I usually agree with you Pariah but i think your proximity to Orton in Denver is viewing this through a different perspective then myself.
Kolb hasn't theoretically hit his ceiling - Orton almost certainly has and I'm not sure his ceiling makes sense for what we want out of this next QB. meaning we dont just need a stopgap. We need a guy that could theoretically carry us. I'm interested too see what Ortn does without McDaniels and I'm inclined to think he'll never get close to those stats again.
What i have been reading by teammates, eagles fans, and others recently has me high on Kolbs potential. I never hear anyone referring to Orton like that. I just don't think he has the leadership and work ethic qualities we need t be successful with Wiz. From all accounts Kolb does.
I guess my question is if cost doesn't come into play - do you still favor Orton to Kolb in that scenario?
Since when doesn't cost come into play? If cost doesn't come into play, then sign Peyton Manning.
I'm not sure I understand the other bolded section. I understand that asserting this fits your argument in favor of Kolb, but why do we
NEED a long-term answer to the quarterback problem right now? Especially in a situation where the solutions available are so unappetizing.
This isn't a team that is a quarterback away from winning the Super Bowl, and with a closing window of opportunity for that Lombardi Trophy. We aren't the 2006 Baltimore Ravens. If you're more in love with Whis than you are with the long-term success of the Arizona Cardinals, maybe that's basically the case, but I don't feel that way.
To me, if you aren't certain that a long-term answer is there (and I understand that you have no questions that Kolb is going to be a franchise quarterback spoken of in the same breath as Brees, Manning, and Brady), then you
can just get a stopgap. If you can't get a guy that won't
definitely carry us for the next decade--not just "theoretically"--then don't give up a first-round pick plus a high eight-figure contract to do so.
I think that a guy like Orton or Hasselback would make us competitive for the next two years while we figure out what is on the roster that we have. IMO, the QB play was so dreadful last year that it's difficult to get a bead not only on the kind of players we have on offense, but on defense. Is this a 5-11 roster that bad quarterback play made an embarrassing 5-11, or is this an 8-8, maybe 9-7 roster that bad quarterback play spoiled? I'm not sure anyone can say right now.
Kolb didn't seem to elevate the Eagles to be better than they were at any point during his tenure in Philly. You have Mike Lombardi saying that Philly was a seven-win team with Kolb as the starter for 16 games. If that really is the case, then what's the rush to bring a middling starter here? We can build an effective roster for the next Kevin Kolb that comes around, or develop our own.