Vick cannot be expected to carry the load by himself.


When Andy Reid starts to really trust his quarterback, things get worse, not better, for the Philadelphia Eagles.

We saw it with Donovan McNabb for 11 years. The entire offense was put on his back. If he didn't have a good game, there was almost no chance the team was going to win. He had no running game to support him and nothing but predictable play-calling coming from the sidelines.

But when he went down, the play-calling became much more balanced and less predictable. Key examples would be 2002 and 2006. With Koy Detmer and A.J. Feeley running the show in '02, Duce Staley, Dorsey Levens, and Brian Westbrook saw an increase in carries.

Reid didn't trust Detmer and Feeley as much as he trusted McNabb, so he looked to other players to step up and help carry the offense.

In 2006, Reid didn't trust Jeff Garcia as much as he did McNabb, so the running game got a huge boost simply by feeding it more touches.

The result in both of those instances was a division title and playoff berth.

But, once McNabb was back under center, Reid went right back to his old ways. The team went back to passing 70 percent of the time and relying solely on McNabb to make plays.

Slowly but surely, we're seeing that now with Michael Vick.

In games Kevin Kolb has started versus games Vick has started (not including the Packers or Redskins game in which both quarterbacks played), Reid is calling on average 2-3 more running plays per game. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it's two or three times that Vick is not in harm's way.

It also shows that Reid really does have confidence in Kolb since he's not running enough with him in the game either, but it shows he likes Vick even more.

Reid has become enamored with Vick the way he fell in love with McNabb, and he feels like he can pass all game long and they'll be just fine.

In that sense, he's probably right. McNabb did just fine without a ton of support from the play-calling, and Vick likely will too, but a balanced attack to supplement great quarterbacks is what wins Super Bowls.

Which is precisely why Reid and McNabb were never able to do it.

The play-calling was decent all season long up until the Giants game. Reid and Mornhinweg didn't even pretend to do anything but pass. Most of the time Vick was in the shotgun either in an empty set or with McCoy a good yard ahead of him.

It's not difficult to pick up that when McCoy is ahead of Vick, he's pass blocking or releasing.

This allowed the Giants to pin their ears back and come after Vick. That's why even after the best performance of the year from the offensive line, Vick was still sacked three times. The Giants didn't fear the run game and always knew exactly when it was coming (especially since Reid and Marty called four play-action passes in a row before establishing any running game).

Reid finally has a kid in McCoy who is everything Brian Westbrook was and more. He has much better field vision, has much better balance, is a better runner in the open field, and has the makings of someone who could be the best running back the Eagles franchise has ever seen.

Not to mention Jerome Harrison who nearly broke Adrian Peterson's single-game rushing mark at the end of last season and went over 100 yards on only 11 carries against the Redskins this year.

But still, Reid refuses to use either back as much as he should and will continue to put the burden on Vick's shoulders. It could very well result in a division title and a trip to the playoffs, but play-calling like we saw against the Giants will never win this team a Super Bowl.
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Vick's performance ranks among the best of all time.


-- Where do we start with Mike Vick? This was one of the most phenomenal showings by a quarterback in the history of the league. A combined six touchdowns (four throwing and two rushing), 413 yards, and his sixth-straight game with a passer rating over 90. Is there really any doubt now who should be the quarterback of this team moving forward?

-- Overall, it was not a great night running the ball for LeSean McCoy (11 carries for 43 yards), but his five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown made up for that. McCoy has the makings of becoming one of the best weapons in the league, if he's not already.

-- I said I loved the trade when it first went down, and then I spent the past couple of weeks lobbying for him to see more action, and now I couldn't be happier to see Jerome Harrison finally get a shot and make the best of it. Harrison carried the ball 11 times for 109 yards including a 50-yard touchdown run and one reception for 15 yards.

-- Owen Schmitt continues to be the unsung hero of this offense. The guy does nothing but do his job and it's really showing in the Eagles' yards-per-carry average, which last I checked is tops in the league. But can we please get him at least one carry before the year is out?

-- Brent Celek was, once again, dreadful. He managed to bring in two catches for eight yards and dropped a ball he should have caught despite being hit. To say he's having a down year would be an understatement and the team is starting to take notice. Officially, Clay Harbor was the guy who got the start against the Redskins and not Celek.

-- Speaking of Harbor, he wasn't much better than Celek. In fact, statistically-speaking, he was worse as he hauled in a grand total of zero catches. He did, however, have a great block on Brian Orakpo that allowed Vick to hit DeSean Jackson on that 88-yard strike.

-- Speaking of Jackson, he got into it a little bit with safety LaRon Landry before the game. It nearly started an all-out 106-man rumble, but Jackson ended things quickly by blowing past Landry on the team's first play from scrimmage. The 'Skins did the best they could to take Jackson out of the game after that, however, and he only had one catch for 10 yards afterwards.

-- Jeremy Maclin, although he continues to play scared, keeps making big plays. He caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Vick that was badly under-thrown just nine seconds into the second quarter to bump the score to 35-0. He did a great job of not letting DeAngelo Hall into his body, made a play on the ball, and stay in bounds.

-- Believe it or not, Jason Avant's touchdown reception against the 'Skins was his first of the season. He's done a good job of making plays on third down this season and seems as sure-handed as ever, but he just hasn't gotten the same amount of targets with Vick running the show.

-- As a whole, the offensive line did a pretty decent job. They allowed Vick to get sacked once, but didn't have any big-time breakdowns and did a good job of keeping him clean. Even Nick Cole, whom I've harped on often this season, had a decent game. He still shows extreme laziness and the footwork of an 80-year old woman, but overall wasn't bad.

-- Here's where things take a turn for the worse. The defense, as a whole, was not nearly as good as it would seem coming away from such a big win. In fact, were it not for the offensive explosion, this could have been a game the Eagles' defense easily lost for them.

-- Trent Cole, once again, was unable to notch a sack and disappeared for extended periods of time. For all the talking he did leading up to this game, he didn't do a good job of backing it up.

-- Juqua Parker and Trevor Laws both racked up another sack for the season, moving their total to five and three respectively. Laws has been good in relief this season, and Parker has done a great job moving from starter to backup and back to starter.

-- Antonio Dixon continues to be too much for offensive linemen to handle. He didn't do a great job of reacting once he got into the backfield, but he spent the entire game behind the line of scrimmage. If he can get better at keeping his head up and reading the play at the same time, Dixon has the potential to be a very, very good player.

-- Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley seemed to play well against the run in that they ate of some blockers, but appeared to get no help out of their linebackers. It all starts with the guys up front, but the guys behind them are supposed to be the actual play-makers and there wasn't a whole lot of that tonight.

-- Sticking with the linebackers, they were all unimpressive yet again. Moise Fokou continues to be the most impressive of the group and Ernie Sims missed a sack and later hurt himself, and Stewart Bradley got plowed over by Fred Davis en route to a 71-yard reception. Both guys must play better moving forward or it could be time for a change.

-- Outside of getting burnt by Anthony Armstrong one time, Dimitri Patterson had a very good game that included two interceptions and one touchdown. They say players don't lose their spots due to injury, but Ellis Hobbs might be on the outside looking in at this point.

-- There wasn't a whole lot out of Asante Samuel, but that could be because McNabb and the Redskins avoided him like the plague.

-- Kurt Coleman, making his first NFL start in place of the injured Nate Allen, notched an interception after Santana Moss knocked the ball into the air after a pass went right off his hands. Overall, Coleman had a good game but did get run over a few times, as well. He isn't going to take Allen's spot, but it's good to know he can fill in when needed from now on.

-- Quintin Mikell had one of his worst games of the season. He looked slow, he missed tackles, and outside of a pressure of McNabb, I can't think of an impact play he had.

-- It's going to get lost in a 59-28 win, but the defense did not play very well as a unit. They gave up 295 yards and two touchdowns to McNabb. Yes, they also had three picks, but Patterson's pick-six was the only one they earned. The other two bounced off receivers' hands and into their waiting arms. Big plays were aplenty for McNabb and the 'Skins through the air.

-- On top of the lousy performance defending the pass, the defense also gave up 89 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to Keiland Williams. Yeah, if you've never heard of him I'm sure you're not alone. If they can't stop that guy running behind the Redskins' patch-work offensive line, how are they going to stop Ahmad Bradshaw or Brandon Jacobs?

-- I'm still on the "Fire Sean McDermott" band-wagon. He lacks a killer's instinct and it infects the entire defense. The way he starts playing soft once they get a lead is enough to drive me crazy. On paper, this defense should be much more effective than what it is. He will lose this team at least one more game this season.

-- If anyone knows Andy Reid personally, can they please ask him why in the world Vick was in the game so long? With a 31-point lead, there was nothing good that could have come from keeping Vick in just to hand the ball off. This is coming from a reluctant Kolb fan (for lack of a better word), but I'm pretty sure he can be counted on to hand the ball off, huh?

-- Outside of kicking a ton of extra points and booting a couple touchbacks, David Akers' 48-yard field goal in that rain might have been his most impressive of the season.

-- Sav Rocca had four punts for an unimpressive average of 38.3 yards per punt. But when we take into account the long of 53 and four punts inside the 20, it starts looking a whole lot better.

-- The coverage teams had only one break-down. Call it progress.

-- Do you think the NFL would let the Eagles take about 20 points off this total and use it towards next week's game against the Giants? It's worth checking into. This seems like a great opportunity for this team to lay an egg with so much on the line. But I'm thinking with 20 free points they should pull it out easily.
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It's the "Houston Horror" and "Checkdown Charlie."


-- Jason Avant absolutely has to catch that ball at the end. Even after such a terrible game, Avant had an opportunity to immortalize himself in Eagles' history with that catch and literally let it slip through his fingers. But, with that said...

-- The front four was terrible. Trent Cole got no pressure, Mike Patterson was absolutely man-handled, Brodrick Bunkley had a few good plays but, for the most part, was ineffective, and Brandon Graham was nowhere to be found. Even Darryl Tapp and Juqua Parker couldn't get anything going and it showed in the Redskins' yards per carry average.

-- The linebackers were terrible. Outside of Ernie Sims' mildly impressive sack of a scrambling Donovan McNabb, there wasn't a good play made by any of them. Stewart Bradley, for the fourth consecutive week, was a huge disappointment. He couldn't shed blocks, he was slow to react, and had what could have been a game-changing interception fall through his arms.

-- The secondary was actually pretty good. Outside of a blown assignment by the rookie Kurt Coleman that led to a 57-yard completion for the 'Skins, the secondary shut down all of McNabb's targets. Unfortunately, they just weren't good enough to make up for the front seven and play the run as well.

-- It's time for Sean McDermott to go. No one on that defense knows how to tackle, they don't play with any attitude, he refuses to blitz when it's necessary, and he's unbelievably predictable when he actually does blitz. How many times this season have we seen him blitz from the right and watch the other team run to the left or vice versa? I know I have lost count.

-- Who takes over for McDermott? Dick Jauron. What the hell, it can't get any worse.

-- The coverage teams, as always, were putrid. They will remain bad until Andy Reid puts a priority on getting special teams guys. It doesn't matter who he hires if the coach doesn't have the personnel to make anything work.

-- Sav Rocca could be kicking himself into the Pro Bowl. He's currently second in the NFC in average yards per punt (behind the Rams' Donnie Jones), but this offense should give him plenty of opportunities to bump that up.

-- Speaking of the offense, the injury to Michael Vick will hurt. Big time. He got hurt because he was putting everything he had into that play and refused to go down. He probably should have just protected himself, but it's difficult to tell a guy to be less competitive. All indications say he's going to be alright, but we won't know for sure until he gets an MRI.

-- Vick's replacement, Kevin Kolb, was bad. Just plain bad. The stats won't show it (22-35 for 201 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) but there was more negative than positive. If you watched the game, you heard Troy Aikman saying it: Kolb was not looking down-field at all and was constantly missing wide open guys.

-- DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin were clearly extremely frustrated with Kolb and his inability and unwillingness to look down-field. The body language was pretty clear.

-- I'm just about sick of Jackson. He lays down in front of defenders after catching the ball and refuses to fight for the extra yards, and on punt returns he just darts toward the sidelines. He doesn't even attempt to cut inside and at this point is a liability on special teams. And if he continues to play scared, he could become a liability on offense as well.

-- Brent Celek finally caught his first touchdown. Woo-hoo.

-- Owen Schmitt could parlay his performance this season into a permanent starting spot next season. He knows that Leonard Weaver is the guy in Philadelphia next year, but Schmitt has played very well so far and deserves to be a starter somewhere in 2011.

-- LeSean McCoy is electric. I said when he was drafted I thought he'd turn out to be twice the runner Brian Westbrook ever was, and that looks to be the case very early. He has the vision that Westbrook didn't, and proved against the 'Skins he can catch the ball as well.

-- McCoy, however, must learn how to hold onto the ball. That fumble knocks at least three points off the board and really changes the momentum of the game.

-- Mike McGlynn got whooped all day long. Albert Haynesworth was especially too much for him and unless he picks it up, 3-4 teams could start salivating when they play the Eagles.

-- Max Jean-Gilles was dreadful. His holding penalty made Vick's sacrifice absolutely worthless and his inability to pass protect was evident all game long. Reggie Wells should be the guy at right guard, but apparently Reid is in love with MJG. But, he's also in love with Kolb so who knows what he's thinking.

-- Jason Peters got called for two holding penalties (both of them ticky-tack), but outside of that he, Todd Herremans, and Winston Justice were pretty good.

-- If Kolb is the starter next week against the San Francisco 49ers and you're in a "Pick 'Em," go with the Niners. Frank Gore will, uh, gore this defense and Kolb's refusal to go deep will handcuff this offense and remove two of its best playmakers. Any team playing 11-on-9 is going to lose.

-- Alberto Riveron and his squad are the worst officiating crew in the league. Hand down. This guy needs to be shown the door immediately.
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Te'o-Nesheim has yet to be active for an NFL game.


The Eagles have announced their inactive players for the highly-anticipated Week 4 matchup against the Washington Redskins, and there aren't any surprises to report.

Mike Kafka (3rd quarterback), Keenan Clayton, Austin Howard, Antwan Barnes, Clay Harbor, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Joique Bell, and Trevard Lindley will all be watching this game in their street clothes.

The most surprising thing about these inactives is that Nick Cole is not among them. Cole missed practice Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, but apparently will be ready to go today in a backup role at the very least.

Max Jean-Gilles took the reps as the starter at right guard, but it's unclear who will be the guy when the game kicks off.

Even though there are no surprises, there are a lot of disappointments. Te'o-Nesheim was supposed to be a guy the Birds could rely on to get a pass-rush from the outside and even bump down to defensive tackle. The third-round pick has yet to be active for a single game.

Barnes, a guy the Eagles traded for out of Baltimore, is also inactive and I don't exactly understand why. I thought he did a very good job of getting pressure when he played, but clearly the team has decided if Darryl Tapp is active, Barnes won't be and vice versa.

Also, it's interesting to note that all four of the Eagles' fourth round picks (Lindley, Kafka, Clayton, and Harbor) are all inactive. Kafka gets a pass because he's the third quarterback, but Lindley can't overtake a journeyman like Dimitri Patterson, Clayton is below the seventh-round pick Jamar Chaney, and Harbor was immediately overtaken by Garrett Mills.

All of these guys are projects to a certain extent, but it has to be disappointing for the team and the fans that all four fourth-round picks are watching from the sidelines.

For the Redskins, the key inactive is the fourth overall draft pick left tackle Trent Williams. With Williams inactive, Stephon Heyer will be the guy called upon to block Trent Cole, so Donovan McNabb will have to make sure to check his blindside from time to time.

It's also been announced that the Redskins' offense will be announced one player at a time. And, of course, McNabb will be announced last around 3:30PM EST. I'm thinking that wasn't done by accident, and this could be the most attention an introduction has ever received.
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All hail Angelo Cataldi, king of that "vocal minority."


Angelo Cataldi is an idiot. A jackass, if you will. In a media market filled largely with writers who think "Concrete Charlie" is the guy who did their driveways last Summer, Cataldi continuously finds ways to stand out as the worst in the bunch.

The man knows nothing -- absolutely nothing -- about sports and, more specifically, the Philadelphia Eagles and the other three major sports teams in the city. But unfortunately he remains one of the idiotic voices that reaches the "sheeple" section of the Philadelphia fanbase and pollutes their vacant heads with misguided opinions driven by an undeserved ego.

Cataldi, if you recall, is the clown who organized what is now called the "Dirty 30." This group of high-class individuals were the people booing Donovan McNabb on draft day because he was not named Ricky Williams.

And now, with McNabb making his return to Philly as a member of the Washington Redskins, Cataldi has rounded up the same group of morons for a reunion tour and will, once again, boo McNabb.

"I don't like Donovan McNabb, because I always felt he was a phony," Cataldi told Joseph Santoliquito of CBSPhilly.com. "He's always been passive-aggressive, which doesn't resonate well with the fans of this city. That's my problem with him. He never connected to the fans in this town.

They only wanted one thing from McNabb, a championship. Look at those great Flyers teams of the 1970s. They won championships and never had to buy another dinner in this town again. With all that talent, McNabb never delivered."

Now I'm not exactly sure if Cataldi was referring to McNabb's talent when he says "all that talent," or if he meant the talent around him, but either way the conclusion remains the same.

Cataldi is an idiot.

McNabb clearly had (and has) a lot of talent, but a quarterback can't do it alone. He had no talent around him for at least seven years of his career sans one season with Terrell Owens and the couple of years Brian Westbrook looked like an All-Pro.

Anyone who thinks that's enough to put the failures of the Eagles on McNabb's shoulders is in the same league as Cataldi.

And phony? What exactly could McNabb have ever done to make Cataldi feel like McNabb was ever phony or passive-aggressive? The problem is that McNabb did not buy into the media's nonsense and get wrapped up in their little game. He took the high road each time, gave them nothing, and it irks the rats in the media like Cataldi.

If it was me in McNabb's shoes, I would have pounded Cataldi and the like into the ground years ago, but he's a much classier person than I am, I suppose.

The man doesn't even have the testicular fortitude to just stand up and say he was absolutely wrong about his love of Williams. Sure, he's said he was wrong, but it's always sandwiched with some sort of attack on McNabb in an effort to legitimize his moronic maneuver.

At least former Philly mayor and current lame-duck governor of Pennsylvania Ed Rendell had the gall to say what Cataldi wouldn't:

"I did want Ricky Williams, I saw him with the potential of a Gale Sayers or a Bo Jackson,” Rendell said. “Williams never reached his potential and we were wrong. I urged people not to boo, to show some real class.

Donovan turned the Eagles into perennial contenders. He did everything we asked him to do. Donovan deserves our loud, thunderous ovation on Sunday. Let’s get out there and show our appreciation for him. I was wrong, and so were the Eagles fans who booed him that day and through the years."

I'm not a fan of Rendell as an analyst or as a governor, but give credit where it's due. Sure, it doesn't take a genius to realize there's not even an argument to the contrary anymore, but it's better than doing what Cataldi is doing and trying to excuse himself for one of the most half-assed moves in Philadelphia sports history.

And let's forget for a second that Cataldi was clearly wrong in his assessment (which, by the way, comes as an enormous shock) and look at what he did on that day in 1999. He sent a bunch of drunken morons to boo a kid who had absolutely nothing to do with where he got drafted.

McNabb, at the time, was 22 years old and just a kid from Syracuse excited about getting his football career underway. And what is waiting for him? Thirty of the biggest ignorant jackasses to ever roam the planet.

But what does he do? He flashes that trademark smile and doesn't put it away for 11 years.

Maybe there's a reason Cataldi and some others don't feel like McNabb ever truly accepted Philadelphia and its fans -- what in the hell does he expect to happen when that's the first experience the kid has with his new town?

Cataldi needs to take his know-nothing opinions and his band of mindless zombie followers back to Rhode Island where he came from and quit trying to be the voice of a fanbase that truly is, for the most part, a knowledgeable group of people.

