‘Someone Shooting a Shotgun Right Next To My Ear’

On Opening Day of 2010, Kevin Kolb got the start for the Eagles against the Green Bay Packers.

It was supposed to be the start of a new era. With Donovan McNabb traded to Washington, Kolb, who had waited his turn, finally got a chance to take over. But he never even got to finish the game.

Kolb was hit by Clay Matthews and suffered a concussion. During his absence, Michael Vick took over and kept the starting job. Kolb was eventually traded to the Arizona Cardinals and finished out his career with the Buffalo Bills.

In a piece for The MMQB published today, Kolb wrote about recently being stuck in Cabo San Lucas during a hurricane. But he also described the concussion symptoms he lives with on a daily basis:

With concussions, sometimes you don’t know what is a symptom and what is not. But some symptoms are impossible to ignore. The ringing is like someone shooting a shotgun right next to my ear, every second of every day. It doesn’t go away.

The sensitivity to light also has a profound impact. I’ll be in a business meeting indoors and have to politely ask to put on my sunglasses before the headaches and double vision start.

But I can deal with those symptoms. The short-term memory loss is more difficult. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m just busy with a very full schedule and that’s why I can’t remember everything, or if it’s a concussion symptom.

The entire article is worth a read.

KELLY ON SHORTENED PRACTICES

Chip Kelly was asked today about the Eagles’ shortened practices. Cary Williams suggested earlier this week that perhaps Kelly listened to player feedback and eased up.

But Kelly said the practice schedule has been in place.

“We’ve always done that,” Kelly said. “As the season goes along, we kind of start off on the field a little bit longer from a developmental standpoint, and as we move, we adjust it. Sometimes we do it on a weekly basis… looking at our feedback from a science standpoint that we need to back off a little bit. No matter where I’ve been, we’ve adjusted our practice schedules.”

SANCHEZ A STARTER IN 2015?

Adam Caplan of ESPN.com put together a list today of backup quarterbacks who could potentially be starters in 2015.

Included was Mark Sanchez, and Caplan’s note was interesting:

However, not only did Sanchez have a good offseason, he outperformed Eagles starting QB Nick Foles in training camp and in the preseason. Sanchez’s arm strength was clearly all the way back in training camp, and he picked up head coach Chip Kelly’s offense quite well.

If next year’s draft class is as mediocre as some are saying it is, Sanchez should get another shot to become a starting quarterback — either with the Eagles or some other team.

Sanchez signed a one-year deal with the Eagles and is set to become a free agent after the season.