Collinsworth on McNabb, Kolb and Asante
What kind of leap can the Redskins make with Donovan McNabb running the show? And how much have the Patriots missed Asante Samuel the last two years? Analyst Cris Collinsworth had some interesting thoughts on these topics.
Collinsworth on McNabb, Kolb and Asante
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
It's amazing how much an analyst can set himself apart when he does his homework and takes pride in his job.
That's the case with Cris Collinsworth, who in my opinion, is one of the best in the business.
Collinsworth, who calls Sunday Night Football on NBC, joined ESPN.com's Bill Simmons for a recent podcast to promote his new Web site, FootballProsLive.com.
The departure of Donovan McNabb will undoubtedly be one of the most talked-about topics nationally as networks and publications preview the 2010 season. And it was one of the topics Collinsworth discussed during the podcast. Count him among those who think McNabb's impact in D.C. could be huge.
"I thought that was one of the great additions to a team I've ever seen," Collinsworth said. "I mean, the Redskins were really in sort of disarray. No matter what anybody else says, they were just swimming out there. They really were. And then they bring in [Mike] Shanahan. And you bring in McNabb. People are going to always talk about McNabb and his accuracy, and I don't disagree with that. I don't think that he's a typical west coast kind of quarterback, and when you look at what it's going to mean for Philadelphia with Kevin Kolb, I think they'll get back to more of a classic west coast kind of offense. But now you're going to get in Shanahan's offense a big, strong, powerful guy that's going to bring a little fun, that's going to bring a little laughter back to the huddle, that is a dynamic personality."
Interesting how one of the things McNabb was criticized for so often here - smiling and laughing in the huddle - is one of the things Collinsworth expects to be an asset for him in Washington.
"It sounds weird to say that a quarterback's charisma can make a difference," Collinsworth continued. "But the Redskins just have been so beaten down for so long, and this whole thing with [Albert] Haynesworth and all the junk that's going on with him. I just think that you're going to see a different personality come out of the Washington Redskins and they've got a great coach now. They could very easily surprise a lot of people because their defense is pretty good."
Collinsworth really caught me off-guard later in the podcast when discussing the New England Patriots.
Guess which player departure he believes has had a huge impact on the Patriots the last two seasons: Asante Samuel.
"How much do the Patriots miss Asante Samuel?" he asked. "Asante Samuel was one of those X-factor guys. He was Troy Polamalu to me. No matter how much Bill Belichick may have coached that guy, nobody really knew what he was going to do on a play. He might take a chance and give up a big touchdown, and who knows, maybe he's not the greatest tackler in the world. But I'm telling ya, nobody knew what he was going to do on a play, and that included Peyton Manning a lot. He made a lot of mistakes to Asante Samuel over the years because he was just a little... I'm going to call him creative. I'm going to give him a euphemism. He was creative back there in the back end, and he creates problems. And there just hasn't been quite the same mystery to the Patriots' defense since he left."
Revealing nuggets there. I think Sean McDermott could probably relate to the part about how no matter how much he coaches Samuel, he doesn't know what he's going to do. That's a good thing when Samuel jumps a route, picks off a pass and takes it to the house. That's a bad thing when the Eagles are getting killed by wide receiver screens and Samuel doesn't play press coverage.
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CC is right, we wanted a playmaker and got one with Samuel, kind of like a power pitcher who strikes out a ton of guys but gives up a lot of hits— davi- 'Skins new coach makes all the difference. Ours never seems to learn nothing. Can't miss high, low, and behind with handoffs. I feel bad for Sean McDermott. He'll be held responsible when Chubby fails again.— mccloudmj
- People can blame McNabb all you want for the Eagles problems but he was just doing what the coach told his players to do. Pass, Pass, Pass, etc. Like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Everyone knew McNabb wasn't accurate, but fatboy refused to run the ball. But that's McNabb's fault? Scapegoat if I've ever seen one..— EaglesBleedMoney
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- No air guitar reference yet? Color the Tonner disappointed.
