Day One of the Kevin Kolb administration underscored how much the Eagles’ new starting quarterback is not only going to have to walk the walk, but talk the talk.
All day Tuesday, the first day of the team’s training camp at Lehigh University, he was reminded anew as to how different his life will now be. It is nothing he did not expect, and nothing for which he has not been preparing, during his first three NFL seasons and beyond. He has often said that his dad, Roy -- who coached him in middle school -- made it abundantly clear to him that all eyes are on the quarterback, that in fact they always are. And that Kevin should act accordingly.
So the younger Kolb spent the day trying to meet everyone’s expectations, whether in the huddle or in front of some camera. And he seemed to succeed. Reporters dutifully noted how sharp he looked in the team’s two practice sessions -- and that is certainly true -- though he was working mostly against rookies, and everybody was still in shorts.
As for the media part of it, he did five one-on-one interviews with the TV types, they of the bogus chumminess and industrial-strength hair. He did another mass interview, mostly with the print guys. At no point did he seem to grow tired of the repetitive and (at times) inane questioning.
He knows all of this comes with the plush office, and has said that one of the things that impressed him most about his predecessor, Donovan McNabb, is how he dealt with the non-football aspects of the position.
Day One of the Kevin Kolb administration underscored how much the Eagles’ new starting quarterback is not only going to have to walk the walk, but talk the talk.
All day Tuesday, the first day of the team’s training camp at Lehigh University, he was reminded anew as to how different his life will now be. It is nothing he did not expect, and nothing for which he has not been preparing, during his first three NFL seasons and beyond. He has often said that his dad, Roy -- who coached him in middle school -- made it abundantly clear to him that all eyes are on the quarterback, that in fact they always are. And that Kevin should act accordingly.
So the younger Kolb spent the day trying to meet everyone’s expectations, whether in the huddle or in front of some camera. And he seemed to succeed. Reporters dutifully noted how sharp he looked in the team’s two practice sessions -- and that is certainly true -- though he was working mostly against rookies, and everybody was still in shorts.
As for the media part of it, he did five one-on-one interviews with the TV types, they of the bogus chumminess and industrial-strength hair. He did another mass interview, mostly with the print guys. At no point did he seem to grow tired of the repetitive and (at times) inane questioning.
He knows all of this comes with the plush office, and has said that one of the things that impressed him most about his predecessor, Donovan McNabb, is how he dealt with the non-football aspects of the position.
If Day One is any example, Kolb learned well.
He started off at 8:05 a.m. -- that’s 8:05 Eagles Time, according to the electronic message board greeting visitors to Lehigh’s Goodman Campus, where camp is held -- which was some 40 minutes before the morning practice began. Kolb wore a white baseball cap bearing the logo of his alma mater, the University of Houston, along with a T-shirt and shorts while fielding questions from the two TV guys flanking him.
Did it bother him that he had to wait this long to start, seeing as his ascension in high school (in Stephenville, Tex.) and college had been more immediate? It’s a different level, he said, and there’s good and bad in every situation.
How did he feel about the QBs taken ahead of him in the 2007 draft, JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn, who, according to the interviewer, are “busts” and “awful”? They’re not awful, Kolb said, and maybe something will yet work out for them.
And how ‘bout that story that came out shortly after the ‘07 draft, that mentioned Kolb killing wild boars in his native Texas with nothing more than a Bowie knife? He did it “a time or two,” he said, but stays away from that kind of activity now.
He retreated to a nearby fieldhouse to change for practice and when he emerged a few minutes later was greeted by two television cameras and Eagle Joe -- i.e., Joe Brown, a 60-year-old superfan who has been hanging out at Birds’ camp for some 36 years now.
“Good luck to you,” Eagle Joe said.
Kolb extended a fist, so Eagle Joe might bump it. The older man hesitated a moment, then reacted accordingly.
“There it is,” Kolb said.
Eagles Time was 8:26.
Not long afterward, Kolb entered a huddle populated mostly by fringe guys and tapped everyone on the helmet. Then he went to work. Slants to Riley Cooper, the strapping rookie wide receiver who might find his way onto the roster. Screens to one back or another. A curl to Jordan Norwood, then Cooper, who made a shoe-top-high catch.
“Hey, let’s get in and out,” offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg hollered, urging his guys to get on the ball more quickly.
And they did. There was a great rhythm, a great tempo. And it was noticeably better when Kolb was quarterbacking, as opposed to when Michael Vick or rookie Mike Kafka were at the controls.
