Kevin Kolb is no fledgling Eagle

From Bethlehem, PA. — 

Kevin Kolb has dealt with angry, frustrated Philadelphia Eagles fans before. They felt free to voice their opinions to him.

They had the number to his cellphone. And it didn’t bother him a bit.

Those fans, you see, were Kolb’s buddies from back home in Texas. And in truth, they were more perplexed than steamed. They wanted to see Kolb get a job as a starting NFL quarterback, and they couldn’t see the future in him backing up Eagles fixture Donovan McNabb, who had taken the franchise to five NFC title games and a Super Bowl.

“I always had faith that I was going to be here one day,” said Kolb (pronounced “Cob”), a second-round pick in 2007 who was promoted to the starting job in April when McNabb was traded to Washington. “I had to convince some of my best friends that, ‘Trust me, it’s going to happen.’ They thought I was just going to be a backup for the rest of my life.

“When I would talk to [Coach Andy Reid], I would just say, ‘I trust you. I trust your timing. I know you have a plan.’ And I did. I never wanted to be anywhere else than in this system and in this city.”

Roughly 200 miles away, in Ashburn, Va., McNabb is experiencing his first training camp in burgundy, a circumstance that in many ways is still stunning. Few were shocked when he and the Eagles parted ways — that had been rumored for years — but the fact he was traded within the NFC East, and to a team with real promise, remains a jaw-dropper.

“I want to show them that it was the right move for them and put some wins on the board,” McNabb said.

Part of the reason he wound up in Washington is the respect and affection Reid has for him; the coach didn’t want to banish him to Siberia. But there’s also something more.

“Andy Reid is not stupid,” NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth said. “They’re not giving up Donovan McNabb at age 33 if they don’t feel like Kevin Kolb is better. And I’m not talking about potentially better, not down-the-road better. You’re trying to win the Super Bowl every year that you go out there.

“So if Donovan McNabb is better than Kevin Kolb, Andy Reid’s not trading him. He may end up being wrong, he may not be better, but in Andy Reid’s mind, Kolb is better.”

It’s not as if Reid is going on blind faith. He sees Kolb every day, of course, but he also has seen him perform in situations that count. With just two career starts, Kolb has already landed a spot in the league record books.

Stepping in for the injured McNabb for two games last season, he threw for 391 yards in a loss to New Orleans and for 327 in a victory over Kansas City. Kolb became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 300 yards in each of his first two starts.

Those showings were far more impressive than a year earlier, when, after McNabb was benched for the first time in his career, Kolb filled in for the second half against Baltimore. Burned in the minds of Eagles fans is the memory of his pass into the end zone that was intercepted by safety Ed Reed and run back for a record 108-yard touchdown.

The Baltimore nightmare notwithstanding, one of the characteristics his Philadelphia teammates have emphasized is Kolb’s likability. Accordingly, when the Eagles’ defense was on the field, a lot of offensive players would gather around Kolb — not McNabb — on the sideline.

A lot of those players say that’s not an indictment of McNabb, clearly respected at all levels of the organization, but a testament to the charisma of Kolb.

“Even when he wasn’t playing, he was sitting there watching us,” tight end Brent Celek said of Kolb. “And if he felt like we could have done something differently to get open, he wasn’t afraid to say it. … Having him there, it made me go to him every time we came off the field and say, ‘Hey, what did you see on this play?’ And he’d tell me.”

Like Philip Rivers in San Diego, Kolb has had the luxury of time to watch, absorb and truly learn an offensive system, rather than being forced into action right away as a rookie.

“Everybody’s asking what it’s like to have a new quarterback, and I’m like, ‘We don’t have a new quarterback,’” receiver Hank Baskett said. “We’ve all worked with him. … He just has that leadership. I describe it as, he’s that Texas quarterback: He’s serious about his business, he wants things to be done right, and he wants to have some fun doing it.”

Kolb certainly has the players around him to be successful. The Eagles might have the best young group of pass catchers in the league, led by Pro Bowl receiver DeSean Jackson and including Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant and Celek.

Team insiders say there’s a different feel to training camp this summer, much less of a star system than when McNabb was the central figure. People appreciate what McNabb brought to the franchise, but they’re also looking forward to a fresh start with Kolb.

Tackle Winston Justice told the Philadelphia Inquirer that everyone on the team liked McNabb but acknowledged there was an age gap, saying, “We didn’t laugh at the same jokes. We didn’t listen to the same music. But I don’t think that played into the [Eagles’ decision] at all.”

Instead, the decision hinged on Reid’s confidence in Kolb, and his belief that it was time to turn the page on the McNabb era.

“I think there’s a point where you’ve just got to play, unless you’re just going to be a backup quarterback for your career,” Reid said. “In this case, Kevin didn’t have to change teams to do that. …

“We felt he was ready.”

That said, NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders believes Kolb has the toughest job in the league this season, replacing such a successful player in a city that can be so demanding of its players.

“You can’t replace McNabb,” Sanders said in an interview with Philadelphia’s 97.5 FM The Fanatic. “He’s filling in for McNabb. And secondly, [backup quarterback] Mike Vick is behind this man. You know in your cars it says, ‘Objects in mirror are closer than they appear’? The first bad pass he throws, those wonderful, valedictorian-type fans … those wonderful fans are going to be chanting, ‘Vick, Vick, Vick’ on the second play of the game if he throws an errant, bad pass.”

Not all Eagles fans would chant that, of course. Kolb knows some who wouldn’t. And they’re the ones with his cell number.

sam.farmer@latimes.com