ESPN just reported that quarterback Michael Vick will be restructuring his contract to stay a Philadelphia Eagle for another year. The contract will be good for one year and while new head coach Chip Kelly said there will be competition for the starting quarterback job, it seems to be all but a given that Vick will be the starter.
Is this a good or bad move by the Eagles? That's highly debatable. While I feel that Vick is a much more suitable option in Chip Kelly's offense than Nick Foles, I personally think San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith would have been the best of the three quarterbacks. Smith has decent size and isn't as prone to getting banged up following multiple hits in the backfield than Vick. He's not as quick as Vick, but has better speed than Foles. He's also less turnover prone than either of those two quarterbacks, with a higher completion percentage than either as well. While Smith isn't as dynamic as Vick at times, he's more proven than Foles and more consistent than Vick. He reminds me of a more efficient and athletic version of Trent Dilfer, and think he would have suited Philadelphia and Chip Kelly's offense quite well.
In any case, the decision has been made and it appears as if Vick will be the starter for at least one more season. Love or loathe the move, it should be exciting to watch Michael Vick play in Chip Kelly's offense, alongside the likes of LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper, and company. For this to work, however, and consistently, some changes will need to be made, namely:
1) A healthy and improved offensive line: Fans and critics alike could blame Michael Vick and Nick Foles all they wanted for the losses last year and the sometimes inefficient (and turnover-prone) offense. However, as I always say - it starts on the offensive line, and four of the Eagles five starters were banged up for part or most of last year. It wouldn't have mattered if Tom Brady or Peyton Manning were behind center for the Eagles last year, the offense would be prone to its share of struggles and inconsistencies. Especially with Vick behind center and his smaller-than-average stature (for an NFL quarterback), the line needs to play better than they did last year.
2) Utilize the running game more: I think this will be a given with Chip Kelly as head coach as opposed to Andy Reid. With Vick's smaller stature and the battered offensive line from this past season, Andy Reid's pass-first-pass-second-pass-every-down mentality left Vick increasingly prone to getting hurt. Chip Kelly has always been known as loving to utilize speed in the running game. With McCoy and Brown in the backfield, I fully expect him to continue that trend, which will ease some of the pressure off Vick.
3) Vick needs to do a better job of throwing the ball away and sliding: One of Vick's biggest strengths and weaknesses is his ability to make something out of nothing on any given play. This is the very thing that has drawn many people to enjoy watching him. The guy is the all-time leader amongst quarterbacks in terms of rushing yards for a career. However, Vick leaves himself more prone to getting hit and hurt due to these tendencies. While most other quarterbacks would have thrown the ball away and avoided a hit, Vick will sometimes run around trying to make a play, hold onto the ball too long and wind up taking an unnecessary hit. He needs to learn when he can play backyard-esque football and avoid getting hit, and when he'd be best served by just throwing the ball away. He's gotten better at this in Philadelphia, but still needs to improve. This is also the case with his sliding. In all his years of playing football, I've never seen him successfully slide. The guy always dives head-first, which can leave him prone to getting hit in the head or fumbling the football. He's been better about running out of bounds than he was in Atlanta, but still needs to improve on that and sliding, to avoid the hits.
4) A back-up plan: If Vick does get hurt, the Eagles will need a back-up quarterback who can efficiently run a Chip Kelly-type of offense. Names that have been mentioned are Terrelle Pryor and Dennis Dixon, whom were both known as great dual-threat quarterbacks in college - with Dixon playing at Oregon under Chip Kelly.
5) Improved defense: What takes the most pressure off a quarterback and his offense? Great defensive play. When a team consistently finds themselves down early in games due to poor execution on the defensive side of the ball, this can often times add pressure to the offense, which can lead to the offense forcing the issue and being less efficient than they would normally be. This was often times the case, especially in the latter half of the season for the Eagles. Their defense was atrocious in applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks, which hampered their pass defense quite significantly. They were also awful with their red-zone defense. Whether Vick or Foles was playing quarterback, it seemed to get increasingly difficult for them to keep their team in games due to always having to play catch-up.
