When Kolb's on the run
How will Kevin Kolb react when he is forced out of the pocket? Plus notes on how LeSean McCoy has improved in picking up the blitz from a year ago.
When Kolb's on the run
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
There will be plays that break down.
There will be times when Winston Justice or Jason Peters gets beat. Or times when Nick Cole or Mike McGlynn (or whoever's playing center) doesn't direct protection properly.
Times when Marty Mornhinweg and Andy Reid are outsmarted by opposing defensive coordinators. Or LeSean McCoy fails to pick up a blitzer.
And so the question is: How will Kevin Kolb react?
For years, Donovan McNabb was one of the best in the league in those situations. He would scramble and buy time with his legs before finding an open receiver. He had the ability to shove a defensive lineman to the ground with his left hand and fire off a bullet with his right.
But that's not Kolb's game.
I was able to steal a couple minutes of Mornhinweg's time this morning and ask him about Kolb and how he performs when out of the pocket - either when it's by design or by necessity.
"Well, I think that's one of his strengths," Mornhinweg said, talking about plays that call for Kolb to roll out and make throws. "He's got a little athleticism to him. He throws very well on the run. He typically makes good decisions out on the edge and so that's a good thing.
"As far as moving when it's not designed, in lieu of when he's forced to move, he's going to stay with the play, and he's pretty good that way too."
In other words, McNabb had no problem sensing pressure and improvising. But there will be less of that with Kolb. Unless he has to get out of the way, he's going to try and stick with the play that's called and make a quick decision.
McCoy's blitz pickup
I also asked Mornhinweg about LeSean McCoy and where he stands in terms of blocking and picking up the blitz compared to last year.
"At this time last year, he was right in the middle of a pretty big learning curve because we do so much protection-wise and we see so many different crazy blitzes, especially against our defense right now, which is good for us by the way in the long run," Mornhinweg said. "And now, he's got it down pat pretty good so it's night and day for him."
I should qualify the quote by noting that Mornhinweg hasn't had anything remotely critical to say of any of the offensive players during camp. I'm not sure if McCoy has the blitz pickup down pat, but he certainly looks like he's improved from last season (and he really wasn't a disaster in 2009 anyway).
Practice observations
* The Eagles did not put on the pads this morning as they rest their bodies a little bit before Friday night's preseason opener against the Jaguars. It's obvious from talking to the players that they are ready to face another team.
* Brent Celek missed practice with what the team said was an "illness." Cornelius Ingram and Clay Harbor split reps at tight end with the first team.
* Dick Vermeil was in the house today. It's a real who's who here at Lehigh. I'm telling you.
* If you haven't heard about the fan on the field who was sporting a Redskins Dononvan McNabb jersey but then asked to take it off, Eagletarian and Birds' Eye View have it covered.
* Another different look from Sean McDermott's defense. Trent Cole moved inside, making Trevor Laws the defensive end. Stewart Bradley blitzed from the right edge. Ernie Sims from the left. And Quintin Mikell up the middle. McCoy released out of the backfield, and Kolb found him down the middle, where no defenders were.
* Funny moment when Jamaal Jackson came out to rehab on the side field. A large fan got Jackson's attention, lifted his shirt and showed Jackson his Eagles tattoo. Pretty frightening, I must say.
* Kelley Washington blocked a punt during special teams practice. Hank Baskett missed the session with a sprained MCL. Good competition to watch in the preseason, although Baskett might not even play in Friday's game.
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Kolb is not going to be as mobile as mcnabb but more accurate and more of a pocket passer. When mcnabb was running around trying to find a WR, it was mainly his fault because he held on to the ball for too long and was scared so Kolb is going to be way better with passing and running.— briandawkins20
Briandawkins: C'mon, let's be fair. McNabb wasn't scared, he was forced to improvise. I think Donovan made more out of AR's stupid play calls than anyone else could've. Too bad he stopped his running.— mccloudmj- ya, youre way off bd. It was also because maybe nobody got open and instead of trying to force the play and get picked he improvised. We are going to miss those plays, that was mcnabbs strength. Get used to some 10 yd sacks for Kolb, but Ill take that and a punt over a pick any day depending on the game of course.— peteike
McNabb took a little too long to make his reads, therefore the pressure got to him sooner. Kolb, now this is not proven yet, should be able to make his reads faster and get rid of the ball quicker than McNabb, and with more accuracy. He may throw more picks also, because he will occasionally be rushed into a bad throw, or try to sneak one in there, unlike Don who did'nt have the beat accuracy, especially on the run. Kolb should have better accuracy overall, in the pocket and on the run, but will not always escape the rush like Don did in the past. At this point, I think Kevin is almost, if not as mobile as Don is, but that is not as big a part of his game anyway, as hopefully he's making his decisions faster, and getting rid of the ball or taking off.- Everybody around here seems to be under the impression that Kolb runs a 6.3 40 or something. Lotta folks are going to be pleasantly surprised to find that he can move around in the pocket pretty well. Now, in terms of athleticism, Kolb vs. Mcnabb 10 years ago.. obviously it's no question. But I think Kolb at 26 will give you more athleticism right now than Mcnabb at 33
If what they wanted was atheticism Vick would be starting. They want accuracy in the short passing game because they are trying to run the West Coast offense. It should look a lot more like the old 49ers scheme than whatever it was they were doing with Donovan.
Are Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or Tom Brady good scramblers? NOPE. They all have won super bowls by doing the other things like getting rid of the ball quickly, taking riskier throws, reading the other team's defenses. In my opinion the scrambling aspect is overrated.- NFL QB 101- when nothing is there, don't be a hero and end up taking a sack, especially when it is 3rd down and in field goal range, THROW THE BALL AWAY. A simple concept Wonderlic boy McNabb could never grasp, among others like overtime rules. Kolb has this down like the other great QBs mentioned above. GoBirds!— gobirds17
Comment removed.- Fans used to love when McChoke would break off for a 35 yard scramble and a score. Or when it's 1st and 10 on the Eagles 35 Mcpuke drops back and jukes helpless behemoths then hits Jackson for a 6o yard BOMB. MOMENTUM Changers...Which is nomore....Now we will see the "quick release" and pin-point Satelite GPS Guided Kobb(BABY ARM) accurate missle strikers. Haha! Please! Mike Vick will be the starter by the 4th game!— BooDuhBud
- Spider, that's because they had good offensive lines. Please gain some knowledge before posting. McNabb had precious few weapons to get the ball to in a decade.— phillyinsd
- we have already seen the accuracy in the comments Marty made in the few times KK has played. he sticks with plays (because he does not have the mobility that even an old McNabb possesses) and has left and will leave himself vulnerable to more interceptions because he will toss the ball to the designed receivers in order to avoid sacks. when you watch old tapes of Bill Walsh discussing WCO QBs he says often that the success of the offense is dependent on the QB being able to avoid the first pass rusher because the OL scheme usually permits one D Lineman through. Who knows if KK can avoid one, and let's not even think about the number who will get through this OL.— barrywil
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