As I predicted 2.5 months ago, the Philadelphia Eagles name Michael Vick as their starting quarterback
As I called on June 6th, the Philadelphia Eagles just named Michael Vick as their starting quarterback heading into the 2013-2014 season. This is even less of a surprise for me given Vick's play in the pres-season. The veteran Pro Bowl quarterback has completed 13 of 15 pass attempts for 199 yards, and a touchdown (along with one end-of-the-half hail mary interception) in the Eagles' two pre-season games to this point. That's a completion percentage of 86.7% and his yards per pass attempt has been 13.3 - almost twice that of Nick Foles.
Foles, to his credit, has been quite efficient in the pre-season. However, he lacks Vick's mobility and hasn't proven himself as an intermediate- to deep-route passer as Vick has. Foles, while efficient, has been been very much the dink and dunk passer and will need to improve on his intermediate and deep routes if he wants to be a full-time starter in this league. Third-stringer Matt Barkley has already shown a good deal of improvement from game one to game two in the pre-season and has already showcased more intermediate- to deep-throwing ability than Foles.
It'll be very interesting and likely quite entertaining to watch Michael Vick in Chip Kelly's offense. The team is already short-handed at receiver heading into the season, but are fairly deep at running back, tight end, and their offensive line should be improved from last season. So even with Jeremy Maclin and a couple of other receivers out of the lineup, Vick should have plenty of help around him and should receive more time in the pocket than he's had these past couple of seasons.
Vick has received plenty of heat these past two seasons in Philadelphia, but while the guy has turned the ball over some, he has played with a banged up offensive line as well as an under-performing defensive and special teams unit. So, as is typical when things aren't going well, I feel he, as the team's quarterback, received too much of the blame. While in Philadelphia, he has completed right around 60% of his passes. That may not be Peyton Manning-esque, but considering he completed only about 55% of his passes while in Atlanta, it has definitely been a step in the right direction. He's also semi-close to a 2 : 1 touchdown to interception ratio with the Eagles (52 : 30). He's averaged over 7.5 yards per pass attempt, which is almost half a yard more than his best such performance in Atlanta. He has been more selective with his running, but has rushed for over 1,500 yards with the Eagles and averaged approximately 6.5 yards per carry, with 13 additional touchdowns on the ground (65 total).
Coincidentally enough, Vick and the Eagles' first game will be a Monday nighter at Washington. Let's not forget - it was on November 15th of 2010 when the Eagles, led by Vick, spanked the Redskins at FedEx Field by the final score of 59-28, where many were saying that this was the new-and-improved Michael Vick and Philadelphia Eagles. Vick and the rest of the team, likely an underdog in the coming game, will have an opportunity to make a big statement like they did in that 2010 game - that they're new and improved, are to be taken seriously, and that the loyal fans of Philadelphia have a lot to be excited about.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp13/story/_/id/9584640/michael-vick-philadelphia-eagles-named-starter
http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2549/michael-vick
Foles, to his credit, has been quite efficient in the pre-season. However, he lacks Vick's mobility and hasn't proven himself as an intermediate- to deep-route passer as Vick has. Foles, while efficient, has been been very much the dink and dunk passer and will need to improve on his intermediate and deep routes if he wants to be a full-time starter in this league. Third-stringer Matt Barkley has already shown a good deal of improvement from game one to game two in the pre-season and has already showcased more intermediate- to deep-throwing ability than Foles.
It'll be very interesting and likely quite entertaining to watch Michael Vick in Chip Kelly's offense. The team is already short-handed at receiver heading into the season, but are fairly deep at running back, tight end, and their offensive line should be improved from last season. So even with Jeremy Maclin and a couple of other receivers out of the lineup, Vick should have plenty of help around him and should receive more time in the pocket than he's had these past couple of seasons.
Vick has received plenty of heat these past two seasons in Philadelphia, but while the guy has turned the ball over some, he has played with a banged up offensive line as well as an under-performing defensive and special teams unit. So, as is typical when things aren't going well, I feel he, as the team's quarterback, received too much of the blame. While in Philadelphia, he has completed right around 60% of his passes. That may not be Peyton Manning-esque, but considering he completed only about 55% of his passes while in Atlanta, it has definitely been a step in the right direction. He's also semi-close to a 2 : 1 touchdown to interception ratio with the Eagles (52 : 30). He's averaged over 7.5 yards per pass attempt, which is almost half a yard more than his best such performance in Atlanta. He has been more selective with his running, but has rushed for over 1,500 yards with the Eagles and averaged approximately 6.5 yards per carry, with 13 additional touchdowns on the ground (65 total).
Coincidentally enough, Vick and the Eagles' first game will be a Monday nighter at Washington. Let's not forget - it was on November 15th of 2010 when the Eagles, led by Vick, spanked the Redskins at FedEx Field by the final score of 59-28, where many were saying that this was the new-and-improved Michael Vick and Philadelphia Eagles. Vick and the rest of the team, likely an underdog in the coming game, will have an opportunity to make a big statement like they did in that 2010 game - that they're new and improved, are to be taken seriously, and that the loyal fans of Philadelphia have a lot to be excited about.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp13/story/_/id/9584640/michael-vick-philadelphia-eagles-named-starter
http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2549/michael-vick
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