Kolb era begins in Philly

By John McMullen

Philadelphia (The Phanatic Magazine) - The Kool-Aid was flowing freely in Lincoln Financial Field Friday night as the curtain opened on the Kevin Kolb-era in Philadelphia.

A fanbase wearied from the drama-filled Donovan McNabb years seemed rejuvenated watching an animated  new signal called under center for the first time in a decade.

Kolb showed flashes on his first possession, throwing a strike to DeSean Jackson for 21 yards to open the game and following that four plays later by finding a wide open Jeremy Maclin in the middle of a soft Jaguars' zone for 29 more.

Kolb also showed his inexperience nearly getting picked by Jags safety Gerald Alexander while trying to force the ball into Jason Avant in the slot, and throwing it a tad behind Brent Celek on what should have been a touchdown.

Kolb continued his up-and-down play during his second possession, moving the ball but also forcing it into coverage on two occasions.

Few questions were answered as the new Eagles quarterback finished 6-of-11 for 95 yards in parts of three series during the first quarter and led the team to a pair of David Akers' field goals but it was a positive first step, one that made you confident Kolb has a better chance to be the next Ron Jaworksi and not the second coming of Bobby Hoying.

"It was good. Obviously, when you get down into the red zone you want to score points but both drives were successful," Kolb said. " We racked up some yards there and put six points on the board, then had a chance there with our third one. Overall, I thought it was good, but we've got to get better in the red zone."


Michael Vick took over for Kolb in the beginning of the second quarter.

"We know we are talented," Kolb said. "We know there is talent on the field all over the place. We just have to execute. We're doing our own thing. We don't need to force anything. We're a young bunch. We're excited about the way we started things today and we just need to keep moving forward next week."