Angelo Cataldi, if I may speak to you directly for a second, you are a disgrace to Philadelphia.

You're an idiot, an imbecile, and don't deserve to have an outlet for your moronic rants. If the people at 610 WIP are smart, they will fire you immediately and try to show the country that people like Cataldi do not speak for this fanbase.

But since that doesn't seem likely, I'm hoping the fans of Philadelphia will at the very least stand up and let the country know you don't speak for us by doing something crazy and hilarious like throwing batteries at you and your pack of half-witted apostles.

(They'll be marching their way down Pattison avenue and will convene at the Spectrum around 2:30PM on Sunday before the game. Just in case anyone is interested in umm... attending.)
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Cooley has a history of gouging the Eagles' defense.


No matter how many times we see it happen, Sean McDermott refuses to fix it. Tight ends gouge the Eagles' defense play after play, game after game, and he seems to stick his head in the sand and ignore it hoping that the problem will just go away.

But, of course, it doesn't. And at least once or twice per season, a big game by a tight end winds up being the deciding factor in a loss -- usually in an important NFC East matchup.

This season will likely be no different. Chris Cooley is coming to town in Week 4 against the Eagles, and he's due for a big game. He's got a Hall of Fame quarterback in Donovan McNabb throwing to him, and doesn't need much of an excuse to put up big numbers against the Eagles.

So why do the Eagles always give up big games to tight ends? Well, quite simply, it's a flaw in how the Birds defend them coming off the line.

More specifically, they don't defend them coming off the line. The SAM linebacker, whomever that may be from year to year, is always told to play five yards or so off the tight end and just try to catch him in his break. But, as we can see, this doesn't work.

The 'backer has to get up in the tight end's face and hit him as soon as he comes off the line. This will throw the tight end off the route and make it much easier for the SAM to stick with him.

Tight ends are just too athletic, and asking a linebacker to keep up with them out of their break is unrealistic even for the most athletic of linebackers.

And did I mention the Birds handed Cooley -- arguably one of the best tight ends -- a Hall of Fame quarterback to throw to him? I did? Well, yeah, that should make Akeem Jordan's job a lot easier, especially since McNabb understands the defense's weakness covering tight ends better than anyone the team will face.

Don't be surprised if Stewart Bradley is manned up on Cooley all game long, but if someone isn't chipping Cooley off the line expect him to have a huge day and likely be the deciding factor in whether or not McNabb truly enjoys his return to Philadelphia.
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McNabb patiently awaits your disingenuous reasons.


The Eagles needed a guy who could more efficiently run the west coast offense. They needed a guy who could be more accurate on the short throws. They needed a guy who got the ball out quickly rather than a guy who might get sacked a bit more often while attempting to make a play.

Overall, they just needed a guy whose strengths were all of Donovan McNabb's weaknesses, and that is exactly how they wound up with Michael Vick.

Wait. What?

Of course we all know the saga of how Vick wound up being named the Birds' starter with Kolb's benching -- or, if you ask Andy Reid, Vick's promotion -- but wouldn't this entire situation have been a whole lot easier had the team just kept McNabb in town?

Overall, Vick is basically the same guy, just not as good. Sure, he's a better athlete, but when it comes to passing the ball he still isn't on the same level as McNabb. But, for argument's sake, they're basically the same guy running basically the same offense.

Reid thinks Vick is the best option for his team now because he might actually be realizing that he does not run the west coast offense. The west coast was built around balance between the run and pass, a short and efficient passing game, and using the running back as another receiving threat with swings and screens that can "substitute for runs."

Outside of that last one, does any of that sound like the "Andy Mornhinweg" offense?

So now that they've traded McNabb, they've left themselves with a quarterback situation that is now even more uncertain than it was at the beginning of the season.

What happens to Vick at the end of the year? Do they resign him? Do they slap him with the franchise tag? Do they let him walk and try with Kolb again? Do they trade Kolb? Do they franchise Vick and then trade him? Do they cut Kolb while there's no salary cup to get out of the extension they gave him?

But, if McNabb is still in town, this isn't even a discussion. Had they simply extended McNabb they would very likely be sitting at 2-0 right now, would have Vick as the backup and gadget player, and could have moved Kolb for a Matt Cassel-like bounty.

The goal for the team and the city would be the Super Bowl and fans would look forward to games with excitement rather than just curiosity.

Unless Vick takes the team to a Super Bowl the decision to trade McNabb will forever be looked at as one of the worst trades a team has ever made. Even if Vick is wildly successful in Philadelphia, people will wonder whether or not McNabb could have done more.

And even still, Vick is not the guy who was supposed to replace McNabb. It was Kolb. And now Kolb has been replaced after two quarters as the team's starter.

So let me ask again, why exactly did the Eagles trade McNabb?
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Akers should not be the team's biggest scoring threat.


Between the 20's, passing is fairly simple in the NFL. The rules have been tailored so the offense can move the ball through the air, almost at will, and create more red zone opportunities which, based on the howling success of the NFL's "Red Zone" channel, is what most fans want to see.

And for a passing team like the Eagles, they wind up in the red zone quite often. However, what they don't do often enough is actually wind up in the endzone. You know, the only "zone" that really counts when it's all said and done.

The lack of red zone trips actually ending in touchdowns isn't a new problem. It was largely blamed on Donovan McNabb during his time in Philadelphia but, then again, what wasn't?

He just wasn't accurate enough to get the ball where it needed to be on a shortened field and once Andy Reid finally dumped him and got a more accurate pocket-passer, the problem would be solved.

But here we are, no McNabb, and a guy in Kevin Kolb who is supposed to be a truly accurate pocket-passer, but the problem persists.

Before we go too much further, this isn't even about another McNabb vs. Kolb debate. Most anyone who has read my work before knows how I feel about McNabb and, frankly, are probably sick of hearing it.

I get it.

What this is really about is the play-calling -- something else I've been screaming about for as long as I can remember.

Reid's past-first mentality is great for moving the ball down the field. However, the problem is it only takes the offense so far. Once they get into the red zone -- where passing becomes much more difficult on a condensed playing area -- the offensive machine suddenly sputters and dies out, leaving it up to David Akers to save the drive.

So, if passing becomes more difficult, it would stand to reason that an offense should go to the ground in an attempt to put six points on the board.

But, because of Reid's aforementioned affinity for passing the ball, that doesn't work either. His backs usually aren't big enough to move a pile when it counts, and his linemen are so used to going backward to pass-protect that their run-blocking suffers.

It all goes back to balance. If Reid would mix the run in with the pass at an acceptable rate, his team would be able to do it more efficiently. And even if the run isn't exactly working between the 20's, the threat of the attempt to run in the red zone will bring the linebackers just a bit closer to the line of scrimmage.

The closer they come, the more space the quarterback and receivers have, and the easier it becomes to put the ball in the endzone through the air.

