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The Eagles' QB conundrum

Chip Kelly says he doesn't want to rush Michael Vick back, but he's putting the ball in Vick's court.

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. (David Maialetti/Staff Photographer)
Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. (David Maialetti/Staff Photographer)Read more

WE'VE GONE from quarterback controversy to quarterback conversation to quarterback conundrum very quickly here.

The sense from NovaCare yesterday was that Chip Kelly and company really don't know who's going to be running the team in practice today or at Lincoln Financial Field Sunday against the Giants.

A source close to the situation indicated that Michael Vick is attacking his rehab, trying everything to get healthy for this week. Two sources close to the situation indicated Vick just doesn't know yet what his chances of playing might be. But aside from the possibility that he could make the hamstring worse by playing on it, one would think a slightly hobbled Vick would be a much better option against the Giants than rookie Matt Barkley, who hasn't gotten enough first-team reps since the spring to even be close to ready to start a game.

Kelly confirmed yesterday that Nick Foles has a concussion. In the post-lawsuit-settlement NFL, Foles is all but officially out of the controversy/conversation/conundrum for this week. The Eagles are expected to add training-camp QB G.J. Kinne to the practice squad to have a completely healthy backup to Barkley if Vick can't play, or a third QB if Vick can play.

It was a controversy after the Giants game, when the Vick and Foles factions of the fan base were lobbing grenades. A week ago, on the heels of Foles' strong performance in Tampa, the Eagles decided they'd rather use the term "conversation," implying a leisurely discussion of two alternatives that have their own respective merits. Then Foles was horrible and got concussed in losing to the Cowboys. Now it's more "What do we do now?" With the strong possibility looming that for this week, there is no great alternative.

"I'm not going to put Mike out there if Mike can't be productive," Kelly said yesterday. "We've listened to Mike the whole time. We'll continue to listen to Mike. That can't change just because someone else got hurt - that doesn't make another guy get healthy quicker. Now, hopefully, we can get Mike back. But just because of Nick's injury, we're not going to force that."

Is it reading too much into those remarks to infer that, yesterday and in similar phrasing following Sunday's game, Kelly was putting the ball in Vick's court, implying that the Eagles sure don't have a problem with Vick trying to play against the Giants, if Vick doesn't?

Barkley played for the first time Sunday, down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He completed 11 of 20 for 129 yards but threw three interceptions, making really bad reads on two of them.

"I thought Matt played well for us in the preseason. I didn't see a difference Sunday in him. I think Matt can make the throws. It's just a matter of him learning what we're doing, and learning the speed of the game," Kelly said. "I think he's got a bright future."

It's hard to imagine Barkley beating the Giants this week, though.

Kelly watched the film of Foles' puzzling performance - nothing like any of his previous seven career starts, even the ones in which he struggled - but Kelly hasn't been able to discuss it with Foles. Kelly indicated he couldn't explain what happened to the second-year QB.

Kelly said the groin injury that was bothering Foles before the Tampa game wasn't a factor. He said Foles got kicked in the knee, which might account for the limp that was speculated upon during the Fox broadcast.

"There were a lot of throws, just the way he didn't set his feet the way he [usually] sets his feet," Kelly said. "Drop, set the ball, and get the ball out."

Before anything else happens with Foles, he has to be symptom-free. Then he will be tested against his previous baseline neurological results. If the testing - which can go beyond the previous baseline testing - goes well, Foles can start doing cardio work, gradually increasing to a point where he is allowed to do noncontact work in practice. (Of course, for quarterbacks, all practice work is noncontact.) Foles must be cleared by an independent neurologist before he practices or plays.

Theoretically, that all could happen this week. Realistically, it won't.

If Foles hadn't suffered the concussion, management would really like to see how he would bounce back from the Dallas debacle. Even if fans streamed out of the Linc convinced he'll never be their answer, for the Eagles' brain trust, the inaccuracy and slow decision-making was so unlike Foles, they'd really like to know if this is something he's prone toward that they hadn't seen in his relatively small body of work, or if he just had a really terrible day and can regroup.

Return of the Acho Man

Physical linebacker Emmanuel Acho was a fan favorite in the preseason, but he didn't make the Opening Day roster and ended up on the Giants' practice squad. Then rookie linebacker Jake Knott suffered a hamstring injury against Dallas, and yesterday, the Eagles signed Acho to their 53-man roster and released little-used corner Shaun Prater.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said this wasn't one of those deals like the Giants' 4-day pickup of Dallas Reynolds the week before the previous meeting, which obviously was an (unsuccessful) effort to gain some useful information on the Eagles' system.

"We were looking for another linebacker-type body. He was productive on special teams in the preseason," Roseman said. "He knows the defense, so it makes sense."

Roseman indicated that he thinks safety Patrick Chung and running back Chris Polk, sidelined by shoulder injuries, have a chance to play this week.

"They were both close for this [Dallas] game," Roseman said.

The Browns yesterday claimed off waivers Eagles corner Jordan Poyer, a seventh-round draft choice last April whose future might lie at safety. The Birds cut Poyer over the weekend to add practice-squad running back Matthew Tucker, since Polk couldn't play against Dallas.

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian