Eagles Seem Determined To Rush QB Kevin Kolb Back From Concussion

Added on Sep 15, 2010 by Jason Kearney in

NFL

The Philadelphia Eagles don’t really seem to understand the general concept behind testing to determine if players have sufficiently recovered from a concussion to clear them to play. These aren’t like the tests that most Division 1 football players use to stay eligible in college–the idea isn’t to take them over and over again until they pass one. For now, neither QB Kevin Kolb nor linebacker Stewart Bradley have recovered sufficiently to return to practice and let alone play. Eagles’ coach Andy Reid, who is apparently an expert neurology in his spare time, assured the media that both men have ‘made progress’ based on the results of the tests. The fact that Kolb was sitting in a corner writing ‘MY NAME ARE KEVIN’ over and over again with crayon during Reid’s remarks didn’t do much to assure the media that he knows what he’s talking about.

Bradley is in better shape according to reports, but Kolb is still suffering from headaches. What I’m wondering is why Andy Reid is even playing around with the notion that Kolb should play on Sunday. Granted, Andy Reid is one of those coaches that likes to hear himself talk and thinks he’s a master of competitive psychology. In his mind by not ruling Kolb out, he’s gaining a competitive advantage. He’d be better served trying to figure out how he’s going to keep the rest of the depth chart at QB healthy with a porous offensive line that just lost its starting center. For now, here’s what Reid has to say about the whole thing:

“Right now Kevin is not practicing. Michael Vick is practicing and he’s getting himself ready to play in that game. That’s what I’m focusing in on right now and as far as the football part of it goes. On the medical side of those two players, getting better and going through the rehab that’s available to them.”

Here’s a tip for Reid and the Eagles–go ahead and say Kolb is out for the Detroit game. Messing around with a head injury to a young quarterback on a team that will need Tom Brady in an Audi sized miracles to be on the right side of .500 at the end of the year is irresponsible and downright stupid. Reid went on to sound like a guy trying to convince himself that the QB situation was well in hand, stressing that Michael Vick is a starting caliber quarterback. We think otherwise as do others here at Sportsbetting World.

The Eagles’ bad decisions vis a vis the quarterback position are now coming home to roost. They rolled the dice that Kolb would stay healthy and quickly become comfortable as an NFL starter and came up snake eyes on both counts. Donovan McNabb is in Washington, Mike Kafka is talented but nowhere near ready for the role and the fate of the team for the immediate future rests on the aging legs and questionable decision making of Michael Vick. And while we agree in theory that the Eagles needed to ‘get younger’ on offense, the downside of that is a complete lack of veteran leadership and ‘go to’ guys on that side of the ball. This is the situation where a guy like A.J. Feeley–who the Eagles released in September of 2009–is very valuable. He may never be a star in the NFL, but you know that he’ll be able to come into the offense and not screw things up too badly.

So maybe this is a good time for Andy Reid to show a little leadership–just come out and say that Kolb won’t play and that his longterm health is more important than a September game against a team that went 2-12 a year ago. Not that I’m holding my breath–Reid will become a strong leader just about the same time that Michael Vick learns to read NFL defenses as well as Peyton Manning.