Now that he’s again been named Eagles starter, Kevin Kolb forgets controversy, preps for 49ers

An Eagles starter again, Kolb focuses on 49ers

PHILADELPHIA — When Kevin Kolb suffered a concussion in Week 1 vs. Green Bay, coach Andy Reid said Kolb would get his job back as the Eagles’ starting quarterback as soon as he was healthy.

Instead, Reid decided to stick with Vick.

Now that Vick is hurt, will Kolb have a chance to turn the tables and win back the job? Kolb on Wednesday shrugged off the possibility.

“If I get into all that, then I’m focusing on the wrong thing,” Kolb said. “My focus right now is to go out and beat San Francisco and make sure I do my part in doing that.”

Vick, who led the 2-2 Eagles to road wins in Detroit and Jacksonville, is expected to miss one or two games with cartilage damage in his ribs suffered in a loss to the Redskins.

Kolb will make his fourth NFL start on Sunday when the Eagles face the winless 49ers in a nationally televised primetime game at Candlestick Park.

But Kolb said he’s not going out to prove he’s capable of being a starter. He only has one goal.

“Win,” he said. “That’s all I care about, and that’s the truth. Just go out there and win. That’s our No. 1 focus right now.”

Immediately after Kolb was injured in the opening-day loss to the Packers, Reid announced that Kolb would return as the starter when he was medically cleared. But two days after Vick passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-32 win over the Lions, the Eagles announced that Reid had changed his mind and Vick would remain the starter.

Does that mean if Kolb plays well enough during Vick’s absence he can expect the same courtesy?

Reid ducked the question.

“Right now, I’m focused in on San Francisco and getting Kevin ready to play, and Kevin’s getting ready to play, and we’ll go from there,” Reid said. “I think Kevin’s looking forward to the opportunity, the challenge.”

But there is certainly much at stake for Kolb. At some point, the Eagles need to decide whether to offer Vick a multi-year contract and commit to him as the team’s long-term answer at quarterback or to proceed with Kolb as the quarterback of the future. The more Kolb plays, the easier that decision will be.

“As a football player, you just try to focus on the task at hand and the rest takes care of itself,” Kolb said. “I’m not nervous about it, I’m excited about it. I’m having more fun right now than I’ve had in this game ever, and so I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”

Kolb, who last year became the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for 300 yards in his first two starts, led the Eagles on three scoring drives in their 17-12 loss to the Redskins Sunday and two other drives inside the Washington 32-yard-line that resulted in turnovers.

“We obviously moved the ball great, we’ve just got to plug it in when we get down there,” he said. “There were plenty of opportunities. We just need to finish them off.

“This is the most playing time I’ve seen since last year. That was the one thing that was very encouraging. I felt very good out there. Felt good moving around, so just continue on that and build.”

Kolb said he wasn’t bitter at losing his starting job after just two quarters of football, especially after his coach initially promised he would keep it.

That’s just life in the NFL, he said.

“I’m a positive person, so I always see the good in things,” he said. “So, that was never an issue. It was a difficult time, but there’s (always) a chance that this could happen, and you have to be ready to go all the time.”