Then once the pass starts working in the redzone and those linebackers take a couple steps back to help the corners and safeties, a couple quick runs up the gut should be enough to get the job done and get the offense into the endzone.

But this is what Reid hasn't ever seemed to comprehend. Everyone can talk about how the NFL has changed and turned into a passing league and how teams can win without running the ball until they're blue in the face, but the fact of the matter is it's just not true.

Were that the case, Mike Martz would be talked about as a Hall of Fame head coach because he'd have so many Lombardi trophies on his mantle they might rename it after him.

And, following right behind him in second place, would be Andy Reid.

But the reason these guys don't have any rings as head coaches is because a team still has to effectively run the ball if they're to win the only game that counts. Even the New Orleans Saints, a pass-first team, recognized that and made sure to mix in the run.

For all the great things Drew Brees did for them last season, it was the threat of the run from Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell and the offensive line that kept defenses on their toes and allowed the Saints' offense to move the ball at will.

Without at least the threat of the run in the back of the defense's collective head, a pass-first team cannot and will not win a Super Bowl.

With McNabb gone and the very same problems still creeping up for this offense, it's time to look at the common denominator and blame Reid's Madden 2011-style play-calling.
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Will the Kolb era be more successful than the McNabb era?


That's the talk. Apparently a lot of people are convinced that the Eagles will be a better team, starting in 2010, with Kevin Kolb than they were with Donovan McNabb.

Now, if you have ever read any of my previous work, it doesn't take long to figure out that I always have been, and always will be a McNabb supporter. I think he was thoroughly mistreated in Philly and that he, and the success he brought the team, spoiled the fans.

But, even with my admiration (what some might call a "man-crush") for McNabb aside, the idea that the Birds will be better off in the short-term with Kolb rather than McNabb is ludicrous.

Has anyone been talking playoffs since McNabb was traded? Because it seems to me that if the Eagles were going to be better with Kolb than they were with McNabb, it would definitely have to start by getting to the playoffs -- and that's only step one.

After that, the Kolb-led Eagles would have to win at least one postseason game. And even that only makes them better than the McNabb-led Eagles of 2009 and doesn't trump McNabb's greatest accomplishment in Philadelphia -- the 2004 Super Bowl appearance.

Here is where I would usually go into a "five NFC Championships" defense, but we're talking short term, so I'll leave that part alone for now.

McNabb, during his first season as the full-time starter (2000), took this team to the playoffs with an 11-5 record, threw 21 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions, and made the Pro Bowl.

That was, by the way, the same team that had gone 5-11 the year prior and had dangerous weapons like Charles Johnson and Torrance Small.

Kolb, on the other hand, will be inheriting an 11-5 team with one of the best young receivers in the game, a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end, an up-and-coming former first-round pick at receiver, and a running back who, in my opinion, could be the best the franchise has seen in a long time.

Let's also not forget that McNabb didn't have three years to sit on the bench and learn behind a future Hall of Famer. He had a few minutes to learn under career backup Doug Pederson.

So even if we're talking about Kolb out-doing McNabb's first season as a starter, there's no way he comes close to that.

If the short-term means out-doing McNabb's first five years, let's say, as a starter, than Kolb has an even steeper mountain to climb since smart money says he's not going to five consecutive Pro Bowls, four NFC Championship games, and a Super Bowl appearance.

And if "short-term" means simply putting the team in a better position to win week in and week out than McNabb did for the past few seasons, I'm still not seeing it.

One could surely make the argument that McNabb was the reason for the loss against the Ravens in 2008. However, I wouldn't put the blame on him since he didn't get the opportunity to redeem himself in the second half.

One could even easily make the argument McNabb was the reason for the now-infamous tie to the Bengals the week prior to that game. However, is there another game that the Eagles lost that McNabb can be pointed to as the primary culprit?

The championship games? Sure, that pick to Ronde Barber was pretty ugly, but what everyone seems to forget is that Antonio Freeman fell over on that play, and Barry Gardener was a spectator earlier in the game as Joe Jurevicious went 73 yards for a touchdown.

No one expected them to beat the Rams in 2001, we covered 2002, the entire offense struggled in 2003 against the Panthers and anyone with two eyes could see at least two of the three interceptions McNabb threw can be put on Todd Pinkston's fragile little shoulders.

Then there's 2008. And anyone says McNabb was the reason for that loss, as many tried the next day, clearly wouldn't know a football from a hockey puck because the last time I checked 375 yards to go along with three touchdowns is an acceptable performance.

He did throw one pick, but DeSean Jackson wound up forcing a fumble that Jon Runyan fell on, so that didn't even hurt them.

What did hurt them in that game, and every other championship game, was the vaunted Jim Johnson defense falling apart. You're not going to find a bigger Jim Johnson fan anywhere in the world than right here, but two turnovers in those six big games (five championship games and the Super Bowl) is totally unacceptable.

Instead of blaming McNabb for Philly not having a Super Bowl, perhaps it's time to start pointing fingers at the defense, the lack of weapons on the offense, and an out-of-balance playcalling method instituted by Andy Reid that put the weight of the team on McNabb's shoulders.

As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently pointed out: "McNabb helped create those big swings in our games over the last 10 years. When he played well, it was like throwing the knockout punch. When he didn’t, you were able to throw the knockout punch."

Jones doesn't get it, but he just made a point for McNabb rather than against him.

Everything he said is true, but that was only the case because the entire offense focused on McNabb and any slip-up he had created a ripple effect that sent tsunami-like waves through the rest of the team.

Which brings us to the one and only way the Eagles are better off with Kolb than they were with McNabb: if, and only if, Reid actually runs the ball and implements more timing patterns.

Or, in other words, if he actually runs the west coast offense.

It's the same thing that happened when Jeff Garcia took over in 2006. Everyone thought he was so great -- and don't get me wrong, he played very well -- but it was the change in the offensive philosophy that made him look like a superstar. Rather than being asked to carry the load of the entire offense, he was just another cog in the system.

With Kolb on board, it looks like that's the philosophy Reid will go with. Combine the lightened workload with and incredible group of young playmakers and you have a team with limitless potential. However, if Reid asks Kolb to do what he asked McNabb to do, Kolb could be out of the league in a few seasons.

And even if Kolb is put in the proper situation with more running, short throws, etc., he's still going to lose some games for this team this season by turning the ball over -- something McNabb never did. That will go away with time, but the first season especially will probably see two or three games lost because of a careless turnover or another mistake due to his inexperience.

Were McNabb still in town, the city would be talking "Super Bowl or bust." But with Kolb taking over, few are realistically expecting a season better than 9-7 (all the while saying the team will be better off without No. 5).

Be careful not to break your ankle on that misstep in logic, Mr. Generic McNabb Hater.
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Would Jackson be rushing it to return by Week One?


