Eye The. Lion: s see, October 12010 DRT RS RE SF Hy ak NS HE SRE GRR fy SC eps SRC RS SAR 0 Nn Sports Eye on the Ball: What are the Eagles Thinking? By Justin Park - Lions Eye Editor in Chief - jrp5321@psu.edu I find it amazing that just two weeks in, the Philadelphia Eagles have forgotten about what this sea- son was supposed to be about: transition and experience. After trading the man that you’ve watched play quarter- back for the past ten years and immediately handing the job over to the promising Kevin Kolb, who you drafted for this very reason, the Philadelphia Eagles were not and should not have been expecting to win a champion- ship this season. However, with the decision to name Michael Vick the team’s starting quarterback from this point forward; one must think that the Eagles believe they have a Super Bowl contending team. Or at least that’s the only logic I can find behind it, assuming they still plan to keep Kevin Kolb on the team. I can only imagine that watching the Dallas Cow- boys, the preseason favorite to win the NFC East, and the New York giants struggle early in the opening weeks has made the Eagles second guess their own expectations this season and believe that they could take the division crown. But with the team’s defense struggling and giving up the most points in the NFC entering week three (the Detroit Lions put up 32 points) and the Eagles second half of the season matchups, I really do not see how the Also, Kolb didn’t have an overly impressive preseason and week one start against the Green Bay Packers. Yeah, people knocked him for not looking good against the Packers, a game where he had just seven pass attempts before suffering a concussion. Not to mention, it must be hard for Kolb to find a groove when he’s watch- ing #7 attempt a failing wildcat play on what seemed like every other down. I’m not trying to make excuses for him, but I do believe he deserves a fair chance and what he got against Green Bay was far from an opportunity. If Kolb remains on the sidelines through the rest of this season, something I believe is very unlikely, he would be at the same point as he was a year before. He can’t learn any more by standing on the sidelines and the Eagles are starting to dip into the prime athletic years of his career. Kolb should be starting this season to prove what he can do and that he is the future of this team. Kevin Kolb could be the worst quarterback in the history of the game for all we know, but at least if we saw him play we would have an idea. Until then, we still do not know what to expect from him. So, not only will he be at the same point a year from now, the Eagles will be too. I also understand that I am in the minority here Eagles consider themselves contenders. I understand that other factors probably influ- enced the change as well. Losing center Jamaal Jackson and fullback Leonard Weaver for the season would potentially leave Kevin Kolb unprotected in the pocket and vulnerable to injury. Kolb, himself also suffered a concussion in week one, but is supposed to have made a complete recovery and could have played in week three. Even with him and his teammates being a bit banged up, Kolb should be in the game learning how to overcome these issues. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right? (local poll provided that 70% of Eagles fans were in favor of the quarterback switch), but I was truly looking forward to a struggling season in which the team gained, if nothing else, experience. Sure, it sounds weird, but since I have been watching the Eagles they have not had an authentic rebuilding season. Now just about six years removed from the team that lost in the Super Bowl, the Eagles have a completely new roster and they did a great job of staying competitive throughout the process. I was more than willing to give the team a year to adjust to Kevin Kolb and all of the other additions, even if it meant that we had a 7-9 record. As long as it looked like we were getting better along the way, I would have been fine with just letting the team play and mature as one. Let it be known that I have nothing against Mi- chael Vick for the problems he’s had in his past and that it does not affect my feelings toward the situation. I would be equally disappointed in the Eagles if they replaced Kolb with any veteran quarterback (especially one in the last year of his contract). The way they handled the situa- tion was also embarrassing for Kolb and the organization. Letting Kolb, the team, and the fans believe that Vick was the backup as long as Kolb was healthy turned out to be a complete lie, as they said throughout the week and even Sunday (a day before Andy Reid announced the switch) following the game against the Lions. Losing your job due to injury is never alright and the way the Eagles handled “the switch” was completely