One interesting aspect of this story that I have seen in some writeups is that the trade was the result of Howie Roseman staking out of his territory. Roseman replaced Tom Heckert, who was known as Reid’s guy, in January. The stories say Reid was fine on keeping McNabb, but that Roseman was convinced that it was time to move on. Reid had spent years defending McNabb to others in the organization. Roseman was able to convince him that it was time to get some value for him. Reid, it was said, tentatively agreed as long as they could find a team McNabb would be happy with.
This paints Reid as a bit nicer than I ever expected him to be. And, the McNabb deal is in line with how the Eagles have dealt with aging players, so I am not sure how true it is. But, it is an interesting take on things.
Philster, I thought you were parodying a typical Philadelphia talk show caller. I can see how you would think McNabb had to leave. I don’t really like it. I just like the idea of awesome players sticking their careers with one team. But, I see the logic of wanting to rebuild. Jimmy Chitwood put it pretty well. But, the visceral hate you seem to espouse is just weird. And, it seems to not only cover McNabb and the Eagles regime, but anyone who disagrees with you! You don’t have Eagles parties any more? I don’t know. I think you might be alone there. I see plenty of parties in South Philly. In the Northeast, where I am, I see Eagles Jerseys all over the place on game day. Hoots and hollers and filled up bars.
And, the fact that you prefer a 4-12 season is a little crazy. Most of the people arguing for Kolb thinks he can be better NOW, not after a 4-12 season. If Kolb is that bad a lot of people are going to be pissed. They say that the backup quarterback is always the most popular player on a team. That’s going to be a hard trick for Michael Vick to be the most popular player in Philadelphia. People’s heads are going to explode when they can’t decide whether or not to hate Vick, or love him as a starter since Kolb threw too many ints.
I worry about Kolb. I’m an Eagles fan, so I hope he can be great. But, in some ways I think people are a little too enthralled by his two starts last year. One was 300 yards against a very very bad KC team, the other was 300 yards against the future world champions. But, the team got blown out, so throwing long bombs was the only way he had to try to catch up. But, he’s younger and in a good system. The entire team is young. So, hopefully, the WRs can continue to be awesome and these draft picks they are picking up left and right will turn into a replenished defense and the offense will take care of itself.