Chip Kelly has made it clear that he will be holding an open competition for the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting quarterback position all summer, and that may be starting to weigh on Michael Vick. According to Rob Edwards of the South Jersey Times, Vick took the majority of the first-team snaps on Thursday at the last day of mini-camp. But he wants to earn all of them.
“It’s tough (not taking all first-team snaps),” Vick said. “I have continued to be a professional and put feelings and emotions to the side. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t (tough). I have to deal with it and keep dealing with it until I see otherwise.
“(Coach Kelly and I) haven’t talked about it yet. Coach knows exactly what he’s doing and we don’t question him, we just listen.”
Foles is probably already a better passer than Vick at this stage in his career. He has reportedly been impressive with some throws during practice while Vick has struggled a bit, but common sense would tell you Vick is a better fit for Kelly’s offense.
If Kelly intends to incorporate anything similar to what he was running at Oregon, he needs a mobile quarterback. The advantage there obviously goes to Vick, though Chip would be dumb to not make him earn it. Foles also has an advantage in age, which Vick knows.
“I feel good with where I’m at,” he said. “I have to continue to progress and keep drinking my youth juice.”
My guess is Vick wins the starting job unless he completely bombs at training camp. Despite what this former Eagles quarterback thinks, Kelly is probably going to run a spread offense that will benefit from having a quarterback who can run. That’s not to say Vick won’t make him change his mind by Week 6.
