Vick vs. Kolb: Myth and reality
As the Eagles prepare for the Colts and their final nine games, here's a look at how Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb compare through the first seven weeks.
Vick vs. Kolb: Myth and reality
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
I've done What About Kolb? And I've done Mike Check: Evaluating Vick.
Now, as the Eagles prepare for the Colts and the final nine games of the season, let's take a look at how the two compare in a two-part post. Today, I'll break down pass distribution and third down/red zone production. And later today, or tomorrow, I'll do success by distance, against the blitz and intangibles.
I've heard a lot of statements in recent weeks - Kolb can't throw the deep ball, Vick's benefited from an easy schedule, etc. Which are true, and which are false? The numbers should provide some clarity.
Let's start with the overall numbers:
| Comp. | Att. | Comp. % | Yds. | YPA | TDs | INTs | |
| Vick | 59 | 96 | 61.5 | 799 | 8.32 | 6 | 0 |
| Kolb | 97 | 153 | 63.4 | 1,035 | 6.77 | 6 | 4 |
Vick has the edge in pretty much every category. There are two numbers that really stand out. One is yards per attempt. Vick is at 8.32. Only one starting quarterback in the NFL has a higher number - Philip Rivers at 8.66. Vick has not thrown an interception in 96 attempts. He fumbled once, but the Eagles recovered.
Kolb, on the other hand, is way down the list at 22nd in the league in YPA (6.77). It's worth mentioning that Kolb played the last seven quarters without DeSean Jackson, a guy that can dramatically change that number with two or three big plays per game.
Kolb's also been playing with King Dunlap, not Jason Peters protecting his blind side, and the game-plan has changed as a result. It's been critical for Kolb to get rid of the ball quickly, and the Eagles often relied on screens to LeSean McCoy, which did not require a lot of protection.
PASS DISTRIBUTION
Here's a look at how each quarterback has spread the ball around, starting with Vick:
| Rec. | Targets | Yds. | YAC | TDs | |
| Jackson | 14 | 23 | 324 | 109 | 2 |
| Maclin | 9 | 16 | 136 | 28 | 4 |
| Celek | 9 | 15 | 101 | 36 | 0 |
| McCoy | 12 | 14 | 88 | 91 | 0 |
| Avant | 8 | 13 | 79 | 26 | 0 |
| Schmitt | 4 | 4 | 27 | 20 | 0 |
| Cooper | 1 | 4 | 20 | 9 | 0 |
| Mills | 1 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Buckley | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| Bell | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 59 | 93 | 799 | 326 | 6 |
And now Kolb:
| Rec. | Targets | Yds. | YAC | TDs | |
| Maclin | 21 | 30 | 322 | 77 | 2 |
| McCoy | 27 | 30 | 206 | 178 | 0 |
| Celek | 12 | 25 | 128 | 58 | 2 |
| Avant | 16 | 18 | 161 | 47 | 0 |
| Jackson | 5 | 14 | 71 | 15 | 1 |
| Schmitt | 8 | 9 | 67 | 49 | 0 |
| Hall | 3 | 7 | 19 | 6 | 0 |
| Cooper | 3 | 6 | 51 | 4 | 1 |
| Mills | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Bell | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 97 | 141 | 1,035 | 435 | 6 |
Vick's favorite target has been Jackson, followed by Maclin, Celek, McCoy and Avant. He's been pretty balanced in terms of spreading the ball around.
Again, keeping in mind that Jackson's been injured, Kolb's favorite target has been Maclin. Look at the McCoy numbers, though - 27 of Kolb's 97 completions (27.8 percent) have been to McCoy, compared to 20.3 percent for Vick. Kolb's most efficient connection has been with Avant. He's completed 16 of 18 targets in Avant's direction.
The other number to look at is YAC. Let's take away the running backs. Wide receivers and tight ends had 208 yards after the catch on 42 receptions from Vick for an average of 4.95.
With Kolb, they had 207 yards after the catch on 61 receptions for a 3.39 average.
Before the season, the idea was that this offense would change with Kolb at the helm and feature short passes that would allow the receivers to run after the catch. But the offense has actually been better in terms of YAC with Vick running the show. And in either case, many of those yards have been on deep balls where receivers are simply running away from defensive backs downfield.
The Jackson YAC number with Kolb is troubling. He only picked up 15 yards after the catch on 14 receptions for a 1.07 average.
With Vick throwing to him, Jackson had 109 yards after the catch on 14 receptions for a healthy 7.79 average.
THIRD DOWN, RED ZONE
Here are the numbers on third down:
| Comp. | Att. | Comp. % | Yds. | TDs | INTs | QB rating | |
| Vick | 16 | 26 | 61.5 | 272 | 2 | 0 | 122.5 |
| Kolb | 23 | 36 | 63.9 | 190 | 2 | 0 | 95.83 |
Both quarterbacks have been very good here. Combined, they've thrown four touchdowns and no interceptions on third down. Vick's rating is better as he's averaged 10.46 yards per attempt on third down, compared to 5.28 for Kolb.
And the red zone:
| Comp. | Att. | Comp. % | Yds. | TDs | INTs | QB rating | |
| Vick | 5 | 9 | 55.6 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 105.5 |
| Kolb | 15 | 20 | 75.0 | 87 | 4 | 0 | 122.2 |
The numbers here, specifically the quarterback rating, are a little misleading.
Let's start with Vick. The Eagles were nearly flawless in the red zone with him running the show. They converted six of seven red-zone opportunities into touchdowns. Three of those were McCoy runs. Two were Vick-to-Maclin scores. And one was a Vick run. The other red-zone opportunity resulted in a field goal.
With Kolb in the game, the Eagles converted four of 12 red-zone chances into touchdowns. Two of those were Celek scores, one was to Maclin, and one was to Cooper. The Birds settled for seven field-goal attempts and had one turnover - the Kolb/McCoy fumble that was the result of a missed block by Mike McGlynn against the Titans.
The argument that the running game is more effective with Vick in the game has some backing here. With Vick, the Eagles had four rushing touchdowns (three by McCoy) in the red zone. With Kolb, they've had zero rushing TDs in 12 trips in the red zone.
Kolb will probably be back in soon enough because chances are Vick will get hurt again.— jiggs111
badbirdz..Don't support the team, if Kolb was the better QB he would be starting. Look at the numbers up top. Vick is better PERIOD!! Kolb is back up right now. Don't let us catch you commenting on the game next week, because your not an eagles fan.— Big#5
badbirdz -- beat it clown. you arent a real eagles fan if you cant support the BETTER QB. you're just a kolb fan. btw, vick is clearly the better QB and the numbers back it up.
About halfway through the season, it seems that Andy Reid is coming out ahead of Donovan McNabb in the question of "who was the bigger reason for the Eagles success?" Still another half of football to play, and you're working with a small sample size, but if you look at the vastly improved play of Michael Vick (compared with his Atlanta years) and the decent job that Kolb has done under adverse circumstances, Reid has proven he is a first-rate developer of QB talent. I don't think there is any shame in Vick's convincing victories over the Jags and Lions, just as there is no shame in Kolb playing rather poorly in the second halves against the Redskins and Titans. Bottom line: The Eagles' success in the second half will be determined by the usual factors: the play of the offensive line and the defense. They have the quarterback situation as well covered as anyone in the NFL.— andrewfrombrooklyn
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