Eagles have quarterback controversy
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Eagles have quarterback controversy
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
Andy Reid may want to avoid it -- indeed, it is he that controls it most -- but the coach has himself a quarterback controversy after Michael Vick replaced an injured Kevin Kolb and nearly guided the Eagles past Green Bay Sunday.
It is probably silly to suggest that the Eagles bench Kolb this early in his tenure as the starter. The Eagles changed the course of their history when they boldly traded away franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb and promoted Kolb in April. So it's unlikely to think Reid will abandon this path just because Kolb struggled in one half of play.
The 26-year-old Kolb also has two years left on his contract, while the 30-year-old Vick has one.
But Vick will likely get his opportunity to show that he's still a starter in this league when the Eagles play at Detroit next week and possibly the following week at Jacksonville. Kolb suffered a concussion in the second quarter, came back for one series and was pulled at the half. He will definitely sit out at least next week.
Vick, by the way, believes he's still a starter and raised some eyebrows with this quote he gave from the post-game podium seat Kolb was supposed to be sitting at:
"I still feel like I can play at a high level. I feel like if I had been out there for four quarters maybe we would have had a chance to win the game," Vick said. "But it's all hindsight now."
Reid, for the record, said Kolb is still his starter. But the young quarterback may test the coach's patience. He looked very tentative in the pocket. He completed just 5 of 10 passes for 24 yards with each completed pass coming underneath. When he did throw downfield he was nearly picked off three times. After the concussion he came back in and eyeballed DeSean Jackson for too long and was nearly intercepted by Clay Matthews.
"I'm going to take the responsibility for this," Reid said of Kolb's performance. "There were a few different things going on there. It wasn't just the quarterback or the offensive line. It was a combination of things. I'll make sure I go back and fix that."
Vick, on the other hand, was far from perfect. But he injected some energy into the sluggish offense with his dazzling runs, and he was fairly efficient passing the ball completing 16 of 24 passes.
"Honestly, I felt good when I was out there," Vick said. "I felt like I could play three or four more quarters. So that's a good thing. My legs [weren't] tired. I felt like I'm in shape, in great shape. I felt like I'm battling and that I fought and that I had the instinct and desire to win."
Love or hate him, discount him abilities as a quarterback or not, Vick was a long-time starter in this league. He knows how to the play the position.
The question for Reid, though, is whether he's willing to sacrifice a chance at winning to develop Kolb, and how long is he willing to stick with the young lad?
Like Kolb did a year ago when McNabb broke a rib in the first game of the season, Vick will likely have a one- or two-game audition. Will it be for the Eagles or for some other team looking for a starting quarterback next season?
Buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
10yr school girls? Call me when McNabb scores a touchdown for the Redskins. Then call me when he gets them to the playoffs. Then call me when he chokes (different uniform, same player). Moving on into the future is still the right move for the Eagles - regardless of whether it's Vick or Kolb (both good QBs). McNap, McUpChuck, McLean is very unlikely to take any team all the way...ever.— hobie_coop- And neither Kolb nor Vick will take the Eagles to even a conference finals game. So dis Donovan all you like, this team is in for a long, long mediocre stretch.— JonKap
- The Birds want to win NOW! Andy Reid does not have the luxury of "hoping" BABYARM develops into the Franchise QB. I think because of #7's past, Andy is hesitant on making Mike Vick the NEW Franchise QB known to the ignorant.— BooDuhBud
- It's a controversy because the media says it is.
