on a team other than the Eagles.
Kolb: If Cardinals don't, I want Eagles to win it all
Daily News staff
Kevin Kolb spent the first regular season weekend of his NFL career on a team other than the Eagles.
Kolb, now Arizona's starting quarterback, was asked Monday whether he paid any attention to how the Eagles had done against the Rams in their season opener.
"I didn’t at all," he said on ESPN Radio's Scott Van Pelt show. "I just saw that they won and it looked like Mike moved around a lot and he made some plays with his feet.
"If we don’t win it, I want them to win it. I truly mean that. I love those guys over there and I wish them the best except for Week 10 or 11, whenever it is that we play them."
Kolb was 18-for-27 for 309 yards and two touchdowns in his Arizona debut as he continues to pick up the offense.
"It’s a big challenge. It really is," Kolb said of picking up the new offense, especially without a spring of minicamps and OTAs. "If I said any different, I would be lying. Every day is more beneficial, every game, every situation. I just keep trying to put a notch in my belt and keep learning. The biggest thing is never stop striving to get better. If you can make mistakes like we did and still win, it says you are a pretty good team."
Kolb's performance in the win over Carolina was overshadowed by the record-setting debut for rookie Cam Newton in his NFL debut.
"After the third quarter, everybody looked at each other and thought, 'man this guy can really play,' " Kolb said. "As long as he keeps pressing, he’s going to be a great player. And I think he will, because he wants to be a great player in this league."
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Meanwhile, Donovan McNabb's debut with the Vikings did not go nearly as well. The numbers were 7-for-15 for 39 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
As expected, coach Leslie Frazier took a broader view on the play of his quarterback: "There are some things that he’ll definitely want to improve on but if you look at the entire team, there are some things that we need to improve on as a team, which in terms will help him and help our football team but he did some good things in that ball game. He came out with good enthusiasm and did a good job of leading us early on to a score. There are some things we want to improve on as a team all the way around."
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Some numbers to consider as the Eagles turn their attention to the Falcons, with some comments from coach Mike Smith during his day-after session with reporters yesterday.
* Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked five times and hit 11 times overall in the loss to Chicago. Part of that was because the Falcons got down and had to throw as the game wore on. The overall run-pass mix was 47 passes to 14 runs.
“Much more than we’d like to, not just a little bit. That’s something that we have to improve on," Smith said on how often Ryan was hit. "When you let a defensive line only have to defend one thing, it makes it tougher for your offensive protection to hold up. We’ve definitely got to improve that. There’s a whole lot of things, not just our protection.”
* The Falcons' defense got five sacks, but ... "The positive from the game yesterday was that we were able to sack the quarterback five times. The negative from the game is that we had entirely too many missed tackles. Fundamentally, tackling is something that you have to be proficient at and we were not very proficient in our tackling yesterday in the ball game and that led to explosive plays. They had two 50-plus yard plays where the ball was actually thrown behind the line of scrimmage and ended up being a 53-yard and a 52-yard play, one going for a touchdown and one got down to the one-yard line. We have got to firm up our tackling. We didn’t tackle as effectively and efficiently as we need to.”
* Receiver Julio Jones, whom many have targeted as the rookie of the year, had five catches for 71 yards.
“I thought Julio did some good things," Smith said. "In a rookie’s first game, everyone is going to make mistakes. I think he sped some things up but I like the way that he competed. That’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to go out and compete. I really think of all the guys on offense, he was right up there in terms of the level of his desire to compete.”
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To read Domo's Day-After Dissection on the Eagles game, click here.
Another reason I'm happy for Kolb - too decent of a person for the Folsom Eagles.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatus- Say what you will about Kolb...he's a classy guy. I'm glad we have MV7 as our QB and equally as glad that Kolb is getting his chance to start somewhere in the NFL. On character alone (which I know doesn't qualify for much) he deserves it. As much as his chain has been yanked around during his time here...he handled it with class. I wish him much success...not against the Eagles of course, but I hope his career is bright. He's a good dude.— zero9one7
- Thank goodness the clubhouse cancer is gone. Eagles would have lost Sunday with this checkdown charlie under center.— Astro Jones
- As opposed to KK, you have no class, you Moron. Clubhouse cancer, you can't substantiate that in any form. — Dr Bri
- I'm a classy guy too and a good dude. Not to mention a better QB.— Mike McMahon
- "Folsom Eagles"?? You're an idiot..— KNuff
- KK HANDLED HIS BUSINESS WITH CLASS. HE'S A TRUE LEADER!— RAVEN6
- just like kolb is cheering for us im cheering for him too. Hes got Larry Fitzgerald to throw to not to mention they got a nice D in patrick Peterson but when the eagles come to play Cardinals its all about the Eagles i respect Kolb good man!— VickaDelphia24
- "Thank goodness the clubhouse cancer is gone.— Astro Jones
It makes me sad that I have to live in a world with with people as arrogant and thoughtless as you.— Falkirk - Astro, you're a MORON and a dope!— mikedi08
- One quote ought to tell you all you need to know about Kolb.