“Great pass,” Harold Carmichael said, punctuating one completion. “Great pass.”
Carmichael, the greatest Eagles receiver of them all, is now the team’s director of player development and alumni. He always helps out during drills, always says that after successful passes.
He did so again when Cooper made his reception on that low throw from Kolb. Then he added a tip for the rookie: “Great hands. Now finish it.” In other words, tuck it away. Because in a game situation, a defender will surely be there to blow you up.
They wrapped things up and Kolb went to meet reporters. It was a pretty standard session, except for the part where Kolb admitted it would have been “difficult” to serve as a backup again this year.
“I want to be on the field, you know?” he said.
He was back there a few hours later Tuesday. Again he looked good, notably on a deep ball down the left sideline to Cooper, who was tightly covered by rookie cornerback Trevard Lindley.
Afterward, more interviews. Five television crews had set up shop in a courtyard next to the media dorm, which is across campus (over a mountain, really) from the practice fields; Kolb would visit with four of them.
Again wearing his Houston cap, along with a black Air Jordan T-shirt, white shorts and flip-flops, he told one interviewer he had been “hunting varmints” back in Texas only three weeks ago. He told another that there are undoubtedly “some unknowns” about the Eagles -- “some inexperience, including myself.”
“We have to work through those things,” he said.
He moved to another chair, told yet another interviewer that a QB like him can only prepare so much for certain situations.
“When they get there, you let your natural instincts take over,” he said.
In between interviews, Kolb talked about loading up a new iPod with music. How he didn’t care much for the Kings of Leon, hated Earth, Wind and Fire when he saw them in concert, but was surprised to find that Michael Buble was “danged good.”
The last interview was with Vai Sikahema, the former Eagles punt returner.
“We’re going to hear from the new quarterback,” Sikahema told his audience, before turning toward Kolb.
“Stay tuned,” Kolb said, right on cue.
They went to break, and Kolb told his onlookers about a “nasty” brawl at the end of a game his freshman year in college at the University of Hawaii. How fans were coming out of the stands. How one of his teammates, out with a leg injury, began swinging one of his crutches at antagonists.
Then it was time to go back to interview mode.
Sikahema asked him how different he was from McNabb.
“There’s some differences,” Kolb said. “Hopefully one of the things that’s the same is all the winning.”
And what of the fans? Is it important to win them over?
“Of course it’s important, but I’m not going to do anything out of my comfort zone,” Kolb said. “I’m going to be myself.”
One last thing: Isn’t it true he used to hunt wild boar with nothing but a Bowie knife?
“It’s a little bit true,” Kolb said. “Once I started using my hands a little bit more, I got away from it.”
Finally, he was done. Eagles Time was 6:23.
“See y’all later,” Kolb said, slipping a backpack over his shoulders and heading toward the dining hall.
A couple technicians began tearing down the site where Sikahema had done his interview.
“Wild boar?” one of them said.
“That’s what they do in Texas,” the other said.
Here, the task is different, and difficult in a different way. How will Kevin Kolb handle it?
USA TODAY previews the training camp storylines as NFL teams set for the start of the 2010 season. (R) indicates rookies and rookie reporting dates if separate from main reporting date.
With the Eagles’ training camp set to begin Monday at Lehigh University, everyone seems to have climbed aboard the Kevin Kolb bandwagon.
Everybody seems to believe that the team’s new quarterback can get the job done, even though he has just two NFL starts to date.
Mike Copeland believed it before anybody else did.
Shortly after the Eagles spent a second-round draft pick on Kolb in 2007, Copeland, who coached him at Stephenville, Tex., High, told the Daily News’ Les Bowen the following: “I don’t think y’all got the No. 3 quarterback (in the draft). JaMarcus Russell (who went No. 1 overall that year, to Oakland) is a freak of nature, but Kevin -- you can mark my words -- 10 years from now, he’ll be much better thought of than Brady Quinn (who went No. 22, to Cleveland).”
I reminded Copeland of that on the phone Thursday, when I spoke with him for a story I’m doing about Kolb for the Harrisburg Patriot-News.
“I was right on that one, wasn’t I?” he asked, chuckling. “I think I will be.”
Sure looks it. Russell washed out with the Raiders, and is now in legal hot water. Quinn is trying to resuscitate his career in Denver.
Which leaves Kolb, and all the rosy predictions about him.