While most people, including myself, are talking about the three-way battle at center between Mike McGlynn, A.Q. Shipley, and Nick Cole to take over for the injured Jamaal Jackson, there's at least one guy who thinks the battle is already over, and the winner is Jackson.

"I feel good about it. (Head athletic trainer) Rick (Burkholder) and his staff have done a great job preparing me rehab-wise and getting my knee right," said Jackson. "I've been progressing ever since. Right now, I'm being positive about it."

It's also of interest to note that Jackson has been running and working on pass-protection drills for a little while now, and is certainly ahead of schedule.

While it would be a bit surprising to see Jackson snapping the ball Week One when the Birds take on the Green Bay Packers, it's not without precedent. It will, after all, be about nine months after suffering the injury and with the progress made in these types of surgeries, it's definitely not out of the question.

To just say having Jackson for the entire season would be a good thing for the Eagles' offense would be an incredible understatement. A lot of fans were calling for his job after the '08 season, but we've now seen just how vital he truly is to the way this offense operates.

Without him barking out the line calls and getting the other four guys where they need to be, it's an ungodly mess and a sure-fire way to get Kevin Kolb hurt.

Even Donovan McNabb, who is one of the most elusive quarterbacks to ever play, had a difficult time avoiding all the pressure coming through the A-gaps in the final three games Jackson missed, so a stationary guy like Kolb would have no chance of even getting a pass off.

Coming from the player, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Just because he feels good does not mean he will be ready to go when the season gets underway. It's going to be up to the team doctors and trainers to make that call, and they're going to be absolutely certain he's 100 percent before they give him the green light.

But since he is running and doing some drills, it at least presents the possibility that he could be ready to go. And, at the very least, might mean he doesn't wind up on the PUP and only misses a few games rather than six weeks to half the season.
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How will the team react to Kolb's in-your-face style?


For some reason, Donovan McNabb's laid-back style just didn't sit right with most people here in Philadelphia. Many perceived it as indifference and quickly labeled him as a guy who didn't care about winning and was more interested in using the NFL as his own backyard.

So for those people, the word coming out of mini-camp that Kevin Kolb is taking a completely different approach must be welcome news.

According to those with the luxury of attending all of the practices, Kolb doesn't try to hide his emotions -- at all. He will apparently beat himself up for a bad pass, and isn't afraid to holler at his receiver if they run the wrong route, drop a pass, or anything else that he might not be pleased with.

The reaction has been largely expected. The Kolb love affair only grows stronger as now most believe he's the leader Philly has needed and he cares much more than McNabb did and whatever else, but there's also a downside to this way of handling things.

With McNabb, everyone could tell he thoroughly enjoyed what he was doing and, while he is a very competitive man, he made sure not to take anything too seriously. That doesn't mean he didn't show a clear frustration or disdain any time he messed up, but he took the "I'll get 'em next time" approach and moved on to the next play.

This mentality probably helped him survive in Philadelphia as long as he did because he refused to let anything get to him. Kolb, on the other hand, might be a little too hard on himself and could wind up doing himself a disservice.

I'm an old school type of guy when it comes to how football should be played and how players should handle themselves, but it's important not to dwell on your mistakes or they will eat you alive and kill any and all confidence.

With Kolb, it seems like he's unable to forgive himself, if you will, for a bad play and simply move on to the next. He seems to treat every play like the +/- in hockey: every bad play is a minus, so he must come back with a positive in order to make up for it.

It's certainly a good thing to want to improve, but every football player -- and especially the quarterback -- must be able to forget about a bad play, not let it kill their confidence, and go out and give it another shot. If he starts forcing the issue in order to make up for previous bad plays, he could get himself in a lot of trouble.

And now that we know this about Kolb, it makes a lot of sense that he was seemingly rushing everything in the second half of the New Orleans game and was hellbent on making something out of nothing rather than playing smart football and going at it again on the next play.

Then there's also the problem of dealing with his teammates. The young guys, especially a much-too-soon superstar like DeSean Jackson might not respond well to Kolb getting in his face and telling him what he needs to do. Say what you will about McNabb, but he understood how to handle the guys around him sans Terrell Owens.

Kolb has the right idea in that perhaps McNabb was a bit too laid back at times, but he can't counteract that by being the other extreme. He's got to find a way to be that leader while also being accessible to the guys around him and cutting loose every once in a while.

He seems to have all the physical tools and seems to have a grasp of the offense, but if he can't pick up the nuances and being a leader and this team's quarterback, he's going to have a very, very rough time in Philly.
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For your own sake, DeSean, step away from the mic.


If there's one constant amongst the mainstream Philly media, and even, to a certain degree, the national media, it's that they love to have one guy they constantly berate and use as a scapegoat.

For the past 11 years it was Donovan McNabb, and now, unless he learns how to shut up, DeSean Jackson could be next in line.

It seems like every other day there is some new quote of his that's being twisted into "I'm happy McNabb is gone and am in love with Kevin Kolb," even though that's not the case. For example, the newest issue of SportingNews magazine has a picture of Jackson on the front cover and reads:

"Missing McNabb? Eagles TD-Maker DeSean Jackson Says: 'I don't think we lost anything.'"

Yes, that's what he said, but it's clearly an attempt by whomever put this issue together to have people believe that Jackson is attacking McNabb. That is what will sell magazines -- not a guy simply saying that he's excited about what the team has moving forward rather than looking back at what could have been.

In the interview with the magazine, Jackson alludes to the fact that his words are already being twisted, but for some reason he just keeps talking.

"I have to watch what I do on and off the field all the time," Jackson said, "watch what I say. Like as you see with saying 'time for a change' -- people can twist your words up and make it more than you meant. I'm not that type of person, I'm never really saying anything negative toward anybody. I wouldn't like anybody saying anything negative about me."

Jackson is represented by Drew Rosenhaus, so you think he'd know better. But rather than simply shutting up and not giving the media any ammo, it seems like he jumps at the chance to get in front of the microphone or sit down for any interview that comes his way.

But if he doesn't stop soon, he's going to become the new scapegoat in Philly. Kolb is apparently already a fan-favorite for some inexplicable reason (considering McNabb was all-but run out of town after what he'd accomplished, while Kolb has accomplished nothing to date), so the focus will go to the guy willing to put the focus on himself first, and that's Jackson.

Philly needs a pariah, and once Jackson hits a cold-spell for a few weeks, it will be him.
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McNabb will return to Philadelphia on October 3rd.


In what will probably be the most-watched non-primetime game of the season, Donovan McNabb returns to face his old team in Philadelphia on October 3rd, according to the schedule leaked to NBCWashington.com.

For those of you keeping track, that's Week 4.

So why in the world wouldn't the NFL put that game in primetime? The entire NFL schedule isn't out yet, so there's a good chance the primetime games that week will still be worth watching, but the NFL really missed an opportunity for record-breaking ratings.

