The QB Trade Game....

Love it. I love that you gave yourslef plus one, I loved the writeup, hell… I might even love you! No, no that’s too extreme, and my girlfriend might not like that…

But you made an excellent argument that I completely agree with. You are now officially one of my favorite posters here. This was well said, well supported, and a very strong argument that I completely agree with. Kolb could turn out to be very good, in which case we might regret trading him, but he could suck too which would make us look like geniuses. McNabb is good, possibly great (at least that’s what other teams and their fans think) and trading him is guaranteeing that we trade a very good player. And he’s less valuable. Weird, haha. I love this opinion so much, haha.

I’m sure a lot of people won’t agree with your conclusion (I personally think it might be time to trade McNabb but I am also ambivalent as he’s the QB I grew up watching), but there’s no arguing that a post like this is a breath of fresh air compared to “YOUR QB IS THE WINNINGEST QB IN…” and all of the other posts we’ve witnessed lately.

we have the most talented offense (as a whole) that we have had in the past 10 years. I dont agree with changing the main cog because he may be the guy for the future. Take what you know, while the knowing is still good.

i can see positives both ways. i just think that the safer bet for the next 2-3 years is McNabb + the gains of trading Kolb.

lexington park, i am not familiar with. i do hate DC with a passion, so make sure you head to baltimore to hang out! lol

thank you. i try.

Speculation, speculation and more speculation. Twisting is part of the offseason….
Go back and read the quotes. Reid said he was listening to offers on all 3 of his QB’s. Pretty standard and non-informative Andy Reidism there.
And McNabb also spoke about all 3 QB’s. I mean, if i was one of the 3, i’d want something done sooner rather than later as well.
Twisting this into andy saying mcnabb wil be traded, and mcnabb responding by saying “do it now” is just ridicilous. Its just NOT what was said.

Absolutely. There is that risk. But I don’t agree with not doing something just because it might turn out bad. To be successful involves taking risks, IMO.

uhhhh quick reality check.
have you seen the teams interested in mcnabb? the word desperate comes to mind.
and if you were a “football GM” in seattle, would you make that trade for Charlie Whitehurst. He’s been in the NFL for 4 years, and never thrown a pass. he was traded from third sringer on SD to potential starter on Seahawks. they swapped 2nd round picks (60 to 40) and seattle gave up a 3rd round pick in 2011.
so what i am saying is….stranger things have happened.

haha. and he’s almost where we want him! LOL. all that work!

We spent 11 years to finally give him professional NFL level receivers. After giving him just one season with them, his time is suddenly up.

Totally agree. I’m literally in disbelief at this piece of writing; the best opinion piece I have ever read, including those from the annoying Literature classes I’ve taken.

… Seem to “get” the way the Eagles do business. And that certain “reporting” out there is just speculation plus bluster.

I even agree with GIB that Andy’s quotes are fairly innocuous and this is becoming a firestorm feeding itself largely off speculation.

BUT if you understand typical Eagles, in that they value QB, CB, OL, DL over all else, and under 30 players on top of that, that would lead you to two possible outcomes:

1) McNabb traded for youth, Kolb starts
2) McNabb rides out last year of deal, Kolb takes over afterward.

The reason Kolb has more value in trade is because he’s a better bet to provide several years of good quarterbacking sooner than any draft pick and for longer than McNabb. Of course there are no guarantees, but we need to KEEP that value no matter who starts in ’10.

In all my one more go-round with Donnie posts, I have never advocated trading Kolb. I think you need to separate the two … There is no ‘QB X must go’ edict. Deals are. Expiring next season, but we can’t flinch. We have the asset teams need. Until such point as an offer hits the table that makes the Eagles better than doing nothing would, we don’t trade. Don’t force it.

As always, if, in the estimation of our full-time paid football evaluators, Kolb + trade haul gives us a better shot at an SB than riding McNabb til the wheels fall off, then we gotta bite the bullet.

By the time games roll around, nobody’s gonna be thinking about who got offered for who in the offseason.

I’d love to really believe that. I wish it was true. But the problem is… the media will.

The media will not, for one second, let McNabb forget this period of time if he’s an Eagle in 2010. The only way this problem is solved and McNabb can continue as an Eagle is if Kolb is traded and McNabb is given some sort of extension. Otherwise, he will be absolutely torn apart at every press conference. I know McNabb has as much experience as anybody with dealing with controversy, but I don’t think even McNabb would be able handle the wrath of the media if he stayed here along with Kolb and Vick.

i dont think that you can sweep anything under the rug in Philly. Three “starting caliber” QB’s entering the final year of the contract? Thats not being swept under the rug in any NFL city.

… these athletes really do not care about “the media” as much as we fans do. These guys aren’t craving information about the team like we are, so they don’t stay glued to the TV/radio/newspaper - they definitely pay attention, but I just don’t think they give it nearly as much credence as those of us on the outside do.

But that’s beside the point anyway. I just mean in the heat of battle, there’s no time to think of stuff like that. Maybe you take a guess at your stats during a game, but otherwise you’re pretty much completely focused on the game.

IMHO, if McNabb is the QB Week 1, none of this stuff is going to matter once the ball is kicked off. Certainly there are situations where his leadership ability could be undermined, and there’s definitely danger in re-signing one QB and not another — but generally speaking, I think McNabb makes like Sheldon Brown and separates the offseason politics from the in-season focus.