“Kevin’s got a great head on him,” Copeland said. “He’s got a great football mind, and a tremendous work ethic. He makes the people around him better than they are. I don’t know what it is, and I couldn’t describe it. But he’s got it.”
Again, there have been few dissenters. NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger, interviewed for one of the seven Kolb-related stories that ran in a 28-page camp preview in Friday’s editions of the Daily News, expressed the opinion that the Birds’ West Coast Offense will be more consistent with Kolb at the controls than it was with Donovan McNabb.
“What’s going to be different is, you’re going to see a lot more yards after the catch,” Baldinger said. “I think you’ll see an offense that doesn’t have as many three-and-outs. I think there’s going to be more rhythm to it.”
Time will tell, as it always does. But let the record show that Mike Copeland beat the rush to the bandwagon.
As December came to a close, the Philadelphia Eagles were flying high. Riding a six-game winning streak, the 11-4 Eagles were the NFC's hottest team and needed one more victory to secure a first-round playoff bye.
As December came to a close, the Philadelphia Eagles were flying high. Riding a six-game winning streak, the 11-4 Eagles were the NFC's hottest team and needed one more victory to secure a first-round playoff bye. They seemed perfectly perched to finally sink their talons into the franchise's first Lombardi Trophy. What a difference a year makes.
As December came to a close, the Philadelphia Eagles were flying high. Riding a six-game winning streak, the 11-4 Eagles were the NFC's hottest team and needed one more victory to secure a first-round playoff bye.
As December came to a close, the Philadelphia Eagles were flying high. Riding a six-game winning streak, the 11-4 Eagles were the NFC's hottest team and needed one more victory to secure a first-round playoff bye. They seemed perfectly perched to finally sink their talons into the franchise's first Lombardi Trophy. What a difference a year makes.
NFL.com senior analyst Michael Lombardi handicapped the NFC Thursday, and listed the Eagles among the red-chip teams -- i.e., those teams who might be considered playoff contenders.
Lombardi wrote that the Eagles’ biggest issue is defense -- no surprise there -- but added that things could change with Stewart Bradley returning from a knee injury, Sean McDermott beginning his second season as coordinator and Brandon Graham being added to the mix.
If everything breaks right on that side of the ball, Lombardi wrote, it could “move the Eagles into blue-chip territory.”
As it is, Lombardi believes the Packers and Saints are the conference’s only blue-chip teams -- i.e., teams he believes can vie for the Super Bowl. (And just a reminder, for those who might have been vacationing in Tibet: The Packers open the season against the Eagles on Sept. 12 in the Linc.)
Joining the Eagles on Lombardi’s red-chip list were the NFC East’s other three teams -- Dallas, Washington and the Giants -- as well as the Falcons, Vikings and 49ers.
It’s hard to argue with anything he wrote, but the one thing that might be added is that the Birds will have to play better along the offensive front than they did in 2009, especially late in the year. They need someone to fill in for Jamaal Jackson (Nick Cole? Mike McGlynn?) until Jackson returns from his knee injury. They need Stacy Andrews to start earning his sizable paycheck. And they need a healthier year out of Todd Herremans, still the unit’s best overall player.
Everything else on that side of the ball would appear to be ship-shape. But it is, as always, on the line.
At this rate, Terrell Owens is going to need a food drive.
The recalcitrant receiver is still jobless -- and still apparently clueless, having already blamed the blasted media for the way he is perceived by the public.
Now he is out beating the drum for his ownself -- because, as he has said repeatedly, he loves him some him. Or something like that.
In three separate interviews over two days this week -- with the Associated Press and radio stations in Kansas City and Boston -- the 36-year-old Owens said he has “enough talent to be a starter on any team,” though he wouldn’t want that team to be the Chiefs, since, he said, he doesn’t get along with head coach Todd Haley (target of one of T.O.’s tantrums when the two of them shared a sideline in Dallas).
But Owens is open to playing for the Patriots, he told the Boston radio station: “I mean, you’ve got (Tom) Brady there. You’ve got the great mind, (coach) Bill Belichick. I’m like LeBron. I can go there and take less of a role, take less money and put everything aside and make it work.”
Yep, he compared himself to LeBron.
(We will pause here to let you digest that a moment. Better now? OK, let’s continue.)
When ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, the former Pats linebacker, was asked about the possibility of Owens signing with New England on an edition of “NFL Live” Wednesday afternoon, he laughingly said he would do sit-ups in his driveway for the media if it came to pass.
