Philadelphia Eagles: Can Mike Kafka Take Over as Backup to Michael Vick?

With the CBA not in place, it is becoming increasingly likely Kevin Kolb remains backup to Michael Vick.

If the Eagles stick with Kolb as backup next season, the Eagles will not receive any compensation when the quarterback leaves in free agency.

Clark Judge of cbssports.com reported that many teams were asking about the availability of Kolb at the Scouting Combine.

Judge even says that the Eagles will receive offers for Kolb that they could not refuse. Judge obviously believes that Kevin Kolb could warrant a first-round pick in this year's draft.

If the Eagles do decide to part ways with Kolb, Mike Kafka would enter next season as Vick's backup, something that could scare many fans.

Vick has an illustrious injury history and is almost certain to get injured with his playing style.

With a poor offensive line, Vick took many shots. Even when he decided to run, teams took shots on Vick.

Kafka will be only 24 years old at the start of next season and will enter his second year in the NFL.

He was drafted in the fourth round of 2010 NFL draft. A few draft experts, including Mel Kiper Jr., rated Kafka as the fifth best quarterback in last year's class.

Former Eagle quarterback Ron Jaworski even said Kafka would be a quarterback to watch in the draft.

Kafka was not heavily recruited and decided on Northwestern as an option to be the Wildcats’ future quarterback.

In his senior season in 2009, Kafka finally had the chance to start.

At Northwestern, Kafka ran a pro-style offense. The mobile quarterback was billed as a smart decision maker coming into the draft and excelled with his short accurate throws.

Here are Kafka's Career Statistics at Northwestern:

YEAR	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP Percentage	YPA	LNG	TD	INT	SACK	RAT
2006	55	96	494	57.3	5.15	39	One	Five	Six	93.54
2007	Two	Three	11	66.7	3.67	Seven	Zero	Zero	Zero	97.47
2008	32	46	330	69.6	7.17	36	Two	Three	Seven	131.13
2009	319	492	3430	64.8	6.97	66	16	12	27	129.26

Kafka read defenses well and did not force the ball into coverage.

In the preseason with the Eagles, Kafka struggled, though. Only in the Chiefs game did Kafka show his smart, savvy quarterbacking skills. In that game, he had 115.2 passer rating and threw for a touchdown.

The other three games, he threw for a combined three interceptions and had an average of a 37.56 passer rating.

In those games, Kafka displayed his flaws, which were concerns coming out of Northwestern. He struggles to get the ball consistently down the field with accuracy and was overwhelmed by second and third-team defenses.

In mini camps, Kafka showed poise and led the two-minute offense.

General Manager Howie Roseman said that Kafka was one of the hardest workers he had seen and that Kafka needs to bulk up and get stronger this offseason.

If the Eagles feel confident in Kafka, then Roseman would feel comfortable trading Kevin Kolb.

Though I hope Kafka can make a solid jump to show if he could be a capable backup in the league, I think the Eagles will have to stick with Kolb or go the veteran free agency route.

Kafka should be ready at the start of the 2012 season to be a backup to Vick, but to count on an inconsistent sophomore could be asking a lot next season, especially with Vick's injury concerns.