2011 NFL Trade Rumors: 10 Reasons Dealing for Kevin Kolb Is a Mistake
Now that the NFL season has come to an end, teams across the league shift their focus to figuring out a way to improve their team for next year and beyond.
With a number of notable quarterbacks hitting the open trade market, many bottom-tier teams will have a decision to make as far as who they have their eye on. One quarterback who has been and will continue to be a hot name throughout this off-season is Kevin Kolb.
After beginning this season as the Eagles starting signal caller, Kolb suffered a Week One injury. In stepped Michael Vick, and you all know what happened after that.
While Kolb will be a highly sought after quarterback in the off-season, is the hype surrounding him really all that warranted? Does his slim resume really consist of enough accolades to impress other teams front offices?
Let's break down 10 reasons why teams should not be so gung ho about Kevin Kolb this off-season.
10. He's Not Very Accurate
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Let's let the stats do the talking here.
In 20 career games and seven total NFL starts, Kolb has completed 194 of 319 passes, which is a 60 percent accuracy rating. That's not an awful number, but when playing with receivers like DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, that is just not the type of number that a coach wants to see from his starting quarterback.
Let's not throw Kolb under the bus here and compare him to NFL great quarterbacks, but how about comparing him to an average to good NFL quarterback, a guy like Joe Flacco. In 48 games, Flacco has completed 878 of 1,416 passes, which is good for a 62 percent clip. This might not look like a huge difference, but when you throw that many passes, it really is.
9. He Only Knows One Offensive System
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Kevin Kolb has been in the NFL for four years now, and all of those years have been spent as a backup for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles are the only offense that Kolb is familiar with. Now I know that other quarterbacks have gone on to have successful careers after being traded from their first NFL team, but keep in mind that Kolb is young and extremely inexperienced.
Maybe he does grow into a good NFL quarterback eventually. But when you have spent your first four years in the NFL as a backup and then are thrown into the starting lineup, on what very well could be a bad team, you are almost all but certain going to have growing pains. It will take Kolb time to adjust to learning a whole new offensive system, epically since he doesn't have much NFL experience.
8. Is He Really a Team Player?
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Kevin Kolb came out and made it clear that he wanted to be the Eagles starter this year. That is perfectly fine, the guy wants to play and wants to contribute.
But when the Eagles made the announcement that they were likley going to tag Michael Vick with the franchise tag, Kolb made it clear that he wanted to be traded.
If you Kolb, you have to take a look in the mirror and realize that in reality, you haven't exactly accomplished all that much to make other teams believe that you are their guy. Larry Fitzgerald thinks so, but he isn't in the Cardinals front office, and he dosen't sign the paychecks.
Kolb plays for one of the elite franchises in the NFL, yet he feels the need to complain and request a trade, which raises questions about his commitment and if he really is a team player. Doesn't sound like it to me.
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7. Weak Passer Rating
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Sure, Kevin Kolb has had some games where he has shown that he can air it out and put up some big passing yards on his stat card, but does that tell the whole story?
The top statistic that can really tell how good a quarterback is on the field is his passer rating, and Kolb's career rating of 73.2 is certainly nothing to write home about.
A player's passer rating is calculated using each quarterback's completion percentage, passing yardage, touchdowns and interceptions. A perfect passer rating in the NFL is 158.3. Tom Brady's 2011 quarterback rating was 111.0. Just something to think about.
6. NFL Draft Is Quarterback Heavy
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In all reality, NFL teams that are in need of a quarterback have to make a decision in the upcoming weeks if they want to go after a guy like Kolb through a trade, or if they want to build their team around a young quarterback through the NFL Draft.
While some teams might lean on experience over youth, the truth is that Kolb doesn't have all that much experience, and there are four quarterbacks in this April's NFL draft that very well could be legitimate Day One NFL starters.
Blaine Gabbert (Missouri), Ryan Mallett (Arkansas), Cam Newton (Auburn) and Jake Locker (Washington) are all expected to be first round picks. All four of them were very successful in college and have the talent and skill set to be starters in the NFL as soon as next year.
5. Not a Great Record As a Starter
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Wouldn't it make sense that a quarterback in Kevin Kolb's position would be valued on how he has done in his time starting in the NFL?
Well, if you look at Kolb's career statistics, he has only started seven career games, and in those seven games, he sports a lousy 3-5 record.
Two of those loses came this year against Tennessee and Dallas, who were both amongst the worst teams in the NFL this past season.
So, he has a below .500 record as a starter, a below average passer rating and doesn't have particularly good accuracy. Guess what, there's still more to come.
4. His Trade Value Is So High
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There is an extreme amount of pressure on NFL head coaches to win in this day and age. And for those coaches who don't believe that they can be successful with a rookie quarterback, they will be the ones going after a guy like Kolb.
Kevin Kolb's value is probably not worth a first round pick, but with the way trade talks have been going, that is likely going to be the minimum for a team to give up in order to bring in Kolb this offseason.
The Eagles have come on the record and said that they would like to get at least a first round pick for Kolb, and with the way it looks right now, that is exactly what they will get.
To give up a first round talent for a guy who is 3-5 as a starter just doesn't make much sense.
3. Too Many Turnovers
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It really is a mystery of how a quarterback can have 19 turnovers in 20 career games, seven of which were starts, and be considered one of the best available quarterbacks this offseason?
Look at some of the most successful quarterbacks this season. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan. These guys had great years, and what made them so great is their ability to not commit turnovers.
In eight games, five starts this season, Kolb threw for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns, but he also threw seven picks. These are not the type of numbers that a team should value, especially if he has to get used to learning a whole new offense.
2. He Had His Chance With a Ton of Talent Around Him
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Not many teams in the NFL can say that they have as explosive of an offense as the Eagles had this past year.
With guys like DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek and LeSean McCoy surrounding Kolb, his numbers should have been a whole lot better. But with seven interceptions, three fumbles and a 2-3 record to show for it in 2010, Kolb did not perform up to standards.
The bottom line here is that Kolb had all the offensive pieces around him to get it done, but he just didn't. What team that is after a quarterback has the type of offensive weapons that the Eagles have? The answer is none.
1. What Has He Accomplished?
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This is the real question here when trying to figure out why teams are going after Kevin Kolb.
Here is a breakdown of what he has accomplished in his career
In 20 games played, Kolb is 194-for-319 for 2,082 yards (not so bad). But then when you look at the fact that he has 14 interceptions to just 11 touchdowns, 21 sacks and five fumbles lost, questions about his ability to get it done as a starter certainly arise?
He has a career 3-5 record as a starter, he has not won a playoff game, and he hasn't shown any type of true consistancy that would make one confident that he is anywhere close to being an elite NFL quarterback.
Kolb does not have an impressive resume and simply put, hasn't accomplished much of anything in his NFL career up to this point. Bottom line.
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