IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
On his weekly radio show on WIP today, Andy Reid said Kevin Kolb would start Thursday night’s final preseason game against the Jets.
He also said Michael Vick would see first-half action as the Wildcat quarterback, then would play quarterback in the second half.
From earlier:
Donovan McNabb asserted today that the controversy over his unease with the Eagles' shuttling in and out of Michael Vick last Thursday has been "way overblown."
McNabb, who spoke and gestured to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg on the sideline during the preseason win over Jacksonville, said he will not have a problem ceding a bit of the stage to Vick.
"If I come out for a play, I'll be right back in the next play," he said.
McNabb did not back off his stated feeling that running Vick on and off the field every second down early on against the Jags was counterproductive to what the Eagles were trying to do in the final exhibition game for the starters -- which was build offensive rhythm and continuity.
"Before you come up with gimmicks, you need to get your base offense going," he said. "It seemed like we were forcing a lot of things, just to say we ran it."
Clearly, McNabb doesn't expect this to be the regular season pattern.
"He's not going to be coming in every second down," McNabb said of Vick, whose value as a weapon he extolled.
Having Vick in the arsenal is "definitely going to take pressure off (Brian) Westbrook," McNabb said.
McNabb also emphasized that "a lot of good things can happen in this."
***
Backup QB A.J. Feeley said he understands the speculation about him possibly getting traded, now that he would seem to be the fourth signal-caller in the Eagles' mix. Feeley said he will wait and see what happens. The NFL.com's Jason LaCanfora has reported that the Patriots, who have released backup Kevin O'Connell, have expressed interest in Feeley.
Feeley isn't likely to fetch a second-round draft pick in a trade, as he did in 2003, when the Birds traded him to Miami. He's 32 now. But he also is a solid, experienced backup who has had a fine preseason. And he nearly ended the Pats' unbeaten season, subbing for an injured Donovan McNabb, on Nov. 25, 2007.
Feeley said no one in the organization needs to say anything to him about his status.
"They really didn't have to. I kind of know where I stand," Feeley said. "I understand Michael is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. (Having him) helps our team out. How it affects me, I don't know. That's yet to be determined. We'll see how things play out."
***
The Eagles announced they have released offensive lineman Chris Patrick. Four more players must be released by tomorrow, when rosters are trimmed to 75. Patrick spent time on the practice squad and the roster last season but never played in a game.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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