Well well well,lol. Look how the tables have turned. Eagles fans: "Get vick out oof here and get Garcia" "Vick can't eun the offense" etc etc etc, what a bunch of BS. I TOLD YOU VICK WAS THE BETTER QB AND HE PROVED IT AFTER ONE WEEK. Kolb is a good guy, and I felt a little bad for him getting pulled back and forth, but as you can see, it was for a reason. Vick is a once in a lifetime talent. You cannot keep a player like him on the sideline, and Kolb is the perfect QB to have in front of him because Kolb won't complain (McNabb). If Vick puts it all together (run and pass balance) and keeps his accuracy up, he is unstoppable. Vick is the better QB.— elijah29- Can't judge Kolb by one game. Especially behind what we all know to be a suspect offensive line. If you protect him and give him time, I think he'll end up being a very good quarterback. That being said, thank god we have Vick as a backup. But why don't we all just ignore that and become some knee-jerk panicking fools?— esesjay
- Some eagles fans are the reason for the bad karma around this team. Hate McNabb all you want to. The guy you say is a better QB was getting booed out there. All things looked grim until Vick took over. Continue to mask that Philly's SB drought was #5s fault. Andy Reid has given away the team's heart and soul, mismanaged time outs, poor play calling in crucial moments and has drafted for the most part poorly. Kolb will be the starter cause Reid and the rest of the management hates to look like they are wrong. Well they are wrong and we will lose more games because of it. Trading away Sheldon Brown & McNabb was a mistake. It will become more evident as the season progresses.— Philly1973
- After watching the 2nd half it should be obvious to anyone who isn't a moron that if we stick with Vick as the started this will be the year that the Eagles finally win their first Superbowl. Korn On The Kolb had his chance and he blew it, enough already! they should trade him or release him and sign Matt Leinart as Vick's backup, he might not be NFL starting quarterback material but at least he can throw a touchdown now and then, unlike KK. If Reid refuses to admit he made a mistake with Kolb then he should be fired and replaced by John Gruden, who unlike Reid, knows how to win a Superbowl as head coach!!!— hammerfist406
- Well Reid is the same ole terrible gameday coach. Blown timeouts, not calling plays to get his young happy feet qb {with good reason) comfortable, puting Bradley back in the game after he staggered around just minutes earlier, common sense shouldv'e taken over regardless if the player said he was fine keep him out! not using Mike Bell, not using Mccoy enough, thankfully Vick almost saved the day. If this line doesn't improve Vick should be the starter for the remainder of the season because if Kolb plays all season with this line he'll be another David Carr---JOURNEYMAN. The blood pressure medicine is on standby— philsfan417
- Kolb was horrible, he can't play.— valorius
- jon,i picked the Birds over the Packers and the Deadskins over the Cowboys so i had a split..the BIRDS fans are overreacting on Kevin Kolb,the NY giants fans did the same thing to ELI manning until he beat the undefeated patriots in the SB,,this team will bounce back next week hopefully Kevin will play thru a concussion and come back to beatdown the lions,i wouldn't want to be a lions fan next week,,we all know how horrible the giants fans were to ELI,we don't need to go down that road,have some patience look at the BIG picture,,mr conVick played well in a comeback game,but that happens alot with back up QB's in games like this one(garcia-feeley-detmer-detmer).....BIRDS-2012......wolf.— wolf 4
- It's gonna be fun to see how this all plays out. Kolb was horrible, but we have to find out if he can play. But patience is not something we have around here. So, it's gonna be interesting, especially if Kolb continues to stink.— Gary_Philly
- 10 passes, running for your life behind a terrible Oline that had a false start on the first play, constitutes a controversy? Mike Vick played great, but at this point the Packers went into a nickel scheme to play a cushion. Classic taking your foot off the gas pedal. Even then, the most damage was due to Mike running for his life. Every Oline player was overwhelmed and made Clay Matthews look like Lawrence Taylor.— 1st and goal
- All you McNabb haters need to look at two sets of numbers: Skins 1-0, Eagles 0-1. McNabb didn't have a great game, but the receivers dropped a lot of easy passes, including two fades in the end zone that were right in their hands. Football is a team game; the Skins won because they outplayed the Cowboys on both sides of the ball. Blaming one player for a team loss is ridiculous, dozens of players play for each team.— mjc1
- I love how everyone is so quick to judge Kolb's first game against a team many have picked to go to the superbowl. Any pocket passer, I mean any, would have had his head on a swivel. The offensive line was swiss cheese. Vick looked better because he could get out of the middle of the field (I would call it the pocket if there was one) with his head still attached to his body. This is going to be a long season. The offensive line was a question mark and they showed us why. Kolb had less than a second to go through his progressions before he was getting hit. Pretty tough to read defences if you have to keep an eye on the line for self preservation. I do have to say that Vick will be better with this offensive line. If the line could give Kolb a little time, I believe that Kolb will be better long term.— chrisrr
