Decision-Time Nearing For Chip Kelly

The first question to Chip Kelly following Thursday’s preseason win over the Panthers:

Chip, after tonight, how do you tell Michael Vick he isn’t your starting quarterback?

“That’s a good question,” Kelly responded. “I thought Mike put another good game together. But we’re going to evaluate everything. I thought besides the throwaway that Nick [Foles] couldn’t get out of the end zone he did a nice job, too. I think we have two quarterbacks that can play in an NFL game.”

But only one can start. And after two preseason games, Vick has made the better case for why he should be the guy.

Kelly did not give any hints as to when he will name his starting quarterback. He has maintained that he will not make any rash decisions. But we’re now approaching the third preseason game, which is a dress rehearsal of sorts. Ideally, you want your leader in place.

“I think there comes a point where somebody has to start taking more reps,” said Vick, “but that is totally up to Coach Kelly and what he decides on.”

Vick is 13-of-15 for 199 yards with a touchdown and an interception so far this preseason. His lone blemish came on a Hail Mary pass in the waning moments of the first half against Carolina Thursday.

“He was 8-for-8 until he threw the Hail Mary at the end of the first half. So I thought Mike, again, two weeks in a row I thought he’s made very, very good decisions,” said Kelly. “I think he can put the ball on people, and obviously, he’s a weapon when he takes off and runs.”

 

Foles is 11-of-14 for 96 yards with a rushing touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble. He has led four drives thus far. Half have resulted in touchdowns, the other half turnovers. Kelly praised Foles for his play, and said that both quarterbacks are making this decision difficult for him.

“Going through this competition I learned a lot about myself and I have to keep pushing, working hard,” said Foles. “I have always said Mike and I have a great relationship. That has been a  great deal and I am always happy to see him do well out there.”

We are just over three weeks away from the regular-season opener against the Redskins and officially, the starting job remains open. As Kelly pointed out, the offense has looked good with both of signal-callers at the helm. It’s just looked better with Vick, who seems to have taken to his new coach.

“I’m having fun playing football and I fell in love with the game again and I am thankful for that,” said Vick. “You’ve got to play this game with intense passion and purpose  and I thank Coach Kelly for what he has done for me and that’s just giving me that confidence that I felt like I was losing at some point in my career. You just have to keep working hard and when you do that you get the results that you want. But can’t be satisfied with this performance tonight, it’s a long season and we have a lot of work to do and I understand that I can’t lose sight of that.”

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