Head coach Andy Reid offered his thoughts on what the legacy of quarterback Donovan McNabb should be during his press conference Sunday night just a short time after it was announced that the Eagles had traded McNabb to the Washington Redskins.
"I think it should be that he was the greatest quarterback ever to play for the Philadelphia Eagles to this point," Reid said.
And with everything McNabb has done from franchise to NFL records, there is plenty of proof to back up Reid's statement.
However, there is an interesting thing to note. It's the three words that ended the quote.
To this point.
This is not to say that Kevin Kolb is going to step in from day one as the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles and be an All-Pro. Who knows?
"I don't have a crystal ball here. I'm not going to say that," Reid acknowledged.
But this deal would be a pipedream if Reid didn't have confidence in the team's first pick of the 2007 NFL Draft.
"You see somebody number one who has been taught by good coaches and also had the opportunity to play under Donovan which I think is a big thing and learn how to do it the right way," Reid said. "He's followed that direction, put a lot of effort into preparing himself for this opportunity. We see leadership and athletic ability. He does a nice job reading defenses and so on. He has a pretty good feel for the position.
"I think that Kevin now needs to go prove that and be Kevin Kolb and not Donovan McNabb. He needs to make his own mark and be his own man there and go do his thing. He has not done that. That's something that will be a great challenge for him coming up this year."
You don't allow a quarterback with all of those wins, passing yards, touchdowns and big-time moments to go to a division rival if you didn't think the future could be the present.
"I think we'll be a pretty good team when it's all said and done," Reid said.
Kolb will get the chance to show that he is more than the quarterback who threw for over 300 passing yards in each of his first two career starts. He'll get to prove that the Eagles made the right choice. No matter how tough it was for the members of the front office like Reid who were so close to McNabb for all of his 11 years in Philadelphia.
Welcome to the Kevin Kolb era.
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 1:56 a.m., April 5
