Rich Hofmann: Clipboard experience counts for Eagles' Kolb

THEY'RE ALL different, Andy Reid was saying. The Eagles' coach was talking about quarterbacks and their development, and that is true enough. You don't know until you know, and that will be true with Kevin Kolb as much as with any of them.

But there still is a leaguewide body of experience upon which to draw. It suggests that Kolb has a pretty good chance of being just fine, and pretty much right away - and that is true even while acknowledging that the exhibition season, and particularly the game at Kansas City, was lacking in some ways.

We are talking about a team with a lot of offensive weapons that is coming off an 11-win season, after all. And we are talking about a coach who has succeeded with every quarterback he's thrown out there not named Mike McMahon. And we are not talking about a kid here. Kolb is entering his fourth NFL season, and that experience means everything.

This is a simple enough exercise. You take the 29 experienced starting quarterbacks in the NFL; only the Rams' Sam Bradford, the Panthers' Matt Moore and Kolb don't qualify. You look at the first season when those 29 became their team's primary starter (at least nine games started). You divide them into three groups: Those who first started as rookies, those who first started in their second seasons, and those who did not start until at least their third season. Then, as they say in the exam booklet, compare and contrast.

There are 11 active quarterbacks who first started as rookies, from Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger to Josh Freeman and Kyle Orton. There are 10 who first started in their second year, from Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb to Jay Cutler and Chad Henne.

There are eight of the rest, the group that Kolb joins on Sunday when he starts against the Packers. Here's that list: Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Delhomme, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Cassel, Matt Schaub and David Garrard. It's a good list that encompasses many skill sets.

Now, create the typical quarterback in each group by assigning him the median statistical values.

PASSER RATING

Rookie. . . 70.4

2nd Year. . . 77.7

3rd Year+. . . 88.3

TDS/INTERCEPTIONS

Rookie. . . 13/13

2nd Year. . . 18/14

3rd Year+. . . 19/10

It seems pretty clear. It is something that everybody kind of knows in their head but kind of pooh-poohs just as quickly. But the statistical difference between a rookie starting for the first time and a fourth-year player starting for the first time is enormous.