The first Eagles-Redskins matchup, if it was on Sunday or Monday night, would have crushed even the ratings the Vikings-Packers matchup got last year when Brett Favre returned to Lambeau to face his old team.

It's a rare miss by the NFL, but they were at least smart enough to put the second game (in Washington) on Monday Night Football on November 15th -- the week after the Redskins' bye.

That might not sound significant, but McNabb has never lost a game after the bye week. But, of course, neither has Andy Reid. It will probably get hyped as the game to see who was truly behind the Eagles' successes over the past decade, but that's a bit much as I think it's fairly obvious it was a combination of both guys.

But, that certainly won't stop the hype -- nor should it. This is going to be huge for the league and, as a football fan first, I can't wait to see it.

UPDATE: The schedule has been released and has confirmed the report.

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Was this the effective end of McNabb in Philadelphia?


When Donovan McNabb got hurt in Week 1, most of Philly cringed at the thought of Kevin Kolb becoming the starter. I think even most Kolb supporters were very uneasy about the notion of Kolb starting and finding a way to lose both of those games due to his inexperience.

The reports were mixed as to whether or not McNabb would be able to play against the New Orleans Saints the following week, but McNabb felt like he could play and most, including Brian Westbrook, thought he would play. Westbrook even went so far as to say there's "no way" McNabb would miss any time.

However, as we all know, that was not the case. Andy Reid kept saying he wanted to see McNabb's rib get "sticky" before he inserted him as the starter again. McNabb, by most accounts, was ready to go but Reid refused to let him back until he was fully healed.

This could just have come as a result of Reid's faith in Kolb to full in for McNabb during those two weeks and a way of protecting McNabb for the rest of the season, but is it possible that Reid wanted Kolb to play as a way of seeing what he truly had in his young quarterback?

Think about it: Reid had gotten to see Kolb play in the preseason and every day at practice, but outside of throwing him to wolves in Baltimore back in '08, he never got to see him in a true game situation.

He was never able to see how his former second-round draft pick would perform when it was game-time and everything was on him. Now, with McNabb's injury, he was afforded that chance.

So, instead of allowing McNabb to come back and fight through the pain like he wanted to do, he used the whole "We want you 100 percent before you come back" shtick to keep McNabb on the bench and get some starting experience for Kolb.

This, I believe, could have been the deciding point in what Reid was going to do with his quarterbacks at the end of this season.

I'm sure he understood that McNabb gave his team the best chance to win in the 2009 season, and that sitting him would kill his trade value, but watching Kolb start those two games could have shown Reid all he needed to see in order to make his decision.

He still might believe that McNabb is the better quarterback (that, to me, is obvious), but the games showed him that Kolb has what it takes to develop into the same caliber of player that McNabb is and was.

Had Kolb gone out and looked terrible, is McNabb sitting in Washington right now or is Kolb jettisoned off to a quarterback-needy team like the Buffalo Bills for a conditional mid-round pick?

Again, it could have been exactly what Reid said it was and nothing more than a way of protecting McNabb for the long haul, but it's certainly got to make you wonder what Reid was thinking and exactly how long this move had been in motion.
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Love him or hate him, vote McNabb to the '10 Pro Bowl.


As many of you know, I was, and still am, of the thinking that moving Donovan McNabb was a terrible mistake -- especially moving him inside the division. However, I am an Eagles fan first, and a McNabb fan second.

Because of that, it is the duty of every Eagles fan to vote for Donovan McNabb when the Pro Bowl voting comes around.

Regardless of whether or not the Redskins are 8-0 or 0-8, whether he's thrown 20 touchdowns or two, every fan must vote for the new Redskins quarterback.

Why? Well, because if McNabb goes to the Pro Bowl in 2010, the fourth-round pick the Eagles are currently due to receive from the 'Skins turns into a third. The other way is if McNabb plays 70 percent of the snaps and the 'Skins win nine games, but that team winning nine games is still a bit far-fetched.

Outside of trading for McNabb and bringing in Mike Shanahan, the team is essentially the same and will have a problem scoring points. The defense is good, and looks to get better under Jim Haslett, but even McNabb won't be able to resurrect that offense.

The fan vote is only worth about 25 percent, but with McNabb's name he should only have to have a slightly above-average season to make it into the NFL's All-Star game -- especially if Brett Favre doesn't return to the Vikings.

So, Eagles fans, when the time comes make sure you vote McNabb into the Pro Bowl, even at the expense of voting for Kolb (fingers crossed he actually deserves it). You've actually got the chance to influence what draft pick the Eagles will take from the 'Skins, so make sure you do your civic duty!

But, just to be safe, don't tell the Redskins fans we're doing this. They're just gonna vote for him too and unknowingly further our cause... they're so stupid.
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Kolb is now the man and will expect to be paid as such.


Now that the Eagles have traded Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins (words I never thought I'd have to write), the next move for both teams will be to sign their new quarterbacks to extensions immediately.

Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News isn't so sure that the Redskins and McNabb are making progress on a deal, but there's no doubt the Eagles will want to get Kevin Kolb locked up as soon as possible.

Both sides are ready to move on and look forward to next year, but they can't begin to do that until an extension is in place. The Eagles are quick to lock up their young players, so I would expect the Birds to have a deal in place with Kolb before the draft on April 22nd.

The numbers of the deal will probably be fairly unspectacular. Kolb will be paid like a starting quarterback, but he will probably only get middle-of-the-pack money since there's no past performance to work from.

The high-end quarterbacks are making between $10-15 million in base salary, so I would expect Kolb to receive $7-9 million annually in base salary with incentives and escalators woven throughout.

The length, on the other hand, would be almost impossible for me to guess. It wouldn't surprise surprise me if the contract is as little as five years, or as long as eight to 10 years.

One thing we can almost be certain of is that this will not be an extension, it will be a brand new contract. Kolb's current deal is set to pay him about $1.3 million in 2010, so there's no way he'll play for substantially less than what his backup, Michael Vick, will be making.

If the discussions lasted until even the draft, I'd be very surprised. The Eagles partially took care of the quarterback uncertainty, so now all that's left is to give Kolb the contract he deserves as the starter and look ahead to the draft and retooling the defense.

Perhaps, looking back on it now, Garry Cobb's source might have actually known something the rest of us didn't.
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Even the Redskins think his contract is ridiculous.


Per Adam Calpan of Scout.com, the Eagles were reportedly offered defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth in the recent blockbuster trade of Donovan McNabb. The Eagles will receive a second-round pick in 2010 and either a third or fourth in 2011, but they could have had Haynesworth as well.

"The Redskins actually offered - I'm told by two league sources - Albert Haynesworth, the oustanding defensive tackle, but Albert Haynesworth has an enormous contract," Caplan said before sneaking in that Jim Zorn and his staff couldn't stand Haynesworth.

