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pic via (@nealstradamus)

I know, I know! The national media wants me to run on the field Thursday night and use a rowing paddle to knock over Reid just before halftime as the clock ticks away because he blew his final timeout too early.

That’s the only reason I can think of as to why, all of a sudden, there are stories touching on the mistakes of the Reid regime just days before the fat man is lowered by hot air balloons into Lincoln Financial Field.

First, the Eagles could’ve had Colin Kaepernick.

Now: A reminder of how Kevin Kolb, whose career might be over, grossed $47 million, ostensibly to play football.

Andrew Brandt, who worked in the Eagles’ front office, writes the following on MMQB about how Kolb and Matt Flynn are good examples of quarterbacks who leveraged the scarcity of good QBs to earn themselves lots of money:

McNabb was traded; Kolb was anointed the starter and given a one-year contract extension—he was entering the final year of his rookie deal – with a $10.7 million signing bonus.

Kolb suffered a concussion in the Eagles’ opening game against the Packers. Michael Vick replaced him and, with play reminiscent of his scintillating days in Atlanta, became the team’s present and future starter. Following the season, the Eagles placed the franchise tag on Vick and put Kolb, their quarterback of the future six months earlier, up for sale.

Kolb made approximately $14.4 million from the Eagles, $30 million from the Cardinals and will make $2.65 million from the Bills for total earnings of over $47 million. In a league where teams usually dictate earnings to players, Kolb is the rare player without Pro Bowl credentials who tilted the leverage his way, taking full advantage of typically bleak landscapes of available quarterbacks. While his success on the field was mixed, he is a clear winner off it.

Kolb and Flynn—solid people and consummate teammates with good work ethic—both did not live up to heralded arrivals with two different franchises. They are winners, however, in the business of football, something few NFL players are able to achieve in a financial landscape that typically favors franchises.

The recent chapters written on Kolb and Flynn serve as cautionary tales for NFL teams giving up valuable currency—trade consideration and contract compensation—for quarterbacks showing even modest signs of ascension. With unfavorable results from trades or contract upgrades for players with limited sample sizes such Kolb, Flynn or the BIlls’ Ryan Fitzpatrick—given a hefty contract extension after a few successful games in 2011—there will now be increased hesitation by teams on players such as these.

I might just unload all of Andy Reid’s mistakes (to be fair, at least the Eagles cut bait with Kolb) leading up to the game on Thursday so you, too, can effectively rage-watch. Maybe I’ll having a viewing party with darts and tomatoes as favors. Who’s with me?