Eagles

The Morning After: Kolb Can Play

By Kyle Scott

Published: Oct 18th, 2010 · 12:26 PM EDT

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You don’t think Andy Reid would like to re-think his emphatic declaration of Michael Vick as the starting quarterback?  Think again.

Reid is now trapped.  Kevin Kolb, for the second week in a row, played very well.  Or at the very least, well enough to be given a chance to show that he is “the future.”  Maybe if Kolb didn’t get hurt in Week 1 none of this would have happened.

Did Reid overreact by allowing naming Vick the starter?  Most fans thought it was the right move.  We know thought it was the right move.  But, as we've seen time and time again, the fans aren’t always right.  That’s the reason Charlie Manuel sticks with his guys, instead of listening to the fans’ knee-jerk reactions.  Usually, Reid has the same patience.

Not this year.

Could you imagine if 2010 Andy Reid managed the Phillies?  We might have had Wilson Valdez up in the seventh inning last night.  Cole Hamels would have been the Game Two starter.  Brad Lidge would probably be out of a job.  Sometimes, as much as we hate to admit it, it’s prudent for coaches to ignore the fans and the media and remain even keel.

The Eagles now find themselves in a quarterback "situation" of epic proportions.  The inexperienced “future” vs. the talented, resurrected ex-con.  What the hell do you do?  Naming Kolb the starter would give Reid a “flip flopper” label he would struggle to shed.

“This is a beautiful thing,” Reid said. “Sitting here as a chubby head coach in the National Football League and you’ve got two good quarterbacks, you’re a happy guy, man. That’s a positive, positive thing.”

No it’s not.  Not for him.

It's great to have two good quarterbacks, but it leaves Reid with an unenviable decision.  He has a lot invested in Kolb, he wants him to start, Kolb has now proven he can start.  But Reid can't start him.

Oh yeah, it's only Week 6.

Updating DeSean Jackson’s injury- he has a severe concussion with memory loss.  Reid said in his Monday press conference that it would be a real stretch to see him this Sunday.