Bottom line though, it’s bad form to let fear of media (or fan) reaction guide your decision-making. What’s the famous Marv Levy(?) line … if you start listening to the fans you’ll be sitting with them?

I’d venture to say it’s the same with the media. Do the right thing, not the popular thing. (and GIB if that’s keep McNabb, I’m fine with that …)

proves the other side of the argument as well.

You’re right, the coaching staff knows EVERYTHING about Kolb. So maybe they know something we don’t know. Maybe they see that there’s that slight chance that Kolb might not actually have “what it takes.”

There’s always that chance that maybe they think it might be best to trade him for extremely high value now and move on to the next prospect. The fact is, we really don’t know what the front office is thinking.

I’m actually on the “Pro McNabb, but Pro Trade McNabb” (I like McNabb but ready to move on) side of things. IF the coaching staff believes in Kolb as the future then I think it’s best to get a good deal for him now. But if the front office thinks otherwise, then I’m going to be okay with that as well.

I can see where GIB is coming from and I think he made a very good argument. We’d be ignorant to completely write-off the option of trading Kolb.

so you think that I am ridiculous, but then make a statement more bold than what my original argument was.
To say that the coaching staff knows exactly what they have in Kolb is insanity. Kolb has not thrown 1 additional ball in front of our coaching staff since the last practice of last year. At that time, McNabb was still the one suiting up and playing as the starting QB. If he didnt deserve that, and Kolb was a “proven” commodity, then why the hell did we keep having McNabb trot back out there???
So may question to you is this. If Kolb had proven himself last year….then why was McNabb still our starting QB? Nothing has changed since then….so the conclusions must have been drawn last year…right?

1. QB’s at 34+. I think that looking historically is going to be difficult as a comparison. Rules are changing and these guys are turning more and more into baseball pitchers, than they are football players. They throw all game long, and take 1/4 the punishment than they used to take. Its obviously not apples to apples, but there are still guys pitching that are in their mid 40’s. I dont expect any QB to be playing at 45…but i think that 10 years ago, to say that Favre would still be playing at age 40 would alos be ridiculous.
2. Last season was organized chaos. We were the 3rd most injured team in the league and still made it to the playoffs at 11-5. I think that our D was uncharatoristically bad, and our Offense was actually pretty damn good…save for a few games. I think that taking the exact same team into the 2010 season, minus injuries, will already put us back in the playoffs and in better position to make a move.
3. The veteran guys cut were good, but i dont believe that they werent irreplaceable. Spoon cost a lot of money considering he really only shined in 1 game. Albeit his first. Howard…well he probably would have been a better contributor, but only situationally. The D needed a slight overhaul….and i think that health + the few moves made will be pretty impactful.
4. Agreed. But if we flip a 2nd rd pick from 3 years ago, into a 1st and other picks, or even a 2nd and other picks and a player, then i dont think that too many people are going to say that we wasted anything on him. I, personally, think that Kolb just came to this team sooner than he was ever needed, and now we have to decide whether to continue with what worked for the past decade, or throw that out the window, and really start off on a new foot

I want to make one thing very clear … I love McNabb I have supported him throughout and if you don’t believe me search my comments I’ve been here a loooooong time. I see this is the correct business and football move, I’m taking all emotions out which I can tell is very tough for most fans.

I’m gonna bring up just another side to the argument, not the one I find realistic…

We know what we have in Mcnabb right? 34 years old but still hasn’t shown any decline in his passing ability. Isn’t safe to say to say he will still be good at least the next 3 years barring injury? We also know with him as our starting QB, we have a high chance of making the playoffs the next three years.

Along comes a desperate team looking for a QB like Oakland, St. Louis, Cleveland, Bills, Jax,etc and offers 2 first rounders or a 1st and 2nd in this draft for Kolb. We use our draft picks to significantly improve our defense(Berry) and O-line. This team next year, with the draft picks and development of younger players, just got that much better.

Now, we are basically guaranteed to be very good for at least the next three-four years since we already are a good young team now. We would only get better. We give Mcnabb a 2-3 year extension which he would glady take to remain here. Now, we have three-four more years of being a superbowl contending team. Due to the enormous cap space we have, also get one or two big FA signings the next free agency. Hope for a superbowl in those 3-4 years.

Next year in 2011, draft a QB(Case Keenum), and groom him until Mcnabb retires in 2013/14. Our team will still be pretty young by then as well.

So quick recap. Trade Kolb for a 2 firsts or 1st and second. Build a very good defense to complement this very good offense. Extend Mcnabb for 2-3 years. Be superbowl contenders for another 3/4 years. Draft a QB(Case Keenum) next year, and groom him until Mcnabb retires in 3-4 years. Yes, he could be a possible bust but Keenum also came from Houston and had the best QB numbers in college football. His Houston team was also ranked for most of the season while Kolb’s wasn’t. So, I think he will basically be a better Kolb.

^ All this is possible because Mcnabb can still play at a high level and Kolb is still a question mark. I think most people would be happy being beastly for another 3-4 years.

• This is an unrealistic option. Just giving a possibility.

if one goes down?

Having them both is actually not the worst idea in the world, except for the fact that trading one nets a high draft pick in a deep draft.

I’d hate to be Super Bowl bound and then suddenly have a need for QB depth due to injury. Although I think Vick could lead the way for a few games. Might be kinda fun.