Apparently, the Eagles do not believe (and neither does the rest of the league) that Haynesworth is worth the ridiculous money the Redskins paid him. And if the Danny Snyder thought he'd get lucky enough to have a team like the Eagles take on the burden, he's crazy.

Despite the need for a playmaker along the defensive line, the Eagles still didn't think the money was worth having an underachiever who plays when he wants to.

It will probably upset a lot of fans in Philadelphia, but I'm with the Eagles on this one. There was absolutely no reason to pick him up for the sole fact that he's not worth the money he's being paid.

Add in the fact that he's a crybaby and an underachieving locker room cancer and it doesn't take a lot of thought to figure out why the Eagles turned that down.

There's absolutely no doubt that it would be great to have Haynesworth on your team, but only if he's in a contract year and thinks he has some incentive to play well. Simply playing to win is clearly not good enough for him and the Redskins are starting to realize that.

I've always joked that the only way Hayneworth would be on my team is if I could just keep signing him to one-year deals. That's the only way anyone will get any real value out of him.

But now that the 'Skins have paid him, they're stuck with him. Outside of releasing him and admitting right out that it was a huge mistake, they're stuck paying his ridiculous salary for the next six years.

In the whirlwind of trading for McNabb, I almost forgot what a hilarious trainwreck the Redskins have been under the ownership of Snyder.

I'm not exactly sure what McNabb was thinking, perhaps it was just the opportunity to stick it to the Eagles and the fans who made the last 11 years of his life a living hell, but if it were me I'd have been on the first plane to Buffalo.
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Donovan McNabb is officially a Washington Redskin.


According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to trade quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins.

The deal is reportedly for the Redskins' second-round pick (37th overall), and either a third or fourth-round pick in 2011 depending on McNabb's performance and where the Redskins finish in the NFC East next season.

Kevin Kolb will become the Eagles' starting quarterback immediately, and Michael Vick will most likely stay on as Kolb's backup and a Wildcat player.

The timing of the deal is interesting as it comes the night before the Phillies open their season against the Washington Nationals.

The Phillies have taken over the city ever since their World Series title in 2008, but this move figures to take the attention away from the Phillies and put it back on the Eagles -- at least for the time being.

And now, thanks to an awful decision made by Andy Reid and the rest of the Eagles' front office, I'm forced to sit and take any wise-ass comments you all may have. Clearly my read on the situation was way off and perhaps one of more an optimistic pipe dream rather than reality.

The fact that they moved him to a division rival tells me that Reid and the Eagles actually were shopping him around the league, and not only "listening to offers" as he claimed.

The move is reminiscent of when the Eagles moved Sonny Jurgenson to the Redskins in exchange for next to nothing. One commenter pointed this out to me in a separate article, to which I ignorantly proclaimed "Yeah, but Reid sure as hell isn't making that mistake."

I'll hold until my death that this move is a mistake, but clearly I missed the mark on what the Eagles were actually doing and went with what I hoped they would do.

The Redskins have gotten a fantastic player and a fantastic person, and the Eagles have set themselves back at least one year with this move. Even Aaron Rodgers and Steve Young were unable to have immediate success, so it's unlikely that Kolb will be able to.

Hopefully Washington, D.C. will appreciate McNabb the way Philadelphia never did.
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"Hello? Yeah, please don't trade me to Washington."


According to Jay Glazer and his Twitter feed, the Washington Redskins put a call into Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles regarding the availability of quarterback Donovan McNabb.

When asked what teams, besides Oakland, have expressed interest in McNabb, Glazer responded: "Here's a new one, actually heard 'Skins made inquiry."

Of course, the obvious problem with this is that the Redskins and Eagles both play in the NFC East, and there is absolutely no way the Birds would want to see McNabb twice per season. The talk is that Reid wouldn't even entertain the idea of sending him to an NFC team, much less a team in the same division.

But usually in these types of cases, teams will call just to get a read on what the other team is looking for and perhaps strike up a conversation. It's not going to happen, but there is that rare inter-division trade.

According to Glazer, however, the 'Skins took it a step further.

"To clarify, there was more than just mild interest from 'Skins for McNabb," writes Glazer. "Heard they even talked players."

I'm not exactly sure who the Redskins have that would even interest the Eagles, but there's probably very little chance that there was ever a serious discussion between the two teams.

Even assuming we believe Reid wants to trade McNabb (which, of course, I don't), there is absolutely no way he would trade him to a division rival. The only way that happens is if Reid felt like all of McNabb's skills were heading for a rapid decline, but I think even most of the anti-McNabb crowd would agree that's not the case.

All of the talk is in the past tense, so the feeling is that the two teams have had their conversation and moved on. It was never a real possibility, but now that talks have stopped altogether, there is absolutely no chance McNabb becomes a Redskin.
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"Okay, you go to this team, or this team. I'll stay here."


"I'm listening (to offers) out there (for all three quarterbacks). I'm not saying I'm doing anything, but we're keeping our ears open."

That is what Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid told the media a couple weeks ago in Orlando at the NFL's owners meetings. Since then, all of the rumors have surrounded around Donovan McNabb and little to no attention has been placed on Kevin Kolb or Michael Vick.

The truth (sad for a large portion of misguided fans) is that Reid said he's listening to offers for all three quarterbacks -- not just McNabb.

That, of course, would mean Kolb and Vick are susceptible to being shipped out of town just as quickly, if not quicker, than McNabb. In fact, there could be a better chance that either of those guys is shipped because they haven't gotten the vote of confidence from Reid that McNabb has in the several times Reid has said McNabb is the starter for 2010.

And now, Derrick Gunn of Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia is saying the same thing via his Facebook page.

"After talking to several league sources a few hours ago, don't rule out the possibility that Kevin Kolb, and not McNabb, could be the one traded," Gunn writes as his "status."

I'm always skeptical when a guy cites "league sources," but Gunn is a guy who usually doesn't open his mouth (or type, whatever) until he really believes what he's saying. This tells me that Gunn seriously believes it's a possiblity that Kolb, and not McNabb, could be moved within the next month or so.

It could have been the Eagles who leaked the McNabb-to-the-Rams and Raiders and Bills and whoever else simply as a way of pumping up Kolb's trade value. If teams that want Kolb think the Eagles are set to make him the starter and their quarterback of the future, the offers could gradually start going up.

The anti-McNabb crowd will say that the Eagles have wasted their time grooming Kolb to trade him now, but if they can get picks out of him, then what is the harm? The team has a lot of holes on defense, and taking in two or three picks for Kolb would help immensely.

Gunn's report obviously doesn't mean McNabb is safe, but it backs up what I have been saying all along and still believe: Reid is married to McNabb and won't part until the death of McNabb's abilities, or until a guy can come along and uproot him.

Kolb, while he may turn out to be a good quarterback, isn't that guy.
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