Offensively, you always have to look to the quarterback first. I think that the young offensive players already respect Kevin Kolb and from what we’ve heard, wanted him to be in the position he’s in.

The offense is in Kolb’s hands and he will need to embrace that. He needs to know that offense better than anyone else on the team; he needs to understand what each player is responsible of doing on every single play.

I think Kolb has the leadership qualities a quarterback should have and is ready to run with this offense. Also, I think he may get some help from Brent Celek who seems like he could emerge as a leader. His on the field play increased in 2009 and I can see his leadership qualities doing the same in 2010.

Outside of Kolb and Celek, I think the Eagles will have mostly “lead by example” type players on offense. I think DeSean Jackson is a player that fits this bill. He’s a high-profile player but he’s going to lead by making plays on the field.

Defensively, you have to look to Quintin Mikell first. Mikell got to experience Brian Dawkins leadership first hand and has definitely seen the mold he should try to fit as a leader on defense.

There are a ton of new players trying to learn the defense and make contributions, so they’re going to need someone to go to and ask questions. I think Mikell will be that guy.

The return of Stewart Bradley should also help a lot. He is a natural leader and the middle linebacker position is a place that demands these type of qualities. I can see Bradley being the leader of the Eagles defense for years to come.

You can look at Asante Samuel, but I think he is similar to DeSean Jackson on the offensive side of the ball. He is a lead by example type of guy and although he might be very vocal on the field, he doesn’t project as a leader.

As the 2010 season gets closer and closer, it will be interesting to see what Eagles emerge as team leaders.

This has to be one of the more exciting Training Camps in years for the Eagles. They will transition from the franchise quarterback they had for a decade to a guy who’s started a total of two games in his career. Although this sounds alarming on the surface, everybody is excited to see what Kevin Kolb can do in this offense.

Along with the young quarterback, the Eagles have a ton of other young players on offense who are all starting to come into their own. Collectively, it seems that they all realize that they are a talented group and have an incredible amount of potential.

The quarterback position has excitement that goes beyond Kevin Kolb. Although Michael Vick may have received a lot of attention off the field recently, he has received a lot of praise this offseason for things he was doing on the field. Marty Mornhinweg and his staff have been impressed by Vick and think he’s back to the player he was before his jail sentence. If that’s true, we should see some big things out of him this year.

Defensively, there is a lot of excitement surrounding rookies Brandon Graham and Nate Allen. Both have good chances to start in the opener against the Packers but will look to make big impacts either way.

With a year under his belt, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott will look to improve a squad that was a little shaky in 2009. The return of a healthy Stewart Bradley and the addition of Ernie Sims should help McDermott start off in the right direction.

Much like the offense, there is a lot of youth on the defense with plenty of guys who will be looking to make a name for themselves.

Although I feel that there is always a lot of anticipation at this point every year, I feel like the anticipation level for the 2010 Eagles is one of the highest in a long time. I absolutely cannot wait to see the Birds finally back in action.

In this week’s podcast we discussed the following:

- General Training Camp information
- Rookie contracts
- Offensive position battles
- Defensive position battles
- Players on the bubble
- Questions we received on Twitter
- Dark horse players to keep an eye on
- Contest details

In terms of the last item, we have opened up a new contest but you will have to listen to the podcast for all the details.

If you listen to the podcast (which you should), please leave us some feedback.

Thanks and enjoy!

Kevin Kolb has been catapulted to the front of this new look Eagles team and is creating a ton of buzz. I constantly hear people saying to others that Kolb is going to be a stud. They think he’s a better fit in the West Coast offense than Donovan McNabb and that there will be no gap in success despite the quarterback change.

I’m not one to deny that I feel any different but at times I have to stop myself. Personally, I cannot wait to see Kevin Kolb in this offense and I think he will be great. However, I also realize that Kolb will have his growing pains. He may very well hear some boo birds throughout the season, and he’s going to have to accept that. No matter how much success he has in 2010, he’s not going to be perfect.

With the way people are setting the bar for Kolb (including myself), it will be interesting to see the reaction to Kolb’s first interception, a bad read, or a “Donovan” ball into the receivers feet.

As Philadelphia sports fan, we demand a lot out of our teams. In the sport of football, the quarterback position is the one who gets all the glory but at the same time receives a lot of the blame.

