Reid: Vick to start for year; no guarantee Kolb will be on team after trade deadline
Michael Vick said he was "humbled" to be named starter for the rest of the season. Andy Reid would not promise that Kevin Kolb will be an Eagle after the trade deadline.
Reid: Vick to start for year; no guarantee Kolb will be on team after trade deadline
Jonathan Tamari
Michael Vick said he was "humbled" to learn he had been named the Eagles starter, completing a long journey from public pariah to face of the team. It's a move that seems set for the rest of the year: head coach Andy Reid said Vick is the starter for the remainder of the year.
Vick said even he was "sort of" surprised by his own performance in his six quarters this season.
"I know what I can do, but until you get out there and you actually do it, you really don't know if you're going to make the plays that you know you're capable of making," Vick told reporters before his first practice as the team's starting quarterback.
Vick said there were days he never thought he would play again the NFL. Now, he said he has to play hard and reward his coaches' faith in him.
It's unclear what Vick's long-term future will be though. Reid would not answer a question about whether the team will look to extend the quarterback's contract. He is in the final year of his deal with the Eagles.
Reid also would not guarantee that Kevin Kolb will remain with the team after the Oct. 19 trade deadline, despite touting Kolb's "bright future" in the NFL.
"I can’t predict anything down that far, nobody in this league can do that, that’s ridiculous," Reid said. "The future, we’ll just have to see."
Reid, however, said he wants Kolb on the Eagles.
"This is not about Kevin Kolb, this is about Michael Vick. Kevin Kolb has got a bright, bright future. I mean bright future ... but Michael Vick I think surprised all of us with his play."
Several players were asked about the change, they all stuck to the company line: they will support whatever their coaches decide.
Reid conceded that Kolb would not have lost his job had he not suffered a concussion against the Packers.
He said no one else pressed him to make the switch.
"I didn't talk to a player, I didn't talk to a coach, I talked to one guy for two days about this," Reid said -- referring to Kolb. "Whatever anyone else says about this, is not right."
Kolb took the high road when asked about the switch.
"The NFL is a tough spot and you have to compete every day. I understand that and I understand that Mike's a great player and he's playing great. Again, I want to be out there, and the hardest thing is, you want to go battle with your guys. We spent a lot of time together and I want out there and fighting every down with them," he said.
He would not answer when asked if he lost his job because he got hurt, but said he was surprised by the decision. Asked if Reid made the right choice, Kolb said, "he feels that way and he's the head coach."
memo to BIG RED:to quote the great fred g.sanford:'ARE YOU CRAZY?????',how can any team put the franchise into the hands of a Felon who is a dogs hair away from being banned from the NFL,,the birds better send some baby sitters with conVick on the bye week because we all know what happens when conVick has some free time,i hope he's not having a birthday party for his baby's mama..the birds are starting to act like the raiders/deadskins/lions the scum of the NFL poorly run teams,the BIRDS are a disgrace,the whole football world is laughing at them......wolf.
— wolf 4- This is the Buddy Ryan , Bobby Hoying fiasco all over again.— adamdude77
- Good luck trading him now. If he was valuable, he'd still be starting over Mike "I just beat the worst franchise in history by three whole points" Vick. Also, some reference to Vick killing dogs. You pick which one.— B in DC
- So everyone is ready to give up on Kolb after ONE HALF of football against a SB caliber team?! If the Eagles brass would have used the same philosophy with McNabb, ne never would have lasted one season. Fat Andy just signed his resignation and doesn't even realize it. This will go down as the SECOND worse move in franchise history, after trading McNabb to a division rival with no suitable replacement. Good riddens to Fat Andy.— iamkingdunlap
Comment removed.- The Phillies' fans have turned to milk toast. It's good to see the Eagles fans still have their ignorant bile still spurting.
Where are the fans who just a few weeks ago were crowing that Kolb was the second coming of Montana? Just because he's turned into Hannah Montana is no reason to dump him, is it?— 2smart4philly - Maybe Andy Reid's been hanging out with his sons too much, cause he's delusional or high if he thinks they can win the Super Bowl with Michael Vick— seaonasdad
- something does not smell right(besides panpizza)this move is to take the front page off the phillies closing days to a pennant,Kevin Kolb would have no problem beating the jacksonville jaxs...conVick will not be a factor in the second half of the schedule against the colts-vikings-houston-giants-49ers-cowboys the eagles will finish 8-8 at best with either QB,,many fans said conVick would be the fall of the team and it looks like that is the case,conVick has no long range plans with the BIRDS......GO PHILLIES!!......ex-eagle wolf.
— wolf 4 - This will be the last one of these articles I'll be reading, if people find entertainment in sitting here all week long over-analyzing each quote and throwing around hypotheticals, feel free. I'm at the point now where, I just want to see the Birds win on Sunday.— Bleue
- Comment removed.
- I commend Vick for being a transformed dog killer to blitz avoider, but with this offensive line he has a concussion in his near future and Kolb will be starting again..Andy knows this better than anyone.— Will T.
- Vick is turn over prone... He carries the football like it has a handle. Before the dog fighting I thought he was a good runner and an average (at best quarterback). Name a run first quarter back that has had long term success in the NFL? He had a horrible pre season, and I beleive those same problems will resurface. They have seemingly discarded Kolb after going 5-7 with 25 yards (he went 0-3 after the hit where he picked up the concussion) in his first start as the man and anoint Vick after 6 quarters of great football by Vick running for his life. I think Andy is starting to feel the heat. I hope that Kolb is traded and has a stellar carrer in the NFL. It just seems that Andy is doing everything he can to make sure that the Eagles never rise out of the mediocrity he has become so accustomed to...— chrisrr
- This is horrible. Andy is sealing his own fate. The "best" Vick could ever pray for is 10-6 with a loss in the first round of the playoffs. That sounds an awful lot like our chances with McNabb. If the team was not going to commit to Kolb for the next 3 or so years, they should have resigned McNabb and let him finish his career as an Eagle. I feel violated.— Barry O
- Right now Vick is the QB for how long who knows. What about the concussion Kolb now is more subceptible to more head injuries. I really don't think Reis's change of heart was his own doing. There was pressure from some where.— RICKY101
- One wonders just WHO made the decision to make Vick starting QB. Reid was quoted the day before as definitively sticking with Kolb. Seeing the most recent Reid flubs: 1)McNabb trade intra-division, 2) putting brain ataxic Bradley back in that game, you gotta figure the decision to keep Vick (who's on FIRE!) was made for him upstairs.— rayman