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- Collinsworth proves once again why he's the best in the business right now - smart, objective analysis without indulging in any of the "mean ol' Philadelphia fans" nonsense. He's right on target with this - McNabb is much more suited to the system I expect they'll be running in DC, and Kolb is much better suited to run our system. If (and this is a big IF) Kolb's fit in the system outweighs his relative lack of arm strength, the offense should be just fine. Shame it took our coach 11 years to figure out he was trying to jam a square peg into a round hole.— JLB
- I liked the article, plus the comments on the Reid/McNabb pas de deux. Andy now has no scapegoat to protect him, so this season is pivotal for the coach. Will he finally realize the "quick-strike" air attack wears down his own defense? Will he USE his versatile and gifted running backs? I doubt it--Big Red is too damned stubborn.— rad205
- CAN WE PLEASE START THE FIRE REID CAMPAIGN NOW?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- The Eagles had their chance when they were truly an elite team...made it to the Super Bowl...and...puke! They will be competitive, but will not go deep inot the playoffs. We have another year of a questionable D line and linebacker core...not to mention the secondary. Yike...they might not even make the playoffs!?— EagFlyPhilSix
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- ooooh, gettin excited about training camp!— weir99
donnie leads redskins to playoffs, mark it down..my man..wolf out.— wolf 4- Collinsworth knows more than all of the anti-McNabb regulars on this board combined.— Jim C.
I don't know, something tells me Samuel is going to have a career year, (I guess a lot of that hinders on his DB teammates). If he can at least hold up the ball carrier for a few seconds until other tacklers arrive, this could be a first team All-Pro season for Asante.- I never liked Collinsworth. Those of you praising him must be related to the guy. He's like the rest of the national media who over value McNabb's abilities. McNabb has been a .500 type of QB since he lost his mobility - I wish someone in the national media would state it instead of singing praise for the inaccurate immobile non-leader cry-baby.— Dish
- Dish - I think CC's overall point is that, as a coach, it is your job to maximize your players talents. McNabb isn't the most accurate passer, so why throw the ball 90% of the time? Obviously by running the ball more, you give yourself a better chance to succeed. Andy Reid failed to give his team the best chance to win by making McNabb throw 90% of the game. That's like forcing Peyton Manning to run the Wildcat 90% of the time, and let him run his normal offense only 10%.— EaglesBleedMoney
- Redskins go to the playoffs this year, Eagles don't.— p-diddy
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- Donnie (Darko) McNabb, please come back. We need ye.— neddyflanders
- Did Andy win all those games ? JJ ? McNabb ? or was it really Westbrook ? Stay tuned we will find out sooner rather than later. PS. We need to run the football. Defending the Eagles passing game, shut down last year to only big plays has become far too easy. Just like throwing and running against a soft D.— oldBird
Huh? Collinsworth is one of the worst commentators in all sports. He is smarmy and doesn't know jack. Kapadia lost all credibility with this one.- I think Westbrook was always the secret weapon, he will be missed big time. And since when is Shanahan so great. Im a philly fan living in Denver since 95. Shanny has 1 playoff win post Elway. All you guys bashing Reid, gimme a break, hes one of the top coaches in the league, but yes hes stinks with 2 min left. I used to hate Collingsworth but he has grown on me over the years, hes actually really good doing games and is spot on and unbiased in his analysis compared to most of the other guys. Skins may be decent, I love bashing them, but their D is solid so all they need is a little O and it could go a long way. I hope Im wrong.— peteike
- People who criticize Samuel are typical Eagle fans who would rather have tough players than winning players. Same with the people who hate Cole Hamels. Who cares that he won a World Series, they say. He's "soft."— bobbyd24
- Has Jaworski weighed in on McNabb/Kolb situation? He is the best commentator on Qbs— LA Mike
- Chris Collinsworth is one of the few guys on TV worth listening to. I don't agree that the Patriots miss Samuel all that much, but McNabb could be a big difference for the Redskins, even while Kolb could help the Eagles sustain longer drives. I would take my chances on trading Samuel; in fact I'd trade him straight up to Cleveland for Sheldon Brown.— tacklinjoe