T.O. did make a good point when he told the Associated Press that unlike some of the NFL’s “golden boys,” he has never been disciplined by the league -- which sounds like a shot at Ben Roethlisberger, among others -- but is nonetheless lumped in with them. And he noted that he steered clear of controversy last season in Buffalo.
But try as he might, there’s no getting around the fact that he has almost always been a locker-room cancer. And nobody needs that, least of all when it is combined with T.O.’s eroding skills. Owens managed 55 catches for the Bills last year -- “deceiving,” he said in the AP interview -- his fewest in a full season since he had 35 grabs for San Francisco as a rookie in 1996. (He managed 47 while playing seven games for the Eagles in 2005, the year he pouted about his contract and they sent him packing.)
Look, the guy’s going to get a job. Some receiver, somewhere, is going to tweak a knee or drop a bunch of balls in training camp, forcing a general manager to ring up Drew Rosenhaus. ESPN’s John Clayton reported that Seattle is a possibility, as is Washington. A Washington Post blogger also believes the ‘Skins could bring T.O. in.
It’s not the first time a Donovan McNabb-Owens reunion has been suggested. But this time, things are different. This time, both have much to prove.
Dare it be said that it might actually work?
C’mon. It’s T.O. He’ll work his magic, same as always.
At this rate, Terrell Owens is going to need a food drive.
The recalcitrant receiver is still jobless -- and still apparently clueless, having already blamed the blasted media for the way he is perceived by the public.
Now he is out beating the drum for his ownself -- because, as he has said repeatedly, he loves him some him. Or something like that.
In three separate interviews over two days this week -- with the Associated Press and radio stations in Kansas City and Boston -- the 36-year-old Owens said he has “enough talent to be a starter on any team,” though he wouldn’t want that team to be the Chiefs, since, he said, he doesn’t get along with head coach Todd Haley (target of one of T.O.’s tantrums when the two of them shared a sideline in Dallas).
But Owens is open to playing for the Patriots, he told the Boston radio station: “I mean, you’ve got (Tom) Brady there. You’ve got the great mind, (coach) Bill Belichick. I’m like LeBron. I can go there and take less of a role, take less money and put everything aside and make it work.”
Yep, he compared himself to LeBron.
(We will pause here to let you digest that a moment. Better now? OK, let’s continue.)
When ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, the former Pats linebacker, was asked about the possibility of Owens signing with New England on an edition of “NFL Live” Wednesday afternoon, he laughingly said he would do sit-ups in his driveway for the media if it came to pass.
T.O. did make a good point when he told the Associated Press that unlike some of the NFL’s “golden boys,” he has never been disciplined by the league -- which sounds like a shot at Ben Roethlisberger, among others -- but is nonetheless lumped in with them. And he noted that he steered clear of controversy last season in Buffalo.
But try as he might, there’s no getting around the fact that he has almost always been a locker-room cancer. And nobody needs that, least of all when it is combined with T.O.’s eroding skills. Owens managed 55 catches for the Bills last year -- “deceiving,” he said in the AP interview -- his fewest in a full season since he had 35 grabs for San Francisco as a rookie in 1996. (He managed 47 while playing seven games for the Eagles in 2005, the year he pouted about his contract and they sent him packing.)
Look, the guy’s going to get a job. Some receiver, somewhere, is going to tweak a knee or drop a bunch of balls in training camp, forcing a general manager to ring up Drew Rosenhaus. ESPN’s John Clayton reported that Seattle is a possibility, as is Washington. A Washington Post blogger also believes the ‘Skins could bring T.O. in.
It’s not the first time a Donovan McNabb-Owens reunion has been suggested. But this time, things are different. This time, both have much to prove.
Dare it be said that it might actually work?
C’mon. It’s T.O. He’ll work his magic, same as always.
At this rate, Terrell Owens is going to need a food drive.
The recalcitrant receiver is still jobless -- and still apparently clueless, having already blamed the blasted media for the way he is perceived by the public.
Now he is out beating the drum for his ownself -- because, as he has said repeatedly, he loves him some him. Or something like that.
In three separate interviews over two days this week -- with the Associated Press and radio stations in Kansas City and Boston -- the 36-year-old Owens said he has “enough talent to be a starter on any team,” though he wouldn’t want that team to be the Chiefs, since, he said, he doesn’t get along with head coach Todd Haley (target of one of T.O.’s tantrums when the two of them shared a sideline in Dallas).
