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Kolb Finally Signs Deal for 4 Years with Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles' training camp distractions have been averted.  The last thing anyone wants to see is some circus going on about whether players sign or don't sign, retire or don't retire (ala Michael Strahan of the Giants).  Thankfully, the Eagles finally secured the deal for the last of the draft picks that they needed to sign, that being quarterback Kevin Kolb.

On Wednesday July 25, the Eagles and Kolb agreed to a 4 year deal which essentially secured that all of their 8 draft picks were at the start of training camp with started this past Friday. Kolb was the most scrutinized of the Eagles' picks since picking him meant the Eagles now have 4 quarterback in their ranks.  Kolb was the 36th pick overall and the third quarterback taken in the draft behind Oakland's JaMarcus Russell and Cleveland's Brady Quinn.

"I'm pumped," Kolb said in a press conference outside the NovaCare Complex on Wednesday. "It was getting down to the wire a little bit here and I think everyone was getting a little bit antsy.

"I was getting a little bit nervous and I definitely wanted to be there (at training camp) with the rest of the guys, and especially not miss anything and get behind. That's my biggest fear."

Kolb will learn the ropes from veterans Donovan McNabb, A.J. Feeley and Kelly Holcomb at this years training camp.  Some are wondering though, is this four-year deal enough to further convince Kolb that he will one day get his chance to carve out his own Eagles legacy?

minor eagles chick postscript - by this picture, it looks like Donovan's finally trimmed that beard!

Eagles Sign Abiamiri and Ilaoa to 4 Year Deals

The Philadelphia Eagles signed on 2 of the 3 remaining draft picks yesterday to 4 year deals.  Running back Nate "Nasti Nate" Ilaoa and defensive end Victor Abiamiri agreed to terms on their four-year deals on Sunday.   The only remaining draft pick the Eagles haven't signed is the first draft pick - quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Abiamiri, who hails from Notre Dame, was the second of the Eagles' two second-round picks in April's draft. Standing 6-foot-4, and 267-pound he racked up 10.5 sacks last season, the second-highest single-season total in the Notre Dame's history.

The Eagles are hoping to have a strong rotation at defensive end this season, since Jevon (The Freak) Kearse is returning after missing most of last season with his knee injury (this Eagles Chick is VERY happy to see Kearse back in the lineup).  Also in the lineup is, third-year man Trent Cole who will battle Darren Howard, for the starting right end spot. The Eagles re-signed Juqua Thomas who had a career high six sacks last season and also have former first-round pick Jerome McDougle.

Ilaoa, who the Eagles chose in the seventh-round of the 2007 draft come from Hawaii,  He's one of two running backs selected along with Tony Hunt from Penn State was drafted in the third round.

Ilaoa stands 5-foot-9, 245-pound and earned All-WAC honors as a senior rushing for 990 yards and scoring 18 total touchdowns (13 rushing, 5 receiving).   This guy is seen as important to the Eagles offense because of his great ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and since the Eagles often uses the running back in the passing game, you can get the feeling how this guy is going to fit in with Westbrook Hunt, Moats and Buckhalter.  While at Hawaii, Ilaoa set a single-season school record for a running back with 67 receptions and 837 receiving yards.

This does leave the Eagles with a similar situation with the quarterbacks, only now the Eagles have five running backs on the roster - Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Moats, Hunt and Ilaoa.  At 245 pounds, Ilaoa is the biggest running back on the team's roster. Four running backs were kept on the original 53-man roster last season at the end of training camp, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out for all the players.

Ilaoa got the nickname "Nasti" for his style of running.  He also put up impressive numbers while at Hawaii:

• Ranked 12th in Division I-A with 139.5 all-purpose yards per game in 2006
• All-purpose yardage total (1,827) was the third best single-season total in Hawaii's history
• Hawaii's all-time leader among running backs in receptions (151) and receiving yards (1,694)
• Hawaii's fourth in all-purpose yards (3,383)
• Hawaii's fifth in rushing touchdowns (20)
• Two-time all-state, all-region, all-area, all-district and all-league selection at North Stafford High School in Stafford, Va.

McNabb As Shocked As Eagles Fans

If you think us Eagles fans were shocked by Andy Reid's decision to draft a quarterback (Kevin Kolb) with their first pick in the 2007 draft, step back and think about Donovan McNabb.  Basically this draft pick was the Eagles sending a great be giant flare into the air, they are preparing for when McNabb is gone.

McNabb, for the first time since the draft picked a select number of sports journalists to speak too.  His reaction to the pick?  "It was shocking," McNabb said Tuesday in an interview on WIP-AM radio.

Welcome to the boo-bird nest Donovan, where we are all still scratching our heads trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

Sure, McNabb has been hurt in the past, and sure he's not the youngest quarterback on the block now, but he's certainly not ready to be wheeled off to wait for a call from Canton, Ohio.  Fans all around the Delaware Valley are just confused, there are 4 quarterbacks in the roster now.  How in the world does that make sense?

We all thought the roster was set for the quarterback position back in March when the Eagles acquired Kelly Holcomb from the Bills.  Although I don't think that Donovan has to worry about his position any time soon, A.J. Feeley and Kelly Holcomb on the other hand must be looking to 2008 already and wondering what's in store.  Feeley's signed to just a one year deal, if memory serves me right, Holcomb has a two year deal.

One last passing thought on Donovan finally speaking to the media, and totally from a gal's perspective, and since this is a gal's football blog, you'll have to live with the indulgence.  Donovan, please either trim the beard or get rid of it.  That gnarly looking shag of hair on your chin is a real turn off, and it really makes you look creepy!  Go to the barber shop with Brian Dawkins, now there's a sharp looking guy!

Eagles Draft Day - 3 Rounds Down

Watching the NFL Network's coverage of the Draft 2007, 11 hours 4 minutes, they've just wrapped up for the day.  It's the longest first day in history with 99 picks through rounds 1 through 3.  They had Andy Reid on about 20 minutes ago, commenting on the pick of Kevin Kolb, stating that Kolb was the best pick on the board for the Eagles.

Just as much as Brady Quinn, was a surprise to go so low in the picks today, Kolb's pick by the Eagles was just as much of a surprise to Philly as it was to the player himself, not to mention the media.  In the analysis they are running now, they are even commenting about the surprise of Kolb coming to the Eagles in the second round.

Eagles struck a deal with the Cowboys that traded them out of the first round picks.  This actually marked the first time since Reid's been coach that the Eagles didn't have a first round draft pick.  They did make up for it though, going from 6 picks on draft weekend to having 8.

The rest of the day went like this:

• Round #2, Selection #57 - Victor Abiamiri, Defensive End
• Round #3, Selection #87 - Stewart Bradley, Outside Linebacker
• Round #3, Selection #90 - Tony Hunt, Running Back

We've got 4 more picks tomorrow, should be really interesting to see what plays out!