Reid names Vick starter
The Eagles are going with Michael Vick for the rest of the season.
Reid names Vick starter
Jeff McLane and Jonathan Tamari
Eagles coach Andy Reid has named Michael Vick the starting quarterback, the team announced tonight in a stunning reversal. The move appears to be for the season.
Reid said the decision came down to Vick's strong play and will allow Kolb to continue his development.
"Michael Vick deserves the opportunity," to keep playing, given how well he has played, Reid said. "Right now, Michael Vick's the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles."
Reid called Vick an "ex superstar who now has regained his abilities."
"Michael Vick is playing out of his mind right now," Reid said, while praising Kolb as well. "What a lucky franchise and a lucky head coach I am to have two quarterbacks that I feel that way about. It's unbelievable."
UPDATED: Guard Todd Herremans wrote on his Twitter account, "I feel that whoever management decides gives us the best chance of winning should be our qb."
Vick clearly has won Reid's confidence with his play over the past six quarters.
"Very few quarterbacks can go out and play the way he's played the last couple weeks," Reid said. He said Vick was able to move when needed and make throws down the field, even under pressure. He cited Vick's ability on third down, in particular.
Reid said the decision had nothing to do with Kolb's recent concussion.
"Kevin's fine. This is not an injury related issue."
He said Kolb can still be a "championship level quarterback" but needs an "opportunity to mature."
Asked if this was the toughest decision he has had to make, Reid said "tough, but tough in a good way."
He painted the decision to bench Kolb as a way to help him grow, even after three years on the bench.
"I actually think this helps Kevin Kolb's maturation process," Reid said, adding that it will allow Kolb to continue to learn. "The future is bright for Kevin Kolb."
Still, it is hard to see how Kolb can get another chance after having an entire off season devoted to him, only for Reid to put him back on the bench after one half as a starter.
"If anyone believes that its good for Kevin Kolb's development to sit on the bench, I’ve got some real estate to sell you," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said on the air.
Vick's mobility, in particular, is something the team thinks they need to win now behind a shaky offensive line, according to a team source, though Reid denied this in his press conference.
The Eagles leadership was unified in its decision on the starter, according to a front office source.
The decision is a sharp change for Reid, who on Sunday said Kolb would start Sunday in Jacksonville. Asked then if it would be hard to go back to Kolb given the way Vick played against the Lions, Reid said no.Vick himself said Monday that Kolb would start.
Looking back on Monday's press conference with hindsight, though, it appeared that Reid left the door open that day when asked again about Kolb's status.
"We’ll just see how it all works out," Reid said Monday. "I'm not here to justify one over the other, I’m not doing that. I told you before, I’m very proud of Michael. Michael’s a great player. Michael was one of the all-time great ones in this league at one time and he’s on his way back. I think we were able to see that and I think that’s a great, great thing. Kevin’s future is, he hasn’t had the same experience here as Michael has, but his future is a bright one.”
Asked about getting Vick on the field, Reid said, "Yeah, Michael will be out there. We’ll see how it goes.”
The Eagles have invested three years in grooming Kolb and have touted his potential all off-season, even extending his contract. But Vick's dazzling play in six quarters against the Packers and Lions apparently were enough to change even Reid's mind.
FIRE ANDY REID NOW!!! Kevin, I would like to apologize for the way you have been treated. I wish you the best with another team and I hope you end up being the next Drew Brees.— iamkingdunlap- yyyyeeeeeeeaaa!— cmbfarrell
- Like most of Reid's decisions this year, this one makes no sense. If vick stalls out midway through the season, Kolb's just supposed to let bygones be bygones and jump right in? As Reid never lets the 2nd stringer practicve with the starters, Kolb loses another year. Then, vick will be gone after the season. Eagles aren't going to pay him. So, so they start all over again with Kolb, trying to rebuild his confidence or, most likely, they will have to try to draft another qb. Vick gave them an out if Kolb got hurt again. Now, they're screwed. Maybe Reid's doing it so Kolb won't get killed behind that great o-lone Reid put together,but sooner or later, they're going to get vick messed up as well. One good thing: if this blows up, maybe Lurie and Banner will have had enough of Reid.— mike l
This is the right move.