Are Eagles fans setting their expectations too high for a quarterback who’s started a total of two games in his career? Who knows, but I think it’s safe to say that fans should be ready to takes the ups AND the downs.

I expect a lot out of Kevin Kolb this season; however, I expect a whole lot more out of him in the future.

If you saw Jimmy Clausen’s freshmen year at Notre Dame, Charlie Weis limited him with his throws. The Clausen that played last year was a completely different quarterback than the one who played as a freshmen. He was allowed to throw the ball down field all he wanted last year, but he was forced to throw a ton of swing passes and short slants as a freshmen.

There is a huge difference between Clausen coming to Notre Dame as a freshmen and Kolb starting the season in his fourth year in the NFL. However, Kolb is still very unproven much like Clausen was when he came into South Bend.

Many people have discussed the fact that Kolb doesn’t have the same arm strength as Donovan McNabb who found a lot of success throwing the deep ball. However, I believe what Kolb lacks in the deep game, he will make up with his accuracy.

I’m not sure if Kolb can accurately throw deep passes that carry 50 yards in the air; however, we have seen him throw some deep slants right on the dot that have sprung for huge plays.

The Eagles are going to need to learn where Kolb excels the best in their offense and make that their priority in the passing game. However, when they find this ability, I think that Kolb can be an excellent quarterback.

What do you think will be Kolb’s ‘bread and butter’ in the Eagles offense?

It’s easy to say that Reid and the Eagles will be under the microscope, but many have asked me if Reid could be fired if the team under-performs in 2010.

In his time in Philadelphia, Reid has seen a lot of success so I understand why people will be upset with a sub-par season. However, I don’t think that type of decision should be made in Reid’s first season with Kevin Kolb at the helm.

Although Kolb will be asked to step in and perform at a high level right away, it’s a lot to ask for a player who has started two games in his career. The Eagles have a tough schedule, so it makes having a good year even more difficult. Also, the team is extremely young on offense, but the potential these young guys have is unlimited.

Andy Reid has the potential in his lineup to create a team that finds even more success than the Eagles of the last decade. However, great success usually doesn’t happen over night.

When Donovan McNabb started out, he had his downfalls. However, Reid was given time to work with him and generate a great decade of football out of it.

He deserves the same chance with Kevin Kolb.

With all the changes that have taken place, many have wondered whether there will be a slide in the success the Eagles have seen over the past decade. The team still has loads of talent, so it’s hard to think they will have a mighty struggle. However, the team is young and will need some time to gel with one another.

Keeping all of that in mind, many people have really written off the Eagles for this year and aren’t setting the bar very high. Expecations are definitely down from year’s past although I’m not convinced the talent level is any lower.

I think there are a lot of people who aren’t exactly sure to expect. Many think that things could go one way or another. Some are worried about the play of the defense and others are worried about the play of Kevin Kolb. People are scared of the youth of this team and that they lack leadership.

The confidence level just isn’t there for many fans and I can understand why.

So am I ready to write the Eagles off for this year? Hell no. Am I willing to accept a sub .500 season? Absolutely not. I think this team is better than that and they should take it upon themselves to prove the critics wrong.

This team has all the talent in the world and no excuse to have a “down year.” I want to see big things out of the Eagles this year, and I’ll be disappointed if they don’t step up to the plate.

Both players are in similar yet different circumstances. Let’s first look at what McNabb will be facing this year.

After a very successful decade in Philadelphia, McNabb has moved on to a different team in which he will try to find the same kind of success. Since McNabb was viewed as a winner in Philadelphia, he is expected to do much of the same thing in Washington. However, he is dealing with a team who only won four games last season, so he has a lot of work to do.

Another thing that adds pressure to McNabb’s case is the Redskins addition of head coach Mike Shanahan. Like McNabb, he is a coach who found a lot of success in his career and expected to do the same thing in Washington. It takes more than two guys to make a team successful; however, those two were brought in with high expectations.

On Kolb’s side, he is taking over the helm for a team that has seen a lot of success of the last decade (brought on by McNabb). Philadelphia fans are demanding and don’t want to see this success fade away anytime soon. It is a tough city to play in, but the city is behind you 100% if you win games.