- The Quick Strike ability when the receivers got open was our most effective weapon. Now with BABY ARM in command get ready for one of the most predictable QB's ever. "Quick" "Decisive" "Hit a receiver in stride" "YAC" yards, please give me a break. Hell, I could drop off a 5yrd slant to Djack and let him break out for the 50 yarder IF he gets open. But with BABY ARM , NO DEEP THREAT, NO MOBILITY, the Opposing D will not be honest and BABY ARM will break the season record for TD's. Or maybe not, cause Mike Vick will save BABY ARM from that dubious honor.— BooDuhBud
- Correction: BABY ARM will break the season record for INT's :)— BooDuhBud
- I'd rather read more Cliff Lee rants than anything having to do with with McNabb.— 5280philly
- Was it Asante's departure ? Or the coach getting caught cheating ? me thinkst it is a little more of the latter than the former.— AsValidAsYours
- Wolf......that would be the first time that he's done any LEADING in quite some time. The fact that little is expected of the 'Skins this year will help, as I do not believe that McNabb responds well to pressure. This is why he was able to lead all those "almost" comebacks. Once it seems like the game is lost, he turns it on, only to fall short. I give his honeymoon down there a year, two at the most. There are just so many worm balls that can be forgiven. DC fans may not be as rabid as those of the Eagles but those guys have had a few Super Bowl trophies. How long will they stand for Mr. Second-Best?— Original #11
- I'm really expecting the Redskins to battle us this year! Battle us for the third spot in the division.— TBear
- mccloudmj..."Ours never seems to learn nothing." Hmm...and who's saying what?— Eilex826
The Eagles are young and talented. Jackson, Celek, Macklin, Kolb, and McCoy, are going to score some points. The defense, with the return of Bradley and the additons of Tapp, Sims, and some talented rookies will be improved as well. Did you notice they also now have the best special teams coach in the league? How can anybody think this team is going backwards? 11 wins last season when everything went wrong. 14-2 this year? People are going to forget about McNabb and Westbrook fast.- shanahan will b smart with mcnabb and give him a running game so that play action is a lot more effective and use his mobility a lot better than andy did by moving the pocket and having mcnabb rollout...shanahan will run an offense suited to mcnabbs strengths and not have him throwin the ball 50-60x's a game....no wonder mcnabb was tired a lot at the end of games dropping back to pass 40x's in the 1st 3 quarters will wear down any QB...— the tru 1
- Donovan McNabb is a Class Act and a Winner, Philly will regret this trade forever, esp when he lifts the Lombardi above his head either in Washington or Minnesota when Brett Fraud retires.— Bello100
- why does no one ever blame the defense on any of the losses in the nfc championship game or super bowl? it is always blame mcnabb...oh thats right it is philly...home of the dumbest fans on earth. stay classy— tremo12
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- 1- Who is going to run the ball for Wash?, each of their rb's peaked 3-5 years ago. 2- Who is going to block for 5?, last I checked, we had a better OL than Wash and we couldn't give him enough time on 50% of the passing plays we called, but Wash will protect him enough to end up with a better record than us. 3- What constitutes KK having a baby arm?, 5 had a rocket for an arm and that never resulted in a SB, KK will put the ball where it needs to be and let the natural athletic ability of our wr's take over from there and anyone who thinks he can't sling the rock, check out the game tape from his 2 starts last year and show me one throw he didn't or couldn't make.— The Reddgie
- Wolf 4, Consider it marked down..."Wolf 4 proclaims McNabb leads Skins to the playoffs on 7/7/10"...now let's see if you're man enough come middle of November when McNabb is throwing wormburners and the Skins are 3-7. I'm going to call you out...make sure you respond. By the way...I'm calling you out if the Skins are 7-3 as well...to give you an atta boy, but I don't think it will happen.— Gray Areas
- As much as I like McNabb, he won't last the season down there. Their O line is terrible and Don is going to chew a lot of turf. I fear for his health and safety.............— flabird1954
- Ooooh! The dynamic Shanahan. When is the last time his team won a playoff game? Has it been since McNabb is in the league?— jtj10
McFagg's a Deadskin? It's still sinking in. Way to go Fat Andy, Way to trade him to the Deadskins.- ...Collingsworth is a fair and accurate commentator that has defended the Eagles openly over the years...he's a pleasure to listen to....— garyshaffer
