The move to release Garcia isn't all that shocking. The Eagles lost McNabb after Week 1. At the time, Michael Vick was still suspended and Kevin Kolb had never started an NFL game. Now, Vick is back and Kolb became the first player in NFL history to throw for over 300 yards in each of his first two career starts. Plus, with a bye this week, it's likely McNabb will be ready to start in Week 5. There was simply no need to carry four quarterbacks.
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.
Things are looking interesting in Philadelphia, although Donovan McNabb can come back and ruin all the fun. Meanwhile, there appears to be no end in sight to the situation in Cleveland, where the Browns have looked generally awful when they have the ball.
After watching the painful tape of Sunday's loss to the Saints, Eagles coach Andy Reid decided Kevin Kolb's performance in his first start as an NFL quarterback was even better than he first thought.
"I thought he did some good things," Reid said Monday. "Can he learn from the interception on the second series of the second half? Yeah, he'll learn on that. But I thought overall he did a pretty good job, after having an opportunity to evaluate it."
PHILADELPHIA -- Andy Reid did his best to make sure Kevin Kolb didn't have to own this. The Eagles' coach knows how tight the spot is in which Kolb finds himself. And after the Eagles got crushed 48-22 by Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in Kolb's first career start as an NFL quarterback, Reid made sure everybody knew it wasn't Kolb's fault. He spoke to his team, delivering a stern speech whose central message was, "Nobody goes undefeated -- put this game behind you and forget about it," then he walked out to face the media and did what a coach is supposed to do. He blamed himself.
"I have to make sure this thing is right, and it wasn't right today -- any phase of it," Reid said. "It was an absolutely horrendous performance. This is my football team and I have to make sure they play better than that. I will make sure that happens."
The fact is, he has a lot of work to do, because the Eagles are a mess right now. And while that mess may start with the confused and messy quarterback situation, it doesn't end there.
It's foolish to think too far ahead in the ever-changing NFL, but it's not exactly a pipe dream to think that Week 2's New Orleans-Philadelphia game could be a very early preview of the NFC Championship Game.
Both teams have what it takes -- especially on offense -- to make such a rematch happen way down the road. Unfortunately, a few of the weapons that could take the Saints and Eagles to the next level will probably miss Sunday's showdown. Philadelphia could be without injured starting quarterback Donovan McNabb, and will be without suspended backup QB Michael Vick, while New Orleans running back Pierre Thomas might be on the shelf for the second straight week.
There are still enough talented players to light some fireworks in this one, though.
Last week, we gave you Carson Palmer as a great option, and he flopped. But remember we also said Joe Flacco would be a QB1 (ranking him as the No. 10 QB for Week 1), and he didn't disappoint. This week, we're looking at a high-scoring game in Buffalo, when the Bills take on the Buccaneers. Both secondaries did nothing to stop the pass last week, with Tony Romo continuously going deep against Tampa Bay and Tom Brady completing 39 passes against Buffalo. Both of their QB2s could make great spot starts as you search for a Donovan McNabb replacement.
The Eagles' jumbled quarterback picture cleared up, if only slightly, as head coach Andy Reid announced that Kevin Kolb would be Philadelphia's starter should Donovan McNabb's injury keep him out against New Orleans in Week 2.
Recently signed Jeff Garcia would serve as Kolb's backup.
"I want to make it very clear, Kevin Kolb, right now, is the starting quarterback," Reid said during his Wednesday press conference. "If Donovan's healthy, [Garcia] is the No. 3, if Donovan's not healthy enough to play, he's the No. 2."
You can't predict injuries. Even the most injury-prone players are often able to run seven yards without being broken in half, so it's unfair to say that a major lost-time injury doesn't come as a surprise. This week, we find quarterback situations around the league impacted by injuries, ineffectiveness, checkdowns, and interceptions.
The move to add a quarterback isn't particularly surprising. The Eagles don't have a third quarterback available for Week Two thanks to Michael Vick's suspension and if McNabb is too hurt to start you'd understandably want to shield him from playing at all. On one hand, Garcia's not a surprising choice since he spent 2006 with the team and knows the offense.
On a couple of other hands, though, the move is awfully intriguing.
In matter of months, veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia went from pronouncing himself a contender for the Raiders' starting job to an Oakland afterthought. Garcia fell victim to his age (39) by sustaining a series of nagging injuries that forced him to miss the bulk of training camp snaps, but he appeared ready to accept a backup role.
Instead, his Raiders career ended before it really starting. Oakland released Garcia on Saturday, along with 21 other players to reach the 53-man NFL roster limit.