"whenever it is that we play them"
Really? You don't know? Clueless. Still.— Jim Collins again - Do you think that every player on the Eagles knows when they play the Cards? I think it is good he doesn't know... that means hes not putting to much emphasis on it and he's not only trying to win that game. Cards will be in the playoffs this year, and Kolb will end his career with more championships then Vick... No doubt in my mind — primetime225
- Kevin Kolb is a real class act! As for the dummies that only post acidic remarks to try to get a reply, try this.........STFU! Go KEVIN! GO EAGLES!— Panthro2011
Comment removed.- He probably needs better receivers, a better running back and a better O-line. Insert sarcasm whereever you wish. — Voytas
- Classy QB and the better of the two for this west coast system. You want a QB that makes plays with his legs...why I ask?...did Vick win anything in Atlanta...did Cunningham win anything? All his running does for us is mask the flaws of this team. No more no less. Wrong choice getting rid of Kolb.— RealizticFan
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- Jim Collins again - Kolb is focused on his upcoming games not some Eagles matchup late in the year. That is exactly what a good QB should be doing. Maybe you missed Brady last night talking about the Pats focusing on their next game and not looking ahead since traing camp. Time will tell if KK is a good NFL QB, I think he will be. KK got a win and 300 yards in a new offense. You are the one who appears clueless.
- I'm starting Kolb this week. Should have started him last week instead of Weak-li Manning.— gho_matt
Kolb is a high character leader. There is nothing to hate about him. Wish he were the Eagles' QB for the last 4 years. Unfortunately, Eagles fans will have to wait for Reid and Vick to go before the Eagles will ever win a SB. Based on the last decade if work, they have proven to be talented but too dumb to ever be great.- Concur with everyone that says good luck Kevin! Good dude, good QB, wouldn't be surprised if he takes a team to a SB win, and I'll feel good for him.— RocketC
- @Realizticfool, please stop with your McSagg-apologist nonsense! Donowhine was here, now he's gone. He left dead worms to carry on. No more, no less. GO MIKE VICK GO!— Panthro2011
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- Astro jones, You can't even spell your own name correctly, it should be wrotten as a**hole jones!!!!— OldBill1934
- of course it should have been "written."— OldBill1934
- LOL! Good try OldBill, but you my friend could also benefit from a dictionary....— If i may add
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- Kolb put up good numbers in a great game as a under card guess on the Cam Newton Show Sunday in Arizona. Nothing against Kolb, I hope he has success in Arizona, but in Phila, when Vick was hurt against the Redskins after Kolbs first series everyone in the Linc wept.
Stricking speaking for the entertainment value and the 2010 trip to the playoffs, I'm glad I'm a paying customer of the Phila Eagles featuring Mike Vick instead of Kevin Kolb.
I remember Vick going down near the goal line and watching Kevin Kolb take the snap drop back to pass and he began to hop up and down like the ever-ready bunny beating that drum in the commercial. That was a sad sight for the entire stadium to see, we knew the Eagles had absolutely no chance to pull out a victory. I hope to never see him against in an Eagles uniform, not costing me $100.00 per game to witness.— Dexter - Kolb got paid for being a backup...he learned while being a backup and now he has a chance to play his way to his next contract....the last contract is the BIG one. He seems like a classy guy - I hope he wins a lot of games...there's only one team I want to beat him...— ziggy
- For Astro and all the candy armers out there. If you added Vick and McNabbs air yardage they still did not beat KK and if you added there QB ratings KK still comes out on top. Should be an interesting season.— obergruber
- McNabb only threw for 39 yards but mor importantly he smiled and laughed 54 times during the game.
I am sooooooo glad that McNabb is gone- Vick has more intensity and heart in his pinky.— Manny Trillo - I wonder if all the people talking about Kolb being classy happened to see his first press conference with Arizona? You know. The one where he without anyone egging him on called Philadelphia dirty?? "I just like the layout of the city (phoenix). It's just so clean. Granted I was coming from Philadelphia". Mind you that the press there did not lead him to this at all. They asked his opinion about pheonix and he let out an obvious cheap shot without any provocation. Yeah....Classy guy.... As bad as Donovan got it here ( alot deservedly so) he has never publicly trashed the city.— Sewellmatt
- Hoping Kolb throws it in your face when the Cards play the Birds!— MRD
- Kevin is a class act! I hope we don't miss him too much.— flphilly
