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Vick's next test: An all-out sprint

One week after freely declaring his status, Michael Vick decided to play it coy. The Eagles quarterback has been a full participant in midweek practices for the first time since he hurt his left hamstring on Oct. 6, but he would not confirm Thursday that he will start Sunday's game against the New York Giants.

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. (David Maialetti/Staff Photographer)
Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. (David Maialetti/Staff Photographer)Read more

One week after freely declaring his status, Michael Vick decided to play it coy.

The Eagles quarterback has been a full participant in midweek practices for the first time since he hurt his left hamstring on Oct. 6, but he would not confirm Thursday that he will start Sunday's game against the New York Giants.

A source told The Inquirer on Tuesday that Vick would start. Vick said he expects it to be "positive situation."

"I just want to take one more day to see how it feels," Vick said. "We had a good practice today; didn't really have to stretch it out. Tomorrow's a run day for us, so I'll get ready to go."

Even though Friday's practice is scheduled to be a walk-through, Vick suggested that he plans to sprint for the first time.

"Run 100 yards as fast as I can, try to cut, try to make sudden movement in the pocket, see what happens," Vick said.

Coach Chip Kelly was similarly coy when the topic of Vick's health was raised. Kelly said before practice that Vick was simply on track to practice, and the coach wanted to see how he would respond after making progress on Wednesday.

One player who is almost certain not to play on Sunday is Nick Foles. The second-year quarterback suffered a concussion in the loss to Dallas and still had not taken the ImPACT test as of Thursday morning.

"I know he did some physical stuff with our trainers today, and I know he's not going to practice today," Kelly said.

Because Foles has not taken the ImPACT test, it's likely that he still experiences concussion symptoms. Once Foles passes the test, an independent neurologist must clear him before he can return to practice.

Without Foles, Matt Barkley would become the backup quarterback. Barkley has taken some first-team snaps this week along with Vick, and he is expected to be active for the third straight week. If Vick suffers a setback or must be pulled from Sunday's game, Barkley would play for the second consecutive week. He threw three interceptions in nine minutes against the Cowboys, although he was able to move ball more effectively than Foles.

"Biggest positives were the . . . accuracy and timing. I felt good with my movement with the pocket," Barkley said. "I just need to improve on my decision making from here on out."

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur did not believe Barkley was overmatched Sunday and said the three interceptions were isolated poor plays. Considering Vick's fragility, the team must have Barkley prepared to step in on Sunday.

"When we put him out there, we expect him to play winning football, the next time that is, whenever that is," Kelly said. "I think his opportunity to play the other night, he'll learn from the bad plays that he had."

The Giants are preparing with the expectation that Vick is the quarterback.

Vick declared himself out last Thursday. When asked if he was trying to conceal the news this week for the purpose of competitive advantage, Vick smiled while offering his rebuttal.

"This is not a situation you can play around with," Vick said. "I'm not up here playing games, just blowing smoke. I'm just trying to figure out the best situation."

As long as everything checks out, Vick will start at quarterback against the Giants, as he did the last time the Eagles played their rivals, a 36-21 win on Oct. 6.

"If I'm out there, I'm full go," Vick said. "I don't hold anything back, and I'm going to give it everything I've got."

Extra points

Starting cornerback Bradley Fletcher was a full participant at practice after missing two days with a knee injury. The Eagles have only four cornerbacks on the roster, but Fletcher is expected to play. Safety Kurt Coleman will be the team's emergency cornerback on game day. . . . Besides Foles, linebacker Jake Knott (hamstring) was the only player to miss practice. With Knott unlikely to play, former Giants practice-squad linebacker Emmanuel Acho could be in the lineup on Sunday. . . . Safety Patrick Chung (shoulder), punter Donnie Jones (left foot), and defensive lineman Cedric Thornton (knee) were all limited.