Over the last few years, the
Philadelphia Eagles have drafted
players to be the eventual successors
to longtime Eagles such as
Donovan McNabb and Brian
Westbrook. As both Kevin Kolb
and LeSean McCoy have shown
glimpses that they are indeed the
future of the team, is it time to
start wondering how soon that future
is?
Kolb was drafted three years
ago in the second round. Kolb, the
quarterback out of Houston, was
instantly given the hopes of one
day taking over for Eagles veteran
quarterback McNabb.
In his 11th season out of Syracuse,
McNabb, the former firstround
pick and five-time pro
bowler, is the Eagles’ all-time
leader in career wins, pass attempts,
pass completions, passing
yards, and passing touchdowns.
McNabb has also had eight major
injuries in his 11 years, multiple
surgeries and numerous missed
games. In the 2009 season opener,
McNabb injured his ribs and has
missed the last two games because
of that.
Kolb received his first and second
career starts in McNabb’s absence.
In Kolb’s first start he went
31-51 for 391 yards with two
touchdowns and three costly interceptions.
In Kolb’s second start
he went 24-34 for 327 yards and
two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Not bad for the 25-yearold’s
first two starts since his collegiate
days at Houston. Keep in
mind though that his best performance
came against the Chiefs
horrendous passing defense.
Owner Jeffrey
Lurie is
known for not
overpaying in
the off- season,
especially
for veterans
who he has already
drafted a
replacement
for. The exception
to that would be McNabb,
who was given more money for
the final two years of his contract,
but with no extension.
“Donovan will be our starter in
week 5,” Eagles head coach Andy
Reid said. The Eagles are off this
week with a bye, and McNabb
should be healthy and ready to go
against a struggling Tampa Bay
team, which is itself going
through quarterback issues.
Eagle’s rookie running back
LeSean McCoy was drafted in the
second round out of Pittsburgh.
McCoy had a tremendous college
career and like Kolb, when
drafted, was instantly tagged as
the future replacement for a veteran.
Brian Westbrook, the eight-year
veteran running back out of Villanova,
has been plagued with injuries
throughout his career. The
30-year-old two-time pro-bowler
has rushed for almost 6,000 yards
since being drafted in 2004.
Now-a-days every successful
team in the NFL needs to have
good running backs, so for now
this is a good thing in Philly.
Running backs generally have
the shortest careers of all NFL position
players, constantly getting
banged around and hit by monster
linemen, fierce linebackers and
unmerciful defensive backs. Having
a veteran pro bowler and a
rookie with tremendous upside is
great for now.
Who knows what the future will
bring for McNabb and Westbrook,
but for now they are the starters as
they should be. The NFL is a business
above everything else, and in
this business you need to do whatever
it takes to be a winning franchise.
Look down the road as the season
progresses for Kolb and
McCoy to get more of an opportunity
to display their talent if injuries
should reoccur.
What will happen if McNabb or
Westbrook’s performance starts to
slip? Could you possibly see
Philly fans calling for Kolb or
McCoy?
It should be an interesting year
for the Philadelphia Eagles, with
tremendous pressure and high
hopes; we will see how things pan
out for our veterans and for our
youngsters.