unethical, inmy opinion. But with the changing of the quarterbacks, the Philadelphia Eagles have shown that they are completely comfortable to put the experience for Kolb on hold and let Vick prove his worth. This should make for an inter- esting situation at the end of the season when the team has to decide on whether to resign Vick, a scheduled free agent, or stick with Kevin Kolb, in the final year of his contract (an extension he signed after he was named the starting QB). As mentioned, I do believe that the Eagles will go back to Kevin Kolb later in the season, roughly around week 14 when the team is 5-8, to get a gauge of how good the quarterback truly is in game situations. However, if the Eagles do not go back to #4 at all during the regular season, and I’m Kevin Kolb, I’m respectfully asking to be traded to a team that will take me seriously and give me the shot I deserve. Union Demolish Chivas USA in Shutout By Andrew Shaner - Lion's Eye Staff Writer - ads5249@psu.edu Saturday’s match at PPL Park in Chester left 16,000 fans happy and frenzied as the Philadelphia Union shutout Chi- vas USA 3-0. This victory is the team’s second shutout in three games. Goals were scored by 31-year-olds Alejandro Moreno and Helbert Fred- erico Carreiro da Silva (com- monly known as Fred) in the first half. Putting the cherry on top was Sebastien Le Toux, who scored the Union’s third goal in the second half. That goal marks his twelfth for the season and ties him with San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski and Toronto’s -Dwayne De Ro- sario for third place with most goals scored. The game’s pace was consistently interrupted by Chivas USA’s constant yellow cards. Chivas USA actually seemed to be making more fouls than professional soccer plays. offense. Alejandro Moreno and Fred celebrate after a goal during the Union's 3-0 shutout. (Photo Courtesy of Comcast Sports Net) difficult for the Union who nonetheless managed to hold a tight defense and an even tighter Despite the incredible victory, the Union did suffer misfortune in the 45thminute when Danny Mwanga re-injured his separated shoulder. Mwanga had entered the game at less than 100 percent, hav- ing injured his shoulder initially against the Chicago Fire back on September 7th. The Union (now 7-6-12) sit in fifth place of the Eastern conference with 27 points leaving Chivas USA (7-14-4) at 8th place in the Western Conference with 24 points. This made the game rather Philadelphia’s next game will be on Wednesday September 29th against the Colorado Rapids followed by a home game on Saturday October 2nd against the Houston Dynamo. Eagles Switch It Up: Vick Named Starting QB By Caitlin Hazinsky - Lions Eye Entertainment/Generation Editor - ceh5240@psu.edu In the opening game, Kevin Kolb play as our starting quarterback but did not last long before suffering a concussion. This allowed Michael Vick 135 yards receiving. Even though the defensive line needs some work, they were able to pull it together and hold the lead. The Eagles were able to keep to fill in for the Lions’ the injured rookie, Kolb and he . Jahvid Best turned some from pulling heads as he his team almost led ahead for the the Eagles to win. a come from With behind win Vick as the against the quarterback, Green Bay and some Packers. help from the offensive The follow- line, the ing week, Eagles won Vick, still their week filling in for 2 matchup the injured against the Kevin Kolb, Lions with a came out on final score of the fish! as Kevin Kolb will be playing back-up to Mike An our starting quarterback Vick until furth pr parently, that was enough ; ick until further notice. : on the road against the (Photo Chrrtesy of Sports 3eion.con) for the Eagles to decide Lions. Against Detroit, to rearrange the depth he was a whole “new” chart and name Vick the player and quarterback—running the ball, taking hits, and making accurate passes, sometimes on the run — or, in other words, just back to the Mike Vick of 2006. He completed over 60% of his passes and finished with 284 yards and two touchdowns. Aside from Michael Vick’s impressive performance, LeSean McCoy also had a remarkable game. McCoy rushed for 120 yards and com- pleted the game with three touchdowns of his own. DeSean Jackson, who is no stranger to the spotlight _ starting quarterback over Kevin Kolb. Kevin Kolb, even prior to the game against the Lions, was scheduled to start last Sunday against the Jaguars. However, the performance Vick gave against the Lions put a lot of pressure on head coach, Andy Reid, to strip Kolb of the starting job. Although Michael Vick may have some issues, re- garding his indiscretions back in 2006, he has come a long way since and worked extremely hard to get to where he is today. on the Eagles team, had one touchdown along with
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers