Eagles Strong Even Without McNabb
In week 2 the Eagles may not “Brees” through the Saints like they did through the Panthers. The word out of Philadelphia is that Kevin Kolb will be starting in place of Donovan McNabb if he is unable to play on Sunday due to his broken rib. The players and coaching staff in Philadelphia have expressed their confidence in Kolb getting the start, but not everyone feels this way, especially Philly fans.
Rightfully so, Kolb has not been too impressive in his regular season performances. Last year Kolb was only called in for the second half of the Ravens game in which McNabb was benched, or if a game was clinched and they wanted to give him some snaps for experience. Whatever his reasons may have been for being called on, in 34 pass attempts Kolb has thrown four interceptions and only completed 50 percent of these passes. If he does throw up a stinker don’t be surprised to see the recently re-acquired Jeff Garcia clip up the chinstrap and trot onto the field.
Kolb himself on the other hand is rather confident that he will do fine on game day and believes he has a more firm grip on the offense now and at game time. “I think I pressed too much, I tried to show everyone I was ready, you can’t press as a quarterback. That’s in the forefront of my mind: relax and play smooth. Let the guys we have out there make plays.”
Kolb has it correct, in order for the Eagles to keep up against the Saints this weekend, the players the Eagles do have on the field have to make plays. Kolb needs to get the ball into the hands of Brian Westbrook early and often. The most important key to victory in this game is keeping the Saint’s powerhouse offense off of the field.