But Owens is open to playing for the Patriots, he told the Boston radio station: “I mean, you’ve got (Tom) Brady there. You’ve got the great mind, (coach) Bill Belichick. I’m like LeBron. I can go there and take less of a role, take less money and put everything aside and make it work.”
Yep, he compared himself to LeBron.
(We will pause here to let you digest that a moment. Better now? OK, let’s continue.)
When ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, the former Pats linebacker, was asked about the possibility of Owens signing with New England on an edition of “NFL Live” Wednesday afternoon, he laughingly said he would do sit-ups in his driveway for the media if it came to pass.
T.O. did make a good point when he told the Associated Press that unlike some of the NFL’s “golden boys,” he has never been disciplined by the league -- which sounds like a shot at Ben Roethlisberger, among others -- but is nonetheless lumped in with them. And he noted that he steered clear of controversy last season in Buffalo.
But try as he might, there’s no getting around the fact that he has almost always been a locker-room cancer. And nobody needs that, least of all when it is combined with T.O.’s eroding skills. Owens managed 55 catches for the Bills last year -- “deceiving,” he said in the AP interview -- his fewest in a full season since he had 35 grabs for San Francisco as a rookie in 1996. (He managed 47 while playing seven games for the Eagles in 2005, the year he pouted about his contract and they sent him packing.)
Look, the guy’s going to get a job. Some receiver, somewhere, is going to tweak a knee or drop a bunch of balls in training camp, forcing a general manager to ring up Drew Rosenhaus. ESPN’s John Clayton reported that Seattle is a possibility, as is Washington. A Washington Post blogger also believes the ‘Skins could bring T.O. in.
It’s not the first time a Donovan McNabb-Owens reunion has been suggested. But this time, things are different. This time, both have much to prove.
Dare it be said that it might actually work?
C’mon. It’s T.O. He’ll work his magic, same as always.
At this rate, Terrell Owens is going to need a food drive.
The recalcitrant receiver is still jobless -- and still apparently clueless, having already blamed the blasted media for the way he is perceived by the public.
Now he is out beating the drum for his ownself -- because, as he has said repeatedly, he loves him some him. Or something like that.
In three separate interviews over two days this week -- with the Associated Press and radio stations in Kansas City and Boston -- the 36-year-old Owens said he has “enough talent to be a starter on any team,” though he wouldn’t want that team to be the Chiefs, since, he said, he doesn’t get along with head coach Todd Haley (target of one of T.O.’s tantrums when the two of them shared a sideline in Dallas).
But Owens is open to playing for the Patriots, he told the Boston radio station: “I mean, you’ve got (Tom) Brady there. You’ve got the great mind, (coach) Bill Belichick. I’m like LeBron. I can go there and take less of a role, take less money and put everything aside and make it work.”
Yep, he compared himself to LeBron.
(We will pause here to let you digest that a moment. Better now? OK, let’s continue.)
When ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, the former Pats linebacker, was asked about the possibility of Owens signing with New England on an edition of “NFL Live” Wednesday afternoon, he laughingly said he would do sit-ups in his driveway for the media if it came to pass.
T.O. did make a good point when he told the Associated Press that unlike some of the NFL’s “golden boys,” he has never been disciplined by the league -- which sounds like a shot at Ben Roethlisberger, among others -- but is nonetheless lumped in with them. And he noted that he steered clear of controversy last season in Buffalo.
But try as he might, there’s no getting around the fact that he has almost always been a locker-room cancer. And nobody needs that, least of all when it is combined with T.O.’s eroding skills. Owens managed 55 catches for the Bills last year -- “deceiving,” he said in the AP interview -- his fewest in a full season since he had 35 grabs for San Francisco as a rookie in 1996. (He managed 47 while playing seven games for the Eagles in 2005, the year he pouted about his contract and they sent him packing.)
Look, the guy’s going to get a job. Some receiver, somewhere, is going to tweak a knee or drop a bunch of balls in training camp, forcing a general manager to ring up Drew Rosenhaus. ESPN’s John Clayton reported that Seattle is a possibility, as is Washington. A Washington Post blogger also believes the ‘Skins could bring T.O. in.
It’s not the first time a Donovan McNabb-Owens reunion has been suggested. But this time, things are different. This time, both have much to prove.
Dare it be said that it might actually work?
C’mon. It’s T.O. He’ll work his magic, same as always.
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