Friday, March 27, 2009

Back to the Future

I haven't mentioned John Harbaugh's comments about Kevin Kolb. At the owner's meetings Harbaugh said some good things about Kevin.

"All I know is I saw Kevin Kolb every day in practice for a year when I was the secondary coach [in '07], where he was going against the defense as the scout-team quarterback," he said.

"When we did red zone, we couldn't defend him. I mean, he'd run the red-zone offense for the team we were going to play. We had the No. 1-ranked red-zone defense in the league 2 years ago. And we couldn't stop Kevin Kolb. Throwing to Mike Gasperson every day in practice. He picked us apart.

"[Eagles coaches] love him. He has all the tools. He's a leader. He's tough. He plays the game the right way."


That sounds pretty good, huh? I was happy to hear that. I'm a Kolb fan and have been since he was a Freshman at Houston.

Then I got to thinking. Those comments sounded eerily familiar. After some meditation, PBR, and shock therapy I recalled this nugget from the past.

Here is Ray Rhodes talking about Ty Detmer in March of 1996.

"You could see how crafty he was," says Rhodes, recalling Detmer's days on the scout team in Green Bay. "He'd be moving the ball on us and I'd ask my linebackers what he was doing, and they'd say, 'He's playing with us. He's staring us down, looking right at us and throwing in a different direction.'"


I also recall Ray saying that Ty was deadly at running the 2-minute offense in practice.

This doesn't mean that Kolb will turn out to be Ty Detmer, pt 2. I just thought it was funny to note the similarity of the situations and comments. Kevin is bigger and more athletic than Ty. I think Kevin's got about the same arm, but we'll know for sure when he gets on the field regularly. Maybe better, maybe worse.
___

8 comments:

Cliff said...

What do you think about this "Weaver controversy" crap? Are you completely sick of ready Philly spots columnists?

I used to switch on sports radio to get away from the nasty, childish political pundits, but now I think the sports guys have taken a page from their playbook.

orangecrush007 said...

Is this the last year of Kolbs cntract? Are we going to let him walk with out ever figuring out if he can do it? If he has one year left are we going to start him and draft another qb to sit in case kolb blows??? I would rather start kolb this year and get a 1st rounder for donovan from the vikings. they need a qb desperately.

Tommy Lawlor said...

RE: Weaver

Guys now get in trouble for being honest. That drives me nuts. The press should reward players for telling the truth. I find it refreshing.


RE: Kolb

He's under contract for '09 and '10. We've still got time to figure out what to do with him, assuming we don't trade Donovan for Jason Peters, Anquan Boldin, Adrian Peterson and 5 1st round picks.

Unknown said...

The problem with the Weaver business and other things like it is that controversy sells, and sports reporters are in the business of getting people to read their stuff. People react strongly to the kind of crap like the completely media spun Weaver story. The unfortunate truth is that if people saw it for what it was and ignored it, media types would stop spinning shit that way, but because people are easily manipulated they keep buying into this ready grown controversy nonsense, and thus the media keeps finding ways to spin innocent stuff into a drama of some kind.

Cliff said...

You know, I'm tired of people saying "controversy sells" (for sports, politics and celebrity trash), because apparently it does NOT sell. If it did, the newspaper industry wouldn't be absolutely unsaveable as it is now.

I'm also tired of the "trade McNabb" discussion. Jay Cutler throws a pitty party when his name is just mentioned in a trade discussion and virtually everyone is on his side. McDaniels is getting beat up in the media and by the Denver fans now. McNabb has had to deal with this crap since he was drafted and the Philly media/fans eat it up.

Prem Prakash said...

Does anyone know off-hand how many years Aaron Rogers sat on the bench waiting for Farve to retire? I think he has a real future as an NFL qb. Perhaps Kolb will also rise to the occasion when he gets his shot.

On the other hand (being an Eagles fan, there is always an "other hand"),if McNabb stays in shape and continues to play we will have wasted an important draft choice at a pivotal time in the team's quest for a Super Bowl victory.

Unknown said...

Newspapers are an interesting scenario because its not their content which is not selling, simply their medium. Why pay for a newspaper when you can fire up your computer and browse the web? Newspapers are also not as patently editorial as a lot of other journalism mediums, they at least have to attempt to make their content seem impartial and newsworthy. Also its important to note that its not just controversy that sells, its any kind of sensationalism. TV news broadcasts for ages have been headlining the stories that will stir audiences the most, and that may not nescessarily be the most controversial, perhaps its something that will invoke outrage or a self righteousness.

The key point here is that journalism of any kind is a business, and businesses are about money, so the motivation behind most journalism is how can I get the most exposure for my product.

orangecrush007 said...

Tommy what do you think the Eagles could seriously get for McNabb?