Kolb Watch: Week 1

Welcome to the Kolb Watch, where every week we’ll evaluate the performance of the new Eagles quarterback and what we can expect from him in the week ahead. Time to take out those tea leaves and those crystal balls — the regular season is here, and it won’t be a cakewalk for Kevin Kolb or the rest of the young Eagles team.

Recent Play: Last year in the preseason Donovan McNabb completed 60 percent of his passes, throwing for two touchdowns and one interception. His numbers for the rest of the year mirrored those stats perfectly. Kolb’s preseason this time around didn’t go nearly as well: he only completed 53 percent of his passes with no touchdowns, one interception, and five sacks. No one thinks that Kolb will do that poorly over the course of the year, but he needs to improve markedly if the team is going to win…

Eagles' Disastrous Pursuit of Injured Players

For a few years now the Eagles front office has argued that they can find good value in players coming off injured seasons. They have made free agent signings and draft picks that many regarded as possible steals, if the player could only rebound from a season-ending injury.

Perhaps this weekend’s release of tight end Cornelius Ingram and trade of guard Stacy Andrews proved once and for all that such a strategy is faulty.

Let’s look at all the injured players they’ve signed over the years…

Eagles Cuts Reveal Failure in Recent Drafts

The Eagles have always had a reputation for finding starters late in the draft. In 2005, it was Todd Herremans and Trent Cole. In 2006, they found Jason Avant, Omar Gaither, and Max Jean-Gilles. And in 2007, Brent Celek was a steal in the 5th round.

However, the 2008 and 2009 drafts didn’t produce the kind of late round starters that became routine in the middle of the decade. In fact, of their 14 picks made in the third round or later, the Eagles have zero starters to show for it. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

And, worse than that, only three out of the 14 drafted players are even still with the team. The remaing three are in fringe places too…

Eagles Make Flurry of Moves to Reach 53-Man Roster Limit

Busy day at Eagles headquarters on this Saturday of Labor Day weekend. As teams around the NFL make final cuts to drop down to season roster of 53 players, the Eagles did so with gusto, making multiple surprising decisions in terms of keeps, cuts, and trades that no one expected.

Let’s break it down.

Stacy Andrews traded to Seattle: The Eagles received a 7th round pick for a player they expected to start at right guard this season, if not in 2009. After sticking with last year’s marquee free agent signing through one horrendous season, the Eagles hoped Stacy would finally prove worth the trouble. It didn’t happen. Thus, today the front office cut bait and unceremoniously shipped Andrews to the Pacific Northwest for pennies on the dollar. Some rough math indicates that the team wasted approximately $20 million dollars on the two Andrews brothers over the last 3 years. Good riddance…

Jets at Eagles: The Big Question

However, tonight, when the Eagles take on Rex Ryan’s brash and bold style of New York Jets, we won’t really be able to judge the offensive line, or any other starting unit for that matter — because only second and third team players will be out on the field for this game. So the big question for this week:

Which Player is Going to Make Himself the Hardest to Cut?

Soon enough the Eagles will have to cut down their roster from 75 players to only 53. Many of these decisions have already been made, but this game provides one last chance for bubble guys to prove they belong. Let’s see where there’s still competition…

How Many More Injuries in an 18-Game Season?

One of the biggest question marks surrounding the NFL’s push for an expanded season of 18 games involves injuries. NFL players already suffer far too many injuries, especially gruesome ligament tears, bone breakages, and serious concussions. Adding two more games would seemingly exacerbate this problem.

However, there have been few real studies of injuries that give us any idea of what to expect out of two more games. Plus, just looking at all injuries isn’t very helpful. Every player gets nicked up, and sometimes misses a game or two here or there during the season (think Donovan McNabb circa September 2009). Those aren’t the injuries that people are worried about with two more games on the schedule.

The real question is season-ending, potentially career-ending, injuries. How much more serious risk would the NFL be subjecting these players to?

Bizarre News From the Preseason Weekend

*”Leonard Weaver Day” was celebrated on Saturday at the fullback’s alma mater, Carson Newman College in Tennessee.

*Eagles cast off linebacker Andy Studebaker took down the team’s quarterback savior. Twice. That’s karma for you.

*Macho Harris, he of the cornerback to safety, back to cornerback routine, has been moved back to safety again. Again! Look forward to him getting rotated back and forth for the whole season while he rides the edge of the roster…

Eagles at Chiefs: The Big Question

So going into tonight’s third preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the biggest question is:

Can the offensive line rebound from a miserable game?

Against the Bengals, the Eagles’ first team offensive line had a litany of issues. To start with, multiple players were flagged for lining up incorrectly. That’s just unacceptable. Then, when the play began, the unit ceded complete control of the line of scrimmage…