With Michael Vick at quarterback, there is a great deal of excitement and also a great deal of worries to be had. Hopefully the Eagles can improve in the five areas I addressed, so they can maximize the excitement, while minimizing the worries.
Is this a good or bad move by the Eagles? That's highly debatable. While I feel that Vick is a much more suitable option in Chip Kelly's offense than Nick Foles, I personally think San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith would have been the best of the three quarterbacks. Smith has decent size and isn't as prone to getting banged up following multiple hits in the backfield than Vick. He's not as quick as Vick, but has better speed than Foles. He's also less turnover prone than either of those two quarterbacks, with a higher completion percentage than either as well. While Smith isn't as dynamic as Vick at times, he's more proven than Foles and more consistent than Vick. He reminds me of a more efficient and athletic version of Trent Dilfer, and think he would have suited Philadelphia and Chip Kelly's offense quite well.
In any case, the decision has been made and it appears as if Vick will be the starter for at least one more season. Love or loathe the move, it should be exciting to watch Michael Vick play in Chip Kelly's offense, alongside the likes of LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper, and company. For this to work, however, and consistently, some changes will need to be made, namely:
1) A healthy and improved offensive line: Fans and critics alike could blame Michael Vick and Nick Foles all they wanted for the losses last year and the sometimes inefficient (and turnover-prone) offense. However, as I always say - it starts on the offensive line, and four of the Eagles five starters were banged up for part or most of last year. It wouldn't have mattered if Tom Brady or Peyton Manning were behind center for the Eagles last year, the offense would be prone to its share of struggles and inconsistencies. Especially with Vick behind center and his smaller-than-average stature (for an NFL quarterback), the line needs to play better than they did last year.
2) Utilize the running game more: I think this will be a given with Chip Kelly as head coach as opposed to Andy Reid. With Vick's smaller stature and the battered offensive line from this past season, Andy Reid's pass-first-pass-second-pass-every-down mentality left Vick increasingly prone to getting hurt. Chip Kelly has always been known as loving to utilize speed in the running game. With McCoy and Brown in the backfield, I fully expect him to continue that trend, which will ease some of the pressure off Vick.
3) Vick needs to do a better job of throwing the ball away and sliding: One of Vick's biggest strengths and weaknesses is his ability to make something out of nothing on any given play. This is the very thing that has drawn many people to enjoy watching him. The guy is the all-time leader amongst quarterbacks in terms of rushing yards for a career. However, Vick leaves himself more prone to getting hit and hurt due to these tendencies. While most other quarterbacks would have thrown the ball away and avoided a hit, Vick will sometimes run around trying to make a play, hold onto the ball too long and wind up taking an unnecessary hit. He needs to learn when he can play backyard-esque football and avoid getting hit, and when he'd be best served by just throwing the ball away. He's gotten better at this in Philadelphia, but still needs to improve. This is also the case with his sliding. In all his years of playing football, I've never seen him successfully slide. The guy always dives head-first, which can leave him prone to getting hit in the head or fumbling the football. He's been better about running out of bounds than he was in Atlanta, but still needs to improve on that and sliding, to avoid the hits.
4) A back-up plan: If Vick does get hurt, the Eagles will need a back-up quarterback who can efficiently run a Chip Kelly-type of offense. Names that have been mentioned are Terrelle Pryor and Dennis Dixon, whom were both known as great dual-threat quarterbacks in college - with Dixon playing at Oregon under Chip Kelly.
5) Improved defense: What takes the most pressure off a quarterback and his offense? Great defensive play. When a team consistently finds themselves down early in games due to poor execution on the defensive side of the ball, this can often times add pressure to the offense, which can lead to the offense forcing the issue and being less efficient than they would normally be. This was often times the case, especially in the latter half of the season for the Eagles. Their defense was atrocious in applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks, which hampered their pass defense quite significantly. They were also awful with their red-zone defense. Whether Vick or Foles was playing quarterback, it seemed to get increasingly difficult for them to keep their team in games due to always having to play catch-up.
With Michael Vick at quarterback, there is a great deal of excitement and also a great deal of worries to be had. Hopefully the Eagles can improve in the five areas I addressed, so they can maximize the excitement, while minimizing the worries.
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