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.
Comment removed.
Vick is the best QB on the team and one of the best in the NFL. Period.— elijah29
Will the coaches keep Vick from running when he is open???? He got hurt doing that but he was right to do so. Will DeJean get fast enough to catch a Vick fastball without getting killed? It would mean DeJean would have to run at least 50 yrs downfield, catch it and waltz into the end zone. And just how many games will they win even if Vick doesn't get killed?? 4 more????— Koons- we are not fooled, Wolf 4,by your misled devotion to KK - He gets the credit for what he's done, but in this league he is just AVERAGE - you want to win championships? Put Vick in - he OBVIOUSLY gives us the best chance to do that now - trading him to the deadskins next year? Naah - Shanahan is not that dumb!— Tom Man
- Wow, coach Sheil, throw a few numbers at us. I got tired reading. Thanks. Came away with Vick and Kolb are accurate passers but the team can't play defense and commit too many penalties. About right?— JACK V
- For anyone that would like to point to the quality of teams that Vick played against as a knock on him and a plus for Kolb here are the actual rankings...Pass defense as of week 8: Packers 17th, Lions 19th, Niners 21st, Titans 24th, Falcons 27th, Jags 28th, Skins 30th. The quality of opponents is very similar and should not be counted as a plus or minus to either player. In fact of the teams listed, Vick played his best against the teams with the better pass defenses.— datbo215
Imallaboutdatruth aka FRAUD. How is your hero McNabb doing? Let me get you a towel so you can wipe that egg off your face.- Vick's the man, no question, until he plays himself out of a job - which I hope does not happen. Get well DeSean and let's see what the rest of the season holds.
- @Tom Man did you say championships? Seriously? Haha with this defense? A defense that gave up 27 points in the 4th quarter last game? This team ain't winning anything anytime soon. If they had Peyton Manning they still will be lucky to be over 500 this year.
Might as well give Kolb the work because Vick is sure as anything going to be gone at the end of the season to a big free agent contract.— Jangocat - I guess the part tomorrow comes in where Kolb played against two teams with winning records and Vick got a majority of his numbers against the team Jon Kitna torched for what would have been well over 400 yards if his receivers didn't appear to be drunk and dropping balls into defenders' hands. How about that one that hit Witten right on the helmet in stride? He was running a pattern and not looking- duh!— jtj06
Wow wiff, reading that comment was actually painful. I laughed so hard it hurt.— tpizza- Super Bowl with Vick ... book it. Also book wolf crying like a baby into her Tony Romo jersey when it happens ... book it.— jimqk
- Kevin Kolb will be the starting QB for the Eagles, Vick will get hurt or something stupid will happen, wish Eagles never signed him, I never thought he was a good QB befor his felony charges and still will not support the Eagles until he is as Harry kalas used to say OUTTA HERE. Andy Reid needs to go too, since he is making the wrong decision with the QB position, Kolb is way better than the convicted felon.— badbirdz
- Sounds like we have two very good or serviceable QB's bigets aside. its a beautiful thing...if you watched NFL movies piece on Andy you will see why Kevin is still the QB of the future...Andy knows he does not have an OL to put this kid on, so he goes with Vick, win win...— jameslaka
Vick hasn't played an NFL defense yet, lets see how he does rest of the way.— bill19666
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