Who is Kevin Kolb?
April 30, 2007
| By Mike Santa Barbara
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Discuss
It only took a moment, ok well more like 4 ½ hours to turn Eagles fans' lives upside down. Waiting so long for the Eagles' 26th overall pick, anticipation mounting, then it happened. First, The Eagles did the unthinkable trading with hated division rival Dallas Cowboys to move down in the draft. So now more waiting more anticipation, then it happened. “With the 36th pick in 2007 NFL Draft the Philadelphia Eagles select Quarterback out of Houston Kevin Kolb.” Once again Eagles fans at Radio City Music Hall were booing a QB selected by the Eagles. And with a gasp and a “you gotta be kidding me” a new era of Eagles football began. Or so we thought, or overreacted, for a day or so. As a fan you were angry, and don’t try to act like you weren’t. Now however, You’ve calmed down, listen to reason and thought like the intelligent Philadelphia fan you are. Or have you? If not here’s a little help. You may be asking yourself just who is Kevin Kolb?
Well first here’s the bio on good ole’ Kevin:
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Ok, Now that you know him a little bit better, let’s talk about the football side of this. Most draft previews had Kolb going as early as the late 2nd round and as late as the 4th round. Most scouts had Kolb rated between the 2nd and 5th best QB in the 2007 NFL draft. Some even say that the Birds had Kolb rated higher then Notre Dame pretty boy Brady Quinn.
Some say that Kolb is destined to be a bust much like two other former Houston Quarterbacks, Andre Ware and David Klinger. The same people say it’s because of the system Houston plays, an offense that usually consists of the Quarterback playing primarily out of the shotgun. And completing most passes underneath which means lots of YAC (Yards After Catch), which also means inflated numbers. However, Since the days of Ware and Klinger there has been a coaching change and a system change as well. Houston now plays more of a spread offense, which is similar to what they played in the past but with more precise route running and timing patterns. The offense Houston runs now is most comparable to the West Coast offense. Scouts, who worried that Kolb didn’t have the arm strength to throw down field, tested him during individual workouts and he proved that he could indeed throw the ball not only deep but also accurately. Before the combine Kolb hired a Quarterbacks coach to help him learn how to take the snap from under center instead of shotgun which he had done most of his four-year career at Houston. Kolb has stated that taking the snap under center is no problem to him now. Being on a team with a pass heavy offense Kolb still had a great TD/INT ratio. Kolb is very athletic so he’s not a sitting duck back there he can scramble a little bit. Kolb also showed a quick ability to learn offenses, so learning the West Coast offense shouldn’t be a problem. Most teams had Kolb rated higher then Brady Quinn for this reason alone.
Now that you know a little bit about the player let’s make you comfortable with the pick of Kolb so early. At 26 the Eagles most likely were looking for Safety or Cornerback help for example Mike Griffin, Brandon Meriweather, Leon Hall, or Aaron Ross. All four went just before the Eagles selected, the last one going was Meriweather who I think the Birds would have selected at 26. Realizing that there was no player there that they thought was worth the 26th pick the Eagles traded down 10 slots. The Eagles going into the draft had their eye on Kevin Kolb probably in the 3rd or early 4th round. Eagles had heard word that the Miami Dolphins had planned to pick Kolb at pick 40. In the Eagles minds they had very few holes on their team. So being at pick 36th and still seeing no one they liked on the board they picked Colb. And afterward Miami drafted QB John Beck at pick 40, and Detroit drafted QB Drew Stanton at pick 43. So if the Eagles had just selected somebody they didn’t have on their board and didn’t like instead of picking Colb they may or may not have ended up with a Quarterback at pick 57, the Eagles next pick. So looking at it like an intelligent sports fan which I know most Philadelphia fans are, the Kevin Kolb pick does not look bad at all. I hope the info above helps some of you stressed out Eagles fans feel better about our new buddy Kevin Kolb.
