Michael Vick is a scrambler.
Kevin Kolb is a pocket passer.
Both will play on the field Sunday in a battle for each team’s
third win of the season, and both share a common bond in their careers.
Kolb took over when the Eagles thought Donovan McNabb had
given them all he could give, which was plenty of playoff wins but no Super
Bowls. After being drafted out of the University of Houston, Kolb was the next in line on the Eagles’ perch.
The Eagles traded for McNabb to take his talents to the
nation’s capital (McNabb then went to Minnesota, and currently isn’t playing),
and Kolb got his day.
But it was more like half a day, because Kolb was hurt the
first day the starting job was his as the Eagles quarterback, only to be
replaced by Vick, who shined and showed
the world who should be the team’s starting QB.
The Birds traded Kolb to the Cardinals.
So it’s a tangled web that involves both of these
quarterbacks, but as Vick becomes firmly entrenched (for now) as the Eagles
starting QB, Kolb took over in the desert after an injury to the great John
Skelton.
Physically the two are quite different.
Vick is barely 6 feet tall and is listed at 215 lbs, while
Kolb is 6 foot 3 and 220 lbs.
With that height disadvantage, Vick scrambles and roles out elusively,
while Kolb beats defenses with accurate passes on defensive reads.
Kolb obviously hasn’t impressed over in Phoenix, but perhaps
the mythological bird for which the city is named after can fuel Kolb’s second
coming out of the ashes that was last year.
Now he’s the starter for the Cardinals, with a talent like
Larry Fitzgerald to throw to, he has the weapons; as does Vick, who can throw
to DeSean Jackson or Jeremy Maclin, or hand the ball to Lesean McCoy.
Kolb and Vick came to the Eagles with different expectations
and projections as to where they would take the Birds.
With Kolb, the Eagles were expecting him to be the essence of
a West Coast quarterback, making short and accurate throws and spreading out
defenses.
After Vick took over and showed that he could lead the team
with his arm as well as his legs, Kolb became expendable and a reign of
quarterback ended as a new one began.
As it stands, Kolb has won the starting job in Arizona. He
has played his way into the starting role.
At 28, he has some time left to become a good quarterback and have a
respectable career with the Cardinals.
But with Vick, this is his last year to shine. All the pressure is on him, not only to
perform and lead the team to victory, but to stay healthy. The team cannot rely on their backup to win.
This is his final chance to live up to expectations and deliver something for
the team that took a chance on him.
For Kolb, after all he’s been through to get a chance to
play against his former team, revenge would certainly be sweet.
