Andy on trading Kolb: We're listening
If, through either negotiation or court order, the NFL lockout is lifted before next month's draft, there's a very good chance the Eagles will acquiesce to Kevin Kolb's request to be traded.
Head coach Andy Reid pretty much acknowledged that this week in an interview with club employee Dave Spadaro that appeared on the team's web site.
``People have shown a little interest (in Kolb), and as this thing picks up, I'm sure it will continue,'' Reid said. ``Listen, we'll sit back and we'll evaluate.''
Kolb has just one year left on his contract. It wouldn't be a financial burden for the Eagles' to keep him as a backup to Michael Vick. While Vick signed a franchise-player tender that will earn him in excess of $16 million this year, Kolb's 2011 salary is less than $2 million.
But in a year when there are an inordinate number of teams needing quarterback help and the draft is mainly full of uncertain projects, Kolb's trade stock is high.
``He's ours,'' Reid said. ``Everything else from there is easy. It's kind of like what I said last year. If people are interested, they'll come to you. But on the other hand, do we love Kevin Kolb? Are you kidding me?
``I mean, this guy is a helluva football player. You look at his numbers and the things he did when he had the opportunity to start, and you start six or seven games and you're the NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice, and all the 300-yard games he put together and the way he commands the offense and all these things, you're not in a big hurry to get rid of Kevin Kolb.''
After listening to all that, you almost wonder if the Eagles are tempted to hang on Kolb and trade Vick.
Asked in the interview about offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg's recent comment that Vick could be one of the ``all-time great'' quarterbacks in the game, Reid said: ``He sure was a pretty good quarterback before he came here. You didn't know about the layoff. You didn't know what you were going to get after that. But he came in and worked his tail off.
``First of all, he identified some problems he needed to work on. Then, he and Marty and (former quarterbacks coach) James Urban attacked those problems. And he got better. There are some other things he needs to get better at. He's identified those. This offseason and through training camp and the preseason, he'll work on those.''
Both Vick and the Eagles' offensive line showed a vulnerability to the blitz late in the season.
``Do we need to do a better job with the blitz? Absolutely,'' Reid said. ``All of us, not just Michael. We all have to do a better job there. It will be a good challenge for us all. It reminds me of the Super Bowl year. We went into the offseason (after the Super Bowl), there were a couple of blitzes we needed to work on there and we were able to work them out and get them straight and we fixed them.
``It's a fixable problem. We kind of look forward to the challenge of fixing it and thyen having somebody come in and try it against us.''
Despite 2 straight first-round playoff exits, Reid said his team, ``could go play and compete for a championship today. There are not a lot of coaches that can tell you that right now.''