- Don't ya love it? Since the final gun of the Dallas playoff game all anybody wanted to talk about was "Trade McNabb NOW!!". So it happens and now everyone is thinking "Did we make a mistake?" Bottom line....McNabb is the best QB to ever play in Philadelphia AND it is time to move on with Kolb. McNabb's best days are behind him and Kolb's best are in front of him. Smart "football" move. I don't care what anyone says, McNabb is NOT responsible for not winning a SB. It takes 22 guys, a coaching staff and some luck to make that happen. You can NEVER point at one guy. Though some think that is much easier.— craig123
- Ashburn072, Here's hoping you tear off whatever it is you type with. You just can't resist taking your immature pot shots on McNabb, can you?— MG44
- If the Patriots miss Samuel, they can have him. For free. Literally. I am shocked that CC is buying the Samuel hype. Our pass defense was horrible last year, and Samuel was the #1 reason for that. I know there are very good reasons other than Samuel. But I wish that Sheldon Brown stayed, and Samuel was the one who was traded.— arrowamy
- What a joke this article is. Yeah, I've seen Brady, Brees, Rothlisberger, Manning, etc. acting like a goofy kid on the field when they miss easy throws, or laughing after a blown play, or giving this completely bewildered look in the huddle with the clock ticking down in the 4th quarter...good riddance, 'Skins take him and be happy just don't criticize us Philly fans because we don't drink the national sports media kool-aid, like Philly.com does.— greenblood0118
- Samuel's creativity IS a good thing, but only when you have a HOF safety behind him like Dawkins and Harrison.— jimmyj
- Funny how ONLY Philly fans see McNabb as any/everything negative and the NATION sees him as a very good franchise QB with HOF #'s....can't wait to his career is over and he retires a Skin. Just like Reggie White....F this clown organization with its ZERO RINGS and overconfident Front Office...shoulda kept #5 and peaced out either Kolb or Vick. That was KISS!!!— RoastedBird
- arrowamy seriously? Sheldon Brown? The guy has never been to a Pro Bowl in his life and his best days are behind him. Samuel led the NFL in picks last year -- actually his 30 picks over the last 4 years is far more than Deion ever accumulated over that span. We all know he can't tackle (neither could Deion), but he also baits QBs into more picks than any other DB in the league, hands down. I don't know how that translates to the No. 1 reason the Eagles' pass defense was horrible last year. We'd all love a corner who covers like Nsamde and hits like Ray Lewis, but when you find one let me know. The fact is All-Pro corners don't grow on trees and we've got on here
- I'd raher have Vick on this team than Rapelisberger greenblood0118. Talk about scum...— EaglesBleedMoney
- Ashburn072- I hope YOU tear YOUR sack!!!— RoastedBird
- Go McNabb, may you crush us everytime you play us...— phigglesfan75
- Go McNabb, may you crush us everytime you play us...— phigglesfan75
- Partially agree with Collinsworth regarding the Asante's departure from the Pats. Samuel's absence was the main reason why there defense had a major drop off, but there team dropped off the map because of Brady's injury. With a full-strength Brady back in the mix this upcoming season, I expect New England to reach the AFC Championship this year. Back to Samuel now. He is a live-or-die type of player that I think most of us fans are willing to accept.— mcnabb4mvp
- I have tried to look at it a hundred different ways, with this defense, O-line and predictable play calling and time mismanagement (Not even going to bring up the Vick distractions) I cannot see us winning more then 6 games. Everyone of these things falls on Andry Reid Everyone of them!
- I ran into Chris Canty at the YMCA the other day and jokingly told him to take it easy on Kolb, he had a gleam in his eye as he laughed (I'm assuming he was excited at the fact of a rookie QB). I said well with McNabb gone, he stopped me and said "ya too bad he didn't go far enough". So all you McNabb haters that have never played pro ball before can continue to bash the best QB this frachise has ever had. Yet here is a guy that faces him twice a year and wishes he didn't. No I'm not making this up.— bobf876
- Bash him or love him, who cares about McNabb anymore? We've got Kolb, the ultra-hot All-American with the ultimate leadership skills leading the way, right? No way he will smile or joke even once in the huddle, he has got such a fierce mentality, all the veterans will let him lead the way immediately, and we'll have the best season in 11 years, right?? And a 900% better chance of winning the Lombardi than McNabb, right??? Such an accurate arm, his completion percentage should be in the upper 90s, and our YAC would be the highest in the history of the franchise if not the whole NFL, right???? So who cares about McNabb?— goeagles87
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