NFC East News: Kolb and McNabb Inspire Confidence
Eli Manning and Tony Romo will get plenty of headlines, don’t you worry about that. But the spotlight will shine the brightest on Kevin Kolb and Donovan McNabb.
This week in Sports Illustrated, the magazine takes a look at how Kolb, the Eagles’ new starting quarterback, is dealing with the pressure of succeeding McNabb. His biggest praise comes from Andy Reid, Philly’s head coach.
“One of the things that makes me feel good about Kevin is he’s a pretty cool cucumber,” coach Andy Reid says. “He doesn’t get too high or too low. You saw it today. He’s able to shake things off. You have to have that short memory as a quarterback.”
Fairly or unfairly, McNabb is sometimes criticized for not having a short memory.
But when McNabb hit rough patches, things tended to deteriorate quickly. Last season, in successive blowout losses to Dallas in the regular-season finale and wild-card playoffs, McNabb spiraled down after early miscues. In the wake of the first Cowboys loss he caused a stir in Philly by seeming to place blame on his young receiving corps: “We showed our youth in situations where everyone began to look around to see who was going to make the play, instead of stepping up.”
Meanwhile, the Redskins are thrilled to have taken McNabb from their division rival. Washington hasn’t had a big-time quarterback in a long time. Now they bring in a guy who, at 33, has the third-best interception ratio in NFL history. More from this week’s Sports Illustrated:
It all stands in sharp contrast to last season in Washington. Redskins brass won’t speak ill of Jason Campbell (now in Oakland), but the players are almost giddy about the upgrade. McNabb, they’ve found, is charismatic and vocal. He high-fives coaches. He jokes around with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in film sessions. He works out like a maniac. He inspires confidence in young players. “It’s just a different kind of leadership,” safety Reed Doughty says. “We know Donovan’s going to make big-time throws, and we really need some of those. Going into that last drive, it’d be nice to have guys feeling confident that we’re going to pull this thing out.”
