After Donovan McNabb
made the Pro Bowl in 2009, he was traded from Philadelphia to make way for Kevin Kolb.
Neither quarterback is with the Eagles anymore, and both are struggling with new teams this season.
They’ll meet as starters for the first time Sunday when McNabb and the winless Minnesota Vikings host Kolb and the Arizona Cardinals.
These players will forever be linked after Philadelphia drafted Kolb in the second round in 2007, leading to controversy during their time together with the Eagles. McNabb was traded to Washington before last season, allowing Kolb to become the Eagles starter.
Kolb, however, was hurt in the opening week, paving the way for Michael Vick to become Philadelphia’s starter. McNabb, meanwhile, clashed with coach Mike Shanahan while with the Redskins and was dealt to Minnesota (0-4) on July 29.
The pressure is clearly on both right now, more so on Kolb after he signed a five-year, $ 63 million contract with the Cardinals (1-3). He’s 14th in quarterback rating at 87.0 with five touchdown passes.
“I’m not going to tell you it’s a work in progress because I’m tired of saying it,” Kolb said. “I’m just ready to get it done and win some games.”
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said Monday that McNabb would remain his starter even though the veteran has produced the 18th-best QB rating at 80.9 with only four touchdowns. Minnesota ranks 31st in the league in passing offense, and fans are clamoring to see first-round draft pick Christian Ponder.
“Based on these four games we’ve had this season, we’re not at a point where we’re making a quarterback change,” Frazier said. “I mean, there are a lot of things we need to correct on our football team based on the fact that we’re 0-4. But, at this point, quarterback change isn’t one of those changes.”
Minnesota is trying to avoid matching the franchise’s worst start set in 1962. McNabb, who restructured the five-year deal he signed with the Redskins when he came to Minnesota, is bearing the brunt of the blame.
“Well he’s a vet, most importantly,” receiver Percy Harvin said. “He’s led the Eagles to I don’t know how many conference championships. He’s a veteran that can come in and learn the system as quick as he did. We’re all learning. We’re just going to keep plugging and working hard and trying to get this thing right.”
This year’s shortened training camp seems to have hampered Kolb, who is still getting comfortable with the new offense.
“To be honest with you, I wish we had a totally right answer,” Kolb said. “If we did, we probably wouldn’t be making the same mistakes, or mistakes in general, because they’re not the same mistakes.”
These quarterbacks saw plenty of action against each other last year when McNabb made his return to Philadelphia in a 17-12 win for the Redskins on Oct. 3. He completed 8 of 19 passes for 125 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Kolb relieved an injured Vick and was 22 of 35 for 201 yards, one score and one interception as he nearly led the Eagles to a comeback victory.
The Cardinals’ and Vikings’ passing games haven’t been helped by offenses that feature two of the league’s top rushers. Beanie Wells is second in the league with 107.0 yards per game while Adrian Peterson is fourth at 94.0.
Wells recorded career highs of 138 rushing yards and three touchdowns in last Sunday’s 31-27 loss to the Giants after missing the previous game with a hamstring injury.
The Cardinals have lost three straight by a combined eight points.
“There’s a lot of games left, there’s 12 games left,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “And our guys know if we can correct our mistakes, we’re going to win our share of games and it will turn.”
Minnesota let fourth-quarter leads slip away in its first three losses before last Sunday’s 22-17 defeat at Kansas City. Every Vikings game has been decided by seven points or less.
“We really have to do a good job of supporting one another,” Frazier said. “If we do that, our quarterback play will improve, our defensive line play, our linebacker, our secondary, our offensive line, our running backs.”
The Cardinals fell to 0-6 all-time at the Metrodome after blowing a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead in last year’s 27-24 overtime loss. Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald has 18 receptions for 279 yards in two games in his hometown.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: A ‘Malign Intellectual Subculture’ – George Monbiot Smears Chomsky, Herman, Peterson, Pilger And Media Lens.
Minnesota Vikings : News
