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Comment: Clock is ticking on McNabb's tenure
Gordie Jones
His first minicamps behind him, Kevin Kolb talked about the rungs in the ladder an NFL rookie must negotiate.
''There's levels to it,'' the Eagles' first-year quarterback said Thursday afternoon.
You get drafted. You move to a new town. You do the minicamp thing, which he said was every rookie's ''biggest fear.''
Still ahead are training camp, the preseason, the regular season.
Overshadowing all those levels, though, is the level of intrigue surrounding Kolb, Donovan McNabb, the whole QB position. That began when Kolb was drafted in April, and doesn't figure to dissipate any time soon.
It is not clear whether McNabb will be ready for the start of the season, after undergoing knee surgery late last year. You would think that would be the case, given his participation in minicamp, but he wouldn't say as much when he addressed reporters Thursday.
What is clear is that some sort of organizational timetable has been drawn up, that the lines of succession have been drawn.
McNabb is still The Guy.
But Kolb is The Next Guy.
And A.J. Feeley could find himself The In-Between Guy.
All of this is subject to revision, depending on each quarterback's health and effectiveness. No one knows how long it will take for everything to play out.
But the clock is ticking down on McNabb's tenure with the Eagles. And in using the team's first draft pick on Kolb, the front office is trying to be prepared for when it comes to an end.
That's shrewd, and necessary. Time marches on. Teams have to retool, and the Eagles have been very good at anticipating their needs over the years.
This is a little different than replacing an outside linebacker or a strong safety, though. This is the most important player on the field. Andy Reid's first draft pick. The face of the franchise. The guy with the $115-million contract.
So the team will proceed with caution. But proceed it must. McNabb turns 31 in November. He has had three major injuries over the last five years. Change is inevitable; it's just a matter of when.
It is in some ways similar to the situation the team faced in 1985. Ron Jaworski was the Birds' starting QB, and had been for eight years. But in the second round of the draft that year, they took Randall Cunningham.
And after the '86 season, Jaworski was gone.
The current plan presumes that Kolb will progress to the point where he can inherit the job. He said the difference between where he was at the start of the minicamps and where he is now is ''night and day.''
But he also said this: ''You don't want to tell yourself it's getting easier, because then you'll relax. … You definitely can't do that, because that's when you fall behind.''
If he doesn't work out, Feeley is not a bad alternative. We all remember his good work as a rookie in 2002, after McNabb was lost with a broken leg. And the team obviously has confidence in him; he was signed to a three-year contract extension, through 2010, in February.
Feeley was unbothered by the fact that the team drafted Kolb -- ''You can't control the things you can't control,'' he said -- and really, doesn't seem bothered by anything. Confidence has never been a problem for him.
''As a quarterback, everybody possesses that confidence,'' he said. ''If you don't, then you probably shouldn't be playing.''
At the same time, the blueprint seems clear: He might prove to be nothing more than The In-Between Guy. Kolb is The Next Guy. It's just a matter of when.
http://www.mcall.com/sports/columni...00.column?coll=all-randomcolumnistssport-misc
Gordie Jones
His first minicamps behind him, Kevin Kolb talked about the rungs in the ladder an NFL rookie must negotiate.
''There's levels to it,'' the Eagles' first-year quarterback said Thursday afternoon.
You get drafted. You move to a new town. You do the minicamp thing, which he said was every rookie's ''biggest fear.''
Still ahead are training camp, the preseason, the regular season.
Overshadowing all those levels, though, is the level of intrigue surrounding Kolb, Donovan McNabb, the whole QB position. That began when Kolb was drafted in April, and doesn't figure to dissipate any time soon.
It is not clear whether McNabb will be ready for the start of the season, after undergoing knee surgery late last year. You would think that would be the case, given his participation in minicamp, but he wouldn't say as much when he addressed reporters Thursday.
What is clear is that some sort of organizational timetable has been drawn up, that the lines of succession have been drawn.
McNabb is still The Guy.
But Kolb is The Next Guy.
And A.J. Feeley could find himself The In-Between Guy.
All of this is subject to revision, depending on each quarterback's health and effectiveness. No one knows how long it will take for everything to play out.
But the clock is ticking down on McNabb's tenure with the Eagles. And in using the team's first draft pick on Kolb, the front office is trying to be prepared for when it comes to an end.
That's shrewd, and necessary. Time marches on. Teams have to retool, and the Eagles have been very good at anticipating their needs over the years.
This is a little different than replacing an outside linebacker or a strong safety, though. This is the most important player on the field. Andy Reid's first draft pick. The face of the franchise. The guy with the $115-million contract.
So the team will proceed with caution. But proceed it must. McNabb turns 31 in November. He has had three major injuries over the last five years. Change is inevitable; it's just a matter of when.
It is in some ways similar to the situation the team faced in 1985. Ron Jaworski was the Birds' starting QB, and had been for eight years. But in the second round of the draft that year, they took Randall Cunningham.
And after the '86 season, Jaworski was gone.
The current plan presumes that Kolb will progress to the point where he can inherit the job. He said the difference between where he was at the start of the minicamps and where he is now is ''night and day.''
But he also said this: ''You don't want to tell yourself it's getting easier, because then you'll relax. … You definitely can't do that, because that's when you fall behind.''
If he doesn't work out, Feeley is not a bad alternative. We all remember his good work as a rookie in 2002, after McNabb was lost with a broken leg. And the team obviously has confidence in him; he was signed to a three-year contract extension, through 2010, in February.
Feeley was unbothered by the fact that the team drafted Kolb -- ''You can't control the things you can't control,'' he said -- and really, doesn't seem bothered by anything. Confidence has never been a problem for him.
''As a quarterback, everybody possesses that confidence,'' he said. ''If you don't, then you probably shouldn't be playing.''
At the same time, the blueprint seems clear: He might prove to be nothing more than The In-Between Guy. Kolb is The Next Guy. It's just a matter of when.
http://www.mcall.com/sports/columni...00.column?coll=all-randomcolumnistssport-misc