For the first time since he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick in the 2012 draft, Kevin Kolb will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles as an Arizona Cardinal.
We all remember the story of the “re-birth” of Michael Vick. Donovan McNabb, who led this Eagles team for over eleven seasons, was shipped off to Washington in 2009, allowing Kevin Kolb to finally get his chance to start for Philadelphia in 2010.
Just minutes after the starting whistle blew of the 2010 season, Kolb took a shot from Packer’s linebacker Clay Matthews, leaving Eagles fans holding their breath as Michael Vick entered as their new quarterback. What does Michael Vick do in response? He takes over for Kolb as the Eagles starting quarterback even when Kolb is healthy to play again.
Since the move, the two have been competitors, as Andy Reid needed to make a tough choice whether to play Vick over Kolb for the remainder of the 2010 season. Vick not only won the quarterback job fair and square over Kolb, but he also became the spotlight man of the NFL.
Rather than having an overpaid backup quarterback, the Eagles responded by trading Kolb to Arizona and making Michael Vick their new quarterback of the future. To this day, it is safe to say that the Eagles made the right move shipping Kolb out, as Kolb became a backup once again in Arizona in 2011.
Although Kolb was the opening day starting quarterback for the Cardinals in 2011, he lost his job to then backup quarterback John Skelton. With a turmoil filled 2011 offseason, Arizona decided to start Skelton in their opening game against the Seattle Seahawks in 2012, but with an injury to Skelton, Kolb stepped up big in a come from behind victory over Seattle.
Both Vick and Kolb will enter Sunday’s game with 2-0 records, but only one will leave 3-0. Last season, the Cardinals prevailed 21-17 over the Eagles behind Skelton’s three touchdown day and Larry Fitzgerald’s two touchdowns and 146 yard day.
The key to this season’s match-up for the Eagles will be whether they can control their turnovers and continue to play shutdown defense when they need it most. For the Cardinals, their timely offense has proven their success, as they topped the New England Patriots in Foxborough last week 20-18.
Coming off of a 24-23 win last week over the Baltimore Ravens, the Eagles and Michael Vick will look to head into next week’s match-up against the New York Giants with a 3-0 record for the first time since 2004, the same year the Eagles last appeared in a Super Bowl.
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