Eagles football blog

Kolb's big opportunity

Kevin Kolb wants it to be kickoff time. Right now. Can somebody please call the Saints and see whether they'd object to playing today instead of tomorrow? Maybe tonight, as a compromise? Tomorrow morning, even?

"Once I get into the mode, once we get into the pregame stuff, I'll be focused just like always. It's the sitting in a hotel room, waiting for it to come, that's the hardest part - from now [the end of yesterday's practice] until we're back on the field. Thank God, it's not a late game," Kolb said after completing a full week of preparation as the Eagles' starting quarterback for the first time since he was drafted in 2007. Continue

Kolb looking for a shot

The Eagles drafted Kevin Kolb in the second round and, well, he is a competitor. He wants to play quarterback. He had a chance to play quarterback last year for one tantalizing half, 30 minutes that could have changed everything if they had gone well (Andy Reid's denials notwithstanding). But they did not go well, and Kolb waits.

Donovan McNabb is the quarterback. He has 2 years left on his contract and wants an extension. This will be the third year for Kolb on the bench and, if McNabb were to get that extension, it could be 4 years or more. Continue

Looking ahead to Kolb

Let's say you're the coach of an NFL team and you have the final say on personnel matters (any resemblance to actual coaches is purely coincidental).

Now let's say your team went pretty far in the playoffs last year with an aging core of players, and your analysis is that a partial overhaul is necessary in the off-season (any resemblance to actual NFL teams, etc.).

Finally, for the sake of this exercise, let's say you have a veteran quarterback who has been very good for most of his career, but has had injuries and is prone to prolonged slumps. Let's say you also have a young quarterback you've been developing behind this veteran starter for a couple of years, and you believe he can play (any resemblance to actual signal-callers, etc.) Continue

Kolb wonders what if

Kevin Kolb is like everybody else who witnessed the Eagles' lopsided loss to the Baltimore Ravens in late November.

He wonders what would have happened if the offense's 69-yard drive in the fourth quarter had just been 1 yard longer and resulted in an Eagles touchdown.

"In my mind, I'm thinking, 'If I don't throw that pick, we just went all the way down the field and we're right back in the ball game,' " Kolb said after participating in former teammate Tra Thomas' charity golf tournament Friday.

"That's the way I look at it," Kolb said. "I'm one play away from that whole stigma of that game being erased, and I think we go on to win." Continue

Eagles' Kolb content biding his time

Imagine coming out of college and getting that job you worked so hard to obtain. Only, once you get that dream job, your employer doesn't exactly cooperate. Like becoming a teacher and being told you're limited to sharpening pencils every day. Or becoming an accountant and overseeing only your own money matters.

Kevin Kolb has dreamed of being a pro football player practically all his life. His dream, of course, came true when the Eagles took him with the 36th pick in the draft in 2007 out of the University of Houston. So far, though, all the 6-3, 218-pounder has done during his pro career is pretty much carry a clipboard and watch. And learn. Continue

Eagles' Kolb grows into quarterback's role

With about 15 minutes left in yesterday's practice at the NovaCare Complex, second-year quarterback Kevin Kolb rolled out of the pocket, looking to make something happen. A few steps before the sideline, he fired the ball to rookie receiver DeSean Jackson, who had sneaked into a gap between defenders. "Way to stay with me, DeSean," Kolb said while jogging back to the huddle.

It was a simple exchange between Kolb, the Eagles' third-string quarterback last year, and Jackson, the Eagles' second-round pick last month, but it was indicative of the relationships and experience Kolb said he hoped to build by taking part in the two-day rookie minicamp that wrapped up here yesterday. Continue

Patient Kolb is watching, waiting

The last time the Eagles were seen at Lincoln Financial Field, the mob was angry, and the cries for the rookie quarterback were growing louder. Today, the Eagles return to the Linc and a rookie quarterback is indeed going to be in the spotlight. It's just not the one that many Eagles fans were hoping to see after the team's lopsided loss to the Dallas Cowboys, one that included a couple of critical turnovers by quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Instead, the time has come for John Beck, the Miami Dolphins' second-round pick out of Brigham Young University. Kevin Kolb's turn to take control of the Eagles' offense will have to wait, and he's just fine with that. The Eagles' first overall pick in the April draft will continue in his role as the No. 3 emergency quarterback and resident sponge, trying to absorb every bit of knowledge he can from what transpires on the field. Continue