National media call for Vick to start
After Michael Vick's performance in the second half of the Eagles' loss to the Packers, many in the national media are calling him to take over as the starter.
National media call for Vick to start
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Normally, I wait until later in the week to round up what the national media are saying about the Eagles, but there's really no sense in delaying it after the Birds' loss to the Packers Sunday.
The primary topic dominating conversation is (you guessed it) Michael Vick.
Several writers from around the country are calling for Andy Reid to hand Vick the starting job based on his performance in the second half of Sunday's game. Here's a roundup of what they're saying.
Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com calls for Vick to start and rips Reid in the process:
Andy Reid coaches like he's won three Super Bowls. And we, the media, talk about him like he's won four. What's the difference between Andy Reid and Marty Schottenheimer? A hundred pounds, Ernest Byner's fumble and different coaching specialties.
Andy Reid would be a fool to enter the Eagles locker room and tell 53 players Kolb is the starting quarterback. Reid had the guts to permanently dump McNabb. Why not bench Kolb (or use his concussion as an excuse) and let the Vick situation play out for at least another week?
ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski says Reid's decision is easy: start Vick:
"I think we all had a piece of this [defeat]," Reid said. "And like I mentioned before, I need to make sure that I put all of them in the right position."
Here's an idea for the Week 2 game at Detroit: Put Vick in the starting quarterback position. After watching him Sunday, it's the only right thing to do.
Michael Lombardi of NFL.com thinks the locker room could support Vick over Kevin Kolb:
Vick and McNabb worked well together in terms of the style of offense that most benefited them. Conversely, Vick and Kolb are oil and water, and it looked bad against the Packers. My sense is that Vick is going to have the locker room behind him as the starter unless Kolb breaks out of this funk. Kolb hasn't been good all summer, too eager to run around and too inconsistent in the pocket, his eye level is way down. Kolb has to prove to his teammates he can be the best player, not be given the job. Keep an eye on this one.
Pat Kirwan of NFL.com says Vick gives the Eagles the better chance to win now:
Vick, a three-time Pro Bowl QB with the Falcons, looks like he gives the Eagles a better chance to win than Kolb at this time. The concussion Kolb incurred against the Packers probably means Vick starts next week against Detroit and maybe even the following week against the Jaguars. If he wins both games and generates the kind of offense he did on a limited basis against the Packers, maybe Vick is the realistic choice when the Redskins and McNabb come to town in Week 4. No doubt, Kolb is the future in Philadelphia, but after I saw Vick go 16-for-24 for 175 yards and eclipse 100 yards on the ground, I think he might be the present.
SI.com's Don Banks doesn't expect Vick to quietly accept a backup role when Kolb returns:
Reid's artful dodge of the quarterback controversy topic is understandable. This was Week 1, and the Eagles have invested three years developing Kolb and his game. You can't throw it all out the window when he struggles in the first half of his first game as the team's new starter. But having had a real taste of playing time again, you wonder if Vick's patience will allow him to revert back to his modest role as the team's Wildcat quarterback? My hunch is he won't go as quietly as he did in 2009.
Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports says Reid's plan has blown up after one week:
If you are a dog lover or a Donovan McNabb hater, Sunday was a very bad day. And if you are Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, a man who devoted his offseason to eliminating a potential quarterback controversy – only to have one appear in bright Kelly green before the regular-season opener was over – you are wondering if this is going to be a very long year.
Earlier today, I posted Man Up on the defense. Man Up on the offense comes Tuesday morning.
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I AM THE VOICE OF REASON FOR EAGLES FANS, PLEASE READ, FEEL FREE TO COMMENT: WWW.BERTMONEY23.BLOGSPOT.COM— bertmoney23- I don't see Maclin and Djax supporting Kolb now....— phigglesfan75
- I don't see Maclin and Djax supporting Kolb now....— phigglesfan75
Good lord, I think I might take a break from the Eagles for a year and follow just the Phillies, Flyers and (gulp) the Sixers this year. It seems anymore the story with the Eagles is more about QB controversies than the actual games. It's becoming a waste of energy...- I kinda feel bad for Kolb.When he was drafted,Andy was in the middle of a series of bad life decisons...a procession of them.Kolb was just another of them;a product of a mind that wasn't engaged.I hope he can find his feet and get going but to call him the "future" of this team before he's proven anything is reckless.— red rock
- There is no question that Michael Vick brings more, way more to the table than KK who will unfortunately only ever be as good as a back-up. When he had a chance to claim the throne, KK folded and punked out. On another note, the Badassitude Blog is running a poll for the Badassitude Pro Football player of the week at http://is.gd/f9Bjs. Michael Vick is one of the nominees along with Wes Welker, Chris Johnson and Arian Foster. So if you feel your QB, you know what to do.— coolster
- Well KK has a concussion so he can't play week 2 unless he passes some tests, and with him not even gonna practice till Friday Vick is our QB! I personally think Vick is a terrible passing QB, but he is what this team needs now with our terrible O-line.— SWIM
- the same national media that picked the cleveland cavaliers-sd chargers-ny mets-ott.senators to win their championships last season the national media have as much knowledge as the nitwit bloggers(ppizza-madanout-philigirl-callout-birdsh**-babyfaceboodah-etc)....BIG RED said 'KK is the number one QB' and he doesn't listen to the national 'experts',there's only one expert i listen to and that is HOFer ray didinger.....wolf.— wolf 4
what pro football player would want an award from something called "Badassitude"? what the hell is that supposed to mean anyways?— bboybeballin- Sure, let Vick start another game. Give a team a week to game plan for him so we can all remember what kind of QB he is.— bc3030
- The only reason Vick had such a big is becuase the Packers were not prepared to face him. One a team has a whole week to scheme against his talents an abilities compared to Kolbs. Its one half of a game. Give Kolb some protection and see what he can do!— Murrayag11
- youpeoplehaveissues - I am sure you were one of the people saying Kolb was better than McNabb "after only 1 half" last year too...shut up and realize who makes this team better. Kolb hasn't shown ANYTHING this year, Vick has.— EaglesBleedMoney
- The National Media is about as stable as a mud slide. Thye love you today, hate you tomorrow. They are the same yahoos that have ben generating QB controverseys here since Mcnabb first missed a game and Feely played well. The hold no merit in my book.— PhillyFanSouth
Comment removed.
Whitlock is talking about weight. Ha that is funny. Totally agree with his comments though. Spot on with Reid. This is really a non issue for this week anyway...Let's see how it plays out.
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