Eagles training camp 2013: What they're saying: A Michael Vick roundup

Chip Kelly dropped a bomb yesterday - although an obvious bomb - when he revealed that Michael Vick would be Eagles' starting QB.

by Jimmy Kempski

Published Aug. 21, 2013, 9:36 a.m. ET

Chip Kelly dropped a bomb yesterday (although an obvious bomb) when he revealed that Michael Vick would be Eagles' starting QB this season. Here's a roundup of what they're saying about that news...

Michael Vick has been named the Eagles' starting quarterback for the season, coach Chip Kelly announced Tuesday.

Kelly met with the quarterbacks on Tuesday morning to share the news. Vick will take the majority of the snaps in practice this week and will likely play two quarters against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Saturday's third preseason game. "I think Mike is ahead right now," Kelly said.

"I think Nick made it very difficult, though. It wasn't where it one guy went north and one guy went south. I think both guys upped their games. But at this point in time, I think Mike's ahead. And we want to move forward. This is a one-quarterback operation. This isn't going to be someone's going to look over their shoulder, or we're going to alternate by series."

"The biggest thing with Michael Vick is, when you say his name, when you see him in the lineup, when you prepare for him, is the running ability that he has," said LeSean McCoy. "In this offense, we do tons of running, as far as the quarterback and the running back, so you never know who has the ball. And we're going at such a high tempo/pace in the offense that Mike can throw it, he can run it.

"This offense, it fits him so well. He can be so deadly. There's times where we watch tape and he hands the ball off to me and then he's going around with his fake and he's taking two guys with him until they realize that he doesn't have the ball. When that happens, you take less defenders out of the box where you don't have to block 'em."

Michael Vick is the most polarizing Eagle I've ever seen. He brings out some really strong reactions in people, both for and against him. So let's talk about that for a minute.

Some of the people against Vick still are unhappy with his dogfighting days and Vick's criminal behavior. Those folks are going to pretty much hold a grudge against him for life. That's their right. Vick did some horrible things and if they feel that way, there's nothing that will really change it.

Other fans against Vick used to support him. They fell in love with the guy from 2010, who looked so special. Those fans bought in, hook, line and sinker. Vick then had a mediocre 2011 and a bad 2012 season. These fans don't feel they can trust Vick because even if he plays 15 or 16 games and has a good year…will 2011 or 2012 come back in the future?

I get where that group is coming from and think it is a reasonable mindset. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Now that we know Michael Vick is the starting quarterback, let's take a look at what it means for Vick and the team from a financial perspective.

The 33-year-old's restructured deal is for one year with a potential value of $10 million, though things will have to go very well for him to see all of that money.

The Eagles have no plans to trade Nick Foles even though Michael Vick was named the team's starting quarterback on Tuesday, an NFL source said.

Foles was asked if he wanted to be traded with the opportunity to start, but he said that he wanted to remain with the Eagles.

Considering Vick's injury past, there is a strong chance that Foles will play sometime this season. Vick missed 11 games in the last three years because of various injuries. He missed six games from 2010-11 because of rib injuries and missed five-plus games last season because of a concussion. He's suffered two concussions in the last two years.

Vick feels rejuvenated and he has clearly re-established himself as the leader on this football team. He has also exuded a combination of humility, maturity, authenticity and self-awareness over the last few months that will be key as he continues to evolve as a player. Now it is about maintaining that same mindset and remaining hungry, continuing his strong play and carrying it over into the regular season.

"I just don't want to let up," Vick said. "I feel like the sky's the limit. I feel like I'm getting better with each and every practice, and I'm still learning."

In many ways, Michael Vick is Randall Cunningham. When Marion Campbell was coach of the Eagles, he hired a consultant, Sid Gillman, to work with Cunningham on learning the game. According to Merrill Reese, "Sid once gave Randall a film with a piece of paper in the film about a quarter of the way through it. The next day Randall brought the film back. Sid asked if he watched it, and Randall told him that he did and that he learned from it. Sid took the film and saw the paper in the exact same spot." Similarly, when Vick was with Atlanta, Jim Mora would send Vick home with DVDs of game film. Vick admitted in a 2010 interview with Mora that, "The DVDs would pile up in my car." Both Cunningham and Vick are athletic, electrifying, human highlight reels capable of beating teams with their feet. Both are atop the career quarterback rushing list, both have similar QB ratings, and sack percentages. And both have never won a Super Bowl.

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In case you missed it here at the Red Zone...

The Eagles' locker room seating assignments.

A pictorial of Michael Vick celebrating winning the QB job.

The Eagles will be running the ball in situatons you might not be accustomed to.

Click here for complete coverage of Philadelphia Eagles training camp.