- The Eagles are grasping at straws. They trade the best QB in franchise history after his backup has a good game against the worst defense in the NFL, and an average game (What, four picks? Of course he threw for a lot of yards. His turnovers put them in a huge hole) against the Saints. Now, he throws Kolb to the wolves for a guy who looked good against the Lions and a defense that wasn't prepared to face a running QB. Fire them all. This is a joke.— hunsinator
- Zzzzzzzzz....I predict Halladay's first pitch tonight will be a strike.— Sam Crow
- Probably the best thing for CHEESEBURGER Andy to do since after this season with the player/owners strike coming up he will be outta here along with CAKE in the FACE "bang bang" Vick.— jwatson
- The story here isn't whether Kolb or Vick is the starter, but rather what a terrible coach, decision-maker, and PR person Reid is. Why would you announce less than 24 hours ago that Kolb would be the starter only to change? What was the point yesterday? Apparently you were not so sure....in that case, why not postpone your media announcement? Reid handled this situation poorly...just as poorly as he handled the concussion situations. I'm a primary Steelers fan and only a secondary Eagles fan, but from my perspective, I cannot stand how Reid handles his press duties. Rarely do you get an answetr out of him that actually means anything. Plus he is constantly clearing his throat when he speaks. Whether or not Vick succeeds doesn't really matter on this particular day. What matters is how much of an idiot Reid is for the way he handled this entire situation. His one-day turnabout was not fair to Kolb and was a classless move all-around.— MrPhillie
- Like most of Reid's decisions this year, this one makes no sense. If vick stalls out midway through the season, Kolb's just supposed to let bygones be bygones and jump right in? As Reid never lets the 2nd stringer practicve with the starters, Kolb loses another year. Then, vick will be gone after the season. Eagles aren't going to pay him. So, so they start all over again with Kolb, trying to rebuild his confidence or, most likely, they will have to try to draft another qb. Vick gave them an out if Kolb got hurt again. Now, they're screwed. Maybe Reid's doing it so Kolb won't get killed behind that great o-lone Reid put together,but sooner or later, they're going to get vick messed up as well. One good thing: if this blows up, maybe Lurie and Banner will have had enough of Reid.— mike l
- kolb for a 3rd round pick? you are on drugs no team will give the eagles any pick for kolb BECAUSE HE IS TRASH,NOT ANY GOOD. bill20 briandawkins20(probably the same moron)eskin(burger king queen)dummowitch,bowens,SHE-reidan,missanelli, and the other non-talented bigots, racist can all cry and jump off a bridge the hog killer kolb so-called era is OVER a grand total of 1/2 football game I called this months ago. vick is the qb if you can't deal with it tough.— only 9
- A -- It's hard to understand why anyone thinks this "ruins" the Eagles' future. What difference does it make if Kolb starts starting in Week 1, or Week 9 or the first game next year? This doesn't change the prognosis for him at all. The NFL is a win-now league. Let's face it...had Vick started against the Pack, the Eagles would be 2-0 right now and no one would be complaining. I, for one, could care less what's in store next year, the year after that, etc. I mean, look at the NFC East this year...clearly a down year for the division...if Vick can get steal them a couple of wins and gets them to 10-6, they could easily go back to the playoffs. Would you rather watch Kolb "develop" and have the Eagles go 5-11, or would you rather have Vick start and have a shot at a winning record or playoffs? We can watch Kolb "develop" next year, when McCoy and Maclin and Cooper and DJax and all the rest have another winning year under their belts. Geez, I don't hear Minnesota fans screaming that they're trying to win now with Favre with "promising" Tavaris Jackson "waiting in the wings." And, finally, why are fans so hung up on how much money they're paying Kolb? What difference does that make to you?— jmk1512
- So McNabb wore out his welcome by being good but not good enough. Trade him to help improve a division rival significantly so that you can move to the future. Give the future one half of football, then bail on him and effectively end his career as an Eagle so that you can... what, exactly? Maybe scrape into the playoffs with a dynamic, inaccurate QB who will never be good enough to win the Super Bowl? I thought that's why they traded McNabb. Now they want that same dynamic back? Sure, Kolb might never have been good enough to win a Super Bowl. But it would have been a good idea to give him some time to find out. We know Michael Vick isn't a Super Bowl caliber QB (certainly not with this team). So what was the point of all this? Put all your eggs in one basket, anoint a guy as the future of the franchise, and then bench him after less than a game of football--that really shows front office savvy.— digs0
- YES YES YES— SDphillyfan
- Surprising. Reid usually doesn't make moves like this but Vick is better prepared to play behind this shaky O-Line. Now, he just needs to do something about the 'D'.— PhillyTru
