National Football League

Caplan's NFL roundup: QBs shine on field

Published Aug. 13, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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The Kevin Kolb era as the new starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles went off without a hitch Friday night.

Fans inside Lincoln Financial Field seemed to be a bit hesitant to cheer their new signal caller, but after some nice plays in the first quarter, the Philly faithful started to back the fourth-year pro during a 28-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“It was good,” Kolb said about his debut as the team’s starting quarterback. “Obviously, when you get down into the red zone you want to score points, but both drives were successful. We racked up some yards there and put six points on the board, then had a chance there with our third one. Overall, I thought it was good, but we’ve got to get better in the red zone.”

Kolb showed outstanding poise in the pocket and seemed very comfortable behind center, going 6-for-11 for 95 yards. What was quite noticeable as the opening quarter began was his awareness of what was going on around him.

While the right-handed passer tried to force a few throws to his receivers, he did something that few young quarterbacks can master early in their career. He did a great job of looking off the first defensive back and threw to a second option. That’s one trait that even the most seasoned veteran doesn’t always master. Going through passing progressions is a difficult task, but Kolb seems to be well on his way to handling that area of his game quite well.

After Kolb was done for the night at the end of the first quarter, veteran Michael Vick took over through the third quarter.

In typical Vick fashion, he made a few eye-popping plays that would leave you breathless — see the 46-yard sideline throw to rookie wide receiver Riley Cooper. And he made some bad plays that would make you scratch your head — and I’m being kind.

But the one facet of his game which seems to be really improved is his speed. Last season, Vick wasn’t even close to what he was athletically from years past and he clearly wasn’t really ever in good game shape. But just watching him in this particular game, he moved around very well and looked to regain most of his missing speed, which made him such an electrifying player years ago.

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Speaking of quarterback debuts….

The guy who preceded Kolb in Philly, Donovan McNabb, made his first appearance in a Washington Redskins uniform at home against the Buffalo Bills.

McNabb, who went 5-for-8 for 58 yards with a touchdown toss to impressive backup wide receiver Anthony Armstrong during Washington’s 42-17 drubbing of Buffalo, was up and down during his limited playing time.

It will be interesting to see if McNabb sees significantly more playing time in the next game since he still needs to develop better timing with his receivers and tight ends.

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And finally, fans of the Kansas City Chiefs got their first chance to see exciting second-round pick running back/wide receiver Dexter McCluster in game action against the Atlanta Falcons.

McCluster had 48 yards on eight touches. McCluster practiced exclusively at running back earlier this year during Senior Bowl week, but despite being listed as a receiver by the Chiefs, he got more carries than catches during Friday night’s 20-10 loss at Atlanta.

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