McNabb, Kolb trades shape 'D'
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McNabb, Kolb trades shape 'D'
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
The Eagles' last playoff win came on January 11, 2009 against the New York Giants.
Donovan McNabb was the starting quarterback for 16 regular-season and three playoff games that season as the Birds snuck into the playoffs with a 9-6-1 record, advanced to the NFC championship game and eventually fell to the Arizona Cardinals.
McNabb's backup was Kevin Kolb, a second-year player who had attempted 34 passes and had to wait until the following season to make his first NFL start.
Now, a little more than three years later, McNabb is reportedly working with Warren Moon to make himself attractive to NFL teams. But retirement may be near for the 35 year old.
Kolb started only nine games in his first season with the Cardinals last year and is looking to prove that Arizona made a wise move in trading for him.
The Eagles, meanwhile, are counting on a number of players from the McNabb and Kolb trades to make an impact on this year's defense.
Let's start with the McNabb swap. The Eagles sent him to the Redskins on Easter Sunday in 2010 for a second-round pick in that year's draft, along with a conditional third- or fourth-rounder in 2011. With the second-round pick (37th overall), the Eagles selected safety Nate Allen. Allen's first two years have been marred by injuries and inconsistent play with flashes of production. He's slated to be a starter in 2012, but the Birds need him to put everything together in his third season.
The other pick ended up being a fourth-rounder (No. 104 overall) in 2011. But the Eagles traded that selection to the Bucs (who took Tennessee tight end Luke Stocker). In exchange, the Birds moved down 12 spots and selected linebacker Casey Matthews. They also received a fourth-round draft choice in 2012 from Tampa.
However, the Eagles didn't make the 2012 pick they got from the Bucs. Instead, they used it as the primary compensation to acquire middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans from the Texans earlier this offseason. The two teams swapped third-round picks as well (Nos. 76 andd 88 overall).
So overall, for McNabb, the Eagles got Allen, Matthews and to a degree, Ryans. I mentioned expectations for Allen above. Matthews will get a chance to compete at WILL and nickel linebacker, while the Eagles are counting on Ryans to solidify the middle, which has been a constant problem.
As for Kolb, the Birds dealt him to the Cardinals in July of last year for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick. Rodgers-Cromartie struggled in the slot last year and will move back outside in 2012, which is the final year of his contract.
The second-round pick was No. 51 overall, but the Eagles traded back eight spots to No. 59 and took defensive end Vinny Curry. They also got a fourth-rounder from the Packers in the deal (No. 123 overall) and picked Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin. Boykin will get a chance right away to replace Joselio Hanson as the nickelback and be the team's kickoff returner. Curry will likely be a rotational pass rusher, who will have a chance to start in the future if he produces.
So overall, for Kolb, the Eagles got Rodgers-Cromartie, Curry and Boykin.
And for both quarterbacks, here's the total: Allen, Rodgers-Cromartie, Matthews, Curry, Boykin and to some degree, Ryans.
There have been other moves on defense along the way. Most notably, the signings of Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin, along with several draft picks. But in many ways, the players the Eagles received for Kolb and McNabb project to have a significant impact on the success of this defense in 2012.
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Good piece sheil.a lot have people write matthews off as useless but he was thrown to the wolves as a rookie i think he can still make a solid lb.drc will play better on the outside and allen has a lot of potential if he can stay healthy and im excited to see these rookies play.if all these guys play to their potential the defense will be great.— Sean s.- Let's examine the more important issue of the Kolb "acquisition." We were two years removed from the Superbowl and needed only a few pieces. Instead of acquiring those pieces, we traded out of the 1st round, to the Dallas Cowboys no less, who drafted Anthony Spencer. We then drafted and groomed Kolb for 4 years. Sure, we eventually got something for him, but it was 5 years later. That, in no way, can be construed as a good investment. The Kolb acquisition set this team back at least 5 years. After all that's been said and done, here we sit at 8-8. From Superbowl contention to 8-8. That ain't good.
- It hurts my fingers to type this but Lonewolf is right in a way. That Kolb draft was a huge mistake when could have addressed needs at the time and kept on top. If they had concerns about McNabb and hs health, a veteran qb would have been the answer since no qb is ready for Andy's scheme year 1. As for value on drafts, all of them are big questions marks until it is done on the field (or on IR like the most recent can't misses) — rvb2321
- It hurts my fingers to type this but Lonewolf is right in a way. That Kolb draft was a huge mistake when could have addressed needs at the time and kept on top. If they had concerns about McNabb and hs health, a veteran qb would have been the answer since no qb is ready for Andy's scheme year 1. As for value on drafts, all of them are big questions marks until it is done on the field (or on IR like the most recent can't misses) — rvb2321
- My friend, pain is good. Pain is a motivator, but most importantly, the truth has set you free!
- You were beating the drum for Kevin Kolb back then so your analysis at this point is pretty useless. — mx55
- In fact, I adopted this moniker to ridicule the original Lonewolf. Can't you tell the difference? That I actually make sense should be something of a hint.
- Of course, you leave out that at the time of the Kolb draft, the Eagles had a QB who had a long series of serious injuries, lost his running ability and was clearly not the player he was prior to said injuries and Michael Vick still had rope on his soap. You know they say hindsights...oh,well, for you it seems to be 20/40. — UncleStosh
- I acknowledged that McNabb was having health issues but a rookie was never going to step in year one if he got hurt. Get the veteran back up and draft a Trent Edwards in a later round if you "need" to take one during an off year for QBs — rvb2321
- he looks like such a schmoe in that picture— Witz79
- You are one of the main people who was crying for Kolb, now you want to bash him, you deserve Kolb. — charmaine
- This is why it's tough to complain about them taking Foles
- excellent article Sheil. Have a feeling Peter King will be writing a similar article in two months.— dragoon6
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