An advantage Kolb has is the fact that he has been with the organization for a few seasons now and has had time to really learn the system. The only thing that will be new to him this year is the fact that he will be the starter. He got the chance to prepare as the starter for a few weeks last year, but he knew no matter how well he played that it was only temporary.

When Kolb heads into Training Camp this year, he will have to take an immediate leadership role. He will need to prove to his offense that they can be confident in his abilities. Kolb will be compared to McNabb week by week because of the trade but he needs to focus on what he’s doing and not worry about that.

To me, McNabb will be under much more pressure in 2010. I feel that everyone in Philadelphia is accepting that this year isn’t going to be a Super Bowl team. However, it seems that Redskins fans think that McNabb and Shanahan can take a four win team in 2009 and turn them into a Super Bowl contender in one year.

Who do you think is under more pressure in 2010?

To start, Kevin Kolb is just a more natural passer than Donovan Mcnabb. In an offensive scheme where throwing the ball is the main objective, it is refreshing to have a quarterback who is truly a pass-first kind of guy. McNabb had some pretty solid numbers in his career in Philadelphia through the air but he’s not a natural passer. A lot of his success in his early years came from his ability to create plays with his feet. Throughout his career we saw him try to put too much on balls and do the dreaded “into the feet” pass on easy throws.

Kolb is a natural gunslinger who may not be able to throw the deep ball like McNabb but will put the ball where it needs to be in every other situation. In the West Coast style offense the Eagles run, being able to accurately throw short passes is a must. McNabb was pretty good at this but this is an area where Kolb should excel.

Also, Kolb has way more weapons on offense. If McNabb had the weapons Kolb has now five years ago, maybe this city would have gotten a Lombardi trophy. There’s no denying the playmakers this offense has right now. It’s downright scary. If the offensive line can hold its own in 2010, there will be absolutely no excuse for Kevin Kolb to not put up huge numbers.

DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin can easily develop into the best one-two wide receiver combination in the league. Jason Avant will continue to be under-rated, but will also continue to be a huge part of the Eagles offensive success. At tight end you have a manbeast in Brent Celek who absolutely erupted last season. Cornelius Ingram should add imense playmaking talent to the tight end position if he can stay healthy as he is extremely athletic. Between LeSean McCoy, Leonard Weaver, and Mike Bell you have a well rounded group of speed, power, and playmaking ability.

Kevin Kolb just needs to serve as the ring leader and get all these guys opportunities to make plays.

On McNabb’s end, you can argue how he took teams deep into the playoffs who didn’t have a lot of big names on offense, but I just don’t see that kind of thing happening in Washington.

Could I be wrong on all of this? Of course. However, I do believe that Kevin Kolb will find more success in 2010 than Donovan McNabb, and those who cursed the Eagles when they made the trade will change their tune.

I feel like people are going to have a lot of opinions on this subject, so let’s hear them.

Throughout the years, we’ve seen the great quarterback and wide receiver combinations. Kolb and Jackson will have their opportunity to begin their legacy in 2010. Both players are still very young so there will be plenty of time for them to become a lethal combination.

You have to be excited about the possibility of these two guys connecting for touchdowns for many years to come. The thing that makes it even more exciting is how much Kolb and Jackson are looking forward to playing together.

Looking at the positive side of the comments Jackson has made lately, he feels that there is a new buzz going around the team that hasn’t been there before. With Donovan and many other long-standing veterans gone, the face of the franchise has definitely changed. There’s no doubt about it, this is a young team and that can be scary. However, it’s very exciting at the same time. The Eagles have a lot of talented young players who should be able to play at a high level for many years.

I am absolutely pumped about the possibilities of this offense with Kevin Kolb at the helm. He couldn’t be coming into much better of a situation. Kolb has a great one-two combo with Jackson and Jeremy Maclin along with a solid third receiver in Jason Avant. He’s also got great young players at tight end and running back who will see their share of opportunities to catch passes from Kolb.

Out of all of this, I think Kolb and Jackson have what it takes to be one of the great quarterback and wide receiver combinations. Jackson has the ability to take the ball to the house every time he touches it. With an accurate passer like Kolb, the possibilities can be endless.

What are your thoughts on the Kolb-Jackson connection?