Dawning of the age of Eagles' Kolb

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - On July 30, 2000, Donovan McNabb played in his first preseason game as the Eagles' new starter.

He completed 11 of 19 passes for 75 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and left the game late in the second quarter with his team trailing Cleveland, 21-10.

It has been a little more than 10 years since the unofficial start of the McNabb era.

When Kevin Kolb takes the field Friday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars, however, the expectations will be higher than they were when McNabb assumed the controls a decade ago.

After eight winning seasons in 10 years, expectations for the Eagles have grown. Kolb, after three seasons learning behind McNabb, is also walking into a much friendlier situation than the one his predecessor encountered as a second-year player.

The Eagles are coming off an 11-5 season that included a playoff berth, not the 5-11 campaign in coach Andy Reid's first season. And Kolb will be surrounded by offensive skill players, led by receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, that McNabb sorely lacked in his first full year as the starter.

Kolb knows as much. That's why he has similar expectations for himself.

"I want to get 100 percent completions and touchdowns and everything else," Kolb said somewhat kiddingly after Thursday's walk-through at Lehigh University. "We want to start this thing off right."

Reid obviously wants to kick off the next phase of his tenure in Philadelphia with a positive start. Kolb and the Eagles starters are expected to play just one quarter. The quarterback's performance will be the first indicator of whether Reid made the right choice when he traded McNabb to Washington and promoted his backup in the off-season.

"I think what you look for a quarterback to do is to execute the offense and to lead the offense and to make sure that he manages the game the proper way," Reid said. "So that's how I approach it with [Kolb]. I think that with any quarterback in the National Football League, if they think that they are going to complete every ball, then that's a good thing."

Of course, if Kolb were to struggle and, say, complete just 3 of 8 passes for 57 yards while throwing an interception - those, by the way, were the numbers put up by Tim Couch, McNabb's Browns counterpart all those years ago - there could be some early second-guessing and maybe even a few boos from the fans at Lincoln Financial Field.

It must be pointed out, in all fairness, that while Kolb has advantages that his predecessor did not, he does not appear to have the rock-solid offensive line and playmaking defense that McNabb had during his early years. Those areas, in fact, precede Kolb in any fan's list of concerns.

The line, especially the interior, is a question mark.

One answer could come at center on Friday. With Jamaal Jackson recovering from knee surgery, Nick Cole entered training camp as his replacement and took all the repetitions with the first team until his knee swelled up six days ago. In his place, backup Mike McGlynn will get the start.

"He's worked very hard for that opportunity, and we're fortunate enough to have some depth there," Reid said. "I think it will be a good experience for him."

Even before Cole's injury, McGlynn said he thought the job was still for the taking.

"The media doesn't tend to see things the way it is sometimes," McGlynn said. "When I was asked if I expected to see more reps with the ones . . . I still thought that job was up for grabs. And now this is an opportunity for me to step in and show what I can do."

On defense, coordinator Sean McDermott's crew has had a very productive camp. It has blended in new parts - linebacker Ernie Sims and rookie free safety Nate Allen - and avoided major injuries such as the torn knee ligament that ended middle linebacker Stewart Bradley's season last August.

"I'm champing at the bit to get on that field, and there will be live bullets," said Sims, whom the Lions traded in April. "I want to be the best linebacker on this defense and in the NFL. That's my goal."

While a strong outing by the defense, the offensive line, and Kolb would calm nerves, the best result for the Eagles would be to avoid significant injuries.

Reid gave himself a little leeway and said that Kolb could play a little more than a quarter. When he sits, Michael Vick will take over for a quarter and a half and third-stringer Mike Kafka will quarterback the rest of the game.

Extra points. These injured players will not play Friday: running back Mike Bell (hamstring), wide receiver Hank Baskett (knee), cornerback Macho Harris (hamstring), defensive tackle Antonio Dixon (concussion), guard Fenuki Tupou (ankle), and running back J.J. Arrington (foot). Guard Todd Herremans (foot), defensive end Victor Abiamiri (knee), and Jamaal Jackson - still on the physically-unable-to-perform list - are also out. . . . Chad Hall will return punts and Quintin Demps will return kicks, Reid said, giving DeSean Jackson and Ellis Hobbs the night off for those duties.