They usually know how to get top dollar for their assets while paying basement prices to keep or acquire players they covet.
But in the case of Kevin Kolb, I think the Eagles are guilty of over-valuing and over-pricing what they have.
Reports indicate that the Eagles will be asking for two first-round picks and perhaps a couple mid-to-late-round picks as well. But when we look at Kolb's body of work, it becomes very clear very quickly that he's not worth anything near that price.
In four years with the team, Kolb has completed just under 61 percent of his passes, but has thrown 14 interceptions to only 11 touchdowns. And in the 19 games he's played since coming out of Houston as as second-round pick in 2007, he's only played two games at a starting-caliber level (against Kansas City in 2009, and the Atlanta Falcons this past season).
Outside of that, he had a decent game against the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins this past season, but take note of the teams mentioned. Neither were exactly dominating defenses and he made several mistakes in those games as well.
The quarterback-needy teams who might consider targeting Kolb -- the 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, and perhaps the Cincinnati Bengals if Carson Palmer is traded or retires -- have watched and are aware of those games.
Do Andy Reid and Howie Roseman truly believe that after a team watches his career and can pick, at most, three games out of 19 that were played a starting-caliber level they're going to be willing to give up even a single first-round pick?
Especially since the teams mentioned as perhaps having interest all have picks in the top-half of the draft.
When discussing this with various people, the one name that never fails to come up is Charlie Whitehurst. The Seattle Seahawks gave up a third-round pick for a kid who had never taken a single NFL snap, so why wouldn't Kolb be worth a lot more than that?
First of all, I think it was pretty obvious to everyone that the Seahawks really overpaid for Whitehust. There were reports that the Seahawks were afraid the Chargers would bite on another team's fourth-round pick rather than their own, so they bid against themselves in order to acquire Whitehurst.
And secondly, there was a bit of mystery and intrigue to Whitehurst. He had looked good in the pre-season, and every coach thinks they can take any guy with a little bit of talent and turn him into a superstar. In this case, the fact that he hadn't seen any NFL time probably helped the Chargers because all the Seahawks could think was "What if?"
For Kolb, that mystery is all but gone. Teams have plenty of tape on him to come to the same conclusion I have -- He might be an excellent backup, but is a low-level starter at best.
His arm strength is lacking, he can't make quick decisions, he gets scared in the pocket, a pass-rush will completely throw off his mechanics, and even though his accuracy is pretty good it's negated by everything previously mentioned.
At this point, a conditional third-round pick and maybe a sixth or seventh-rounder thrown in would make me happy, but I'm afraid if that's the best offer the Eagles get they will simply hang on to Kolb as the backup for one more year and let him walk after the 2011 season.
It's time for the management -- and Kolb's somehow-still-loyal fanbase -- to face facts. If the team holds firm on its demand for a first-round pick, they're going to wind up getting bitten in the end.
