He made his first career start in the Birds' preseason finale against the New York Jets.
"It was huge," the University of Houston alum said. "Although it's just preseason and the starters weren't there with me, it's still big for me.
"It breaks me in slowly to hopefully what I am going to be one day. The biggest thing now is to not regress. I've gotten progressively better. I just can't regress when I'm sitting on the sidelines. I have to make sure I get plenty of reps in practice and keep my part."
If Birds fans are lucky, it will be Kolb's last start this season because that will mean McNabb is playing well and staying healthy and the Eagles are having success.
Recent history does not make that a safe bet.
In 2005, the Eagles were 4-5 when McNabb finally succumbed to the pain of playing with a sports hernia. Any chance of a rally was squashed by the forgettable skills of McMahon.
In 2006, the Birds were 5-4 when McNabb shredded his knee. They dropped to 5-6 before the savvy Garcia guided them to six straight wins and a playoff victory. That earned Garcia a free-agent ticket to Tampa Bay.
Last season, the Eagles' slim playoff chances slipped away when Feeley, subbing for a beat- up McNabb, threw seven interceptions during critical losses to New England and Seattle.
The Eagles finished 8-8. The Redskins got the last wild-card spot at 9-7.
The backup quarterback position matters, and with the Birds figuring to be in another close fight for the playoffs, Kolb will have the burden to perform if it comes to that.
"Kevin is ready to play," coach Andy Reid said. "I have no problem putting Kevin in a game right now. He'll do a good job.
"He's playing good football. I would even take it to the first couple of weeks of camp. He struggled with a couple of things, but he worked through that. He didn't get down on himself, and he came to camp in a real positive way."
