It’s now been a few days since the Philadelphia Eagles confirmed Kevin Kolb as their starting quarterback … and then named Michael Vick their starter within 24 hours. That’s enough time to let cooler heads take over the conversation and analyze just what exactly is going on in Philadelphia.
Yeah, right.
Vick, at this moment, gives the Eagles a better chance to win than Kolb. It was surprising to hear Eagles coach Andy Reid tell reporters that Kolb would start Philadelphia’s Week 3 game at Jacksonville if only because Kolb had just been cleared to practice after his Week 1 concussion and Vick had just torched the Lions in a 35-32 win.
But this brings us to the long-term direction of the franchise. Reid said the decision to go with Vick was “not an injury-related issue.” If so, then why declare Kolb the starter one day and then flip to Vick the next? It’s all speculative right now, but it bears asking the following question: Who is running the Philadelphia Eagles?
Vick has more tread on his tires than the average 30-year-old quarterback after missing two seasons serving his prison sentence. If he plays well, he’ll be setting himself up for a big payday at the end of the season. Meanwhile, Kolb’s contract runs through 2011 and guarantees $12.26 million. The issue here is whether Philadelphia — after developing Kolb, locking him up and trading Donovan McNabb away — is ready to abandon that plan completely. Right now, that appears to be a very real possibility.
