Blog Archives

Vick Appearances Cancelled Amid Threats Of Violence

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Tim McManus

An upcoming Michael Vick appearance at an Atlanta Barnes and Noble has been cancelled following multiple threats of violence to Vick, his family, store employees and store property.

These threats have been reported to police.

Vick was set to sign copies of his book, “Michael Vick: Finally Free” at three Barnes and Noble locations: in Atlanta, Moorestown, N.J. and Exton, Pa. All have been cancelled because of safety concerns. The Atlanta appearance was scheduled for this Saturday.

There has been a recent uptick in what a source close to Vick calls “credible threats of violence” directed toward the Eagles quarterback and his family.

Tagged with: Michael Vick, Tim McManus
Posted in News

Cosell: Kelly’s Offense Needs Mobile QB

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Sheil Kapadia — No Comments ↓

The Chip Kelly quarterback debate rages on.

The question has remained the same for weeks now: Is Kelly tied to Michael Vick, or will Nick Foles get a legitimate shot at competing for the starting job?

Kelly and the Eagles re-structured Vick’s contract this offseason and decided to bring him back on a one-year deal. But the door for Foles remains at least slightly open after reports indicated the Eagles told Andy Reid and the Chiefs that they were not interested in dealing the second-year quarterback.

In a Yahoo Sports column, Greg Cosell of NFL Films weighed in with his opinion after studying Oregon’s offense.

Tagged with: Chip Kelly, Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Sheil Kapadia
Posted in What They're Saying

Twitter Mailbag: On Revis, Foles And the No. 4 Pick

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Tim McManus — No Comments ↓

Every Thursday we select a few of your Twitter questions and provide the long-form answers they deserve. For a chance to have your question published on Birds 24/7, send it to @Tim_McManus.

Tagged with: Chip Kelly, Darrelle Revis, Michael Vick
Posted in Twitter Mailbag

Chip Kelly: I Want To Coach Nick Foles

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Sheil Kapadia — No Comments ↓

Chip Kelly stepped up to the podium at Lucas Oil Stadium shortly after 2:30 Thursday afternoon.

“Is there a protocol?” he asked, unsure of whether he was supposed to make some kind of opening statement in front of a roomful of reporters.

Dressed in a black Eagles wind-breaker with sleeves that came down to his elbows and his (now trademark) jeans, Kelly was about four minutes in when he fielded his first Nick Foles question. He was asked whether he had received any trade offers for the second-year quarterback.

“I haven’t, no,” Kelly said, eliciting some laughter. “Me personally? No.”

“Have the Eagles? We haven’t talked about anything like that,” Kelly continued. “I want to coach Nick, and I want to get a chance to spend time with him and see him. I’ve said it before. I was a big fan of his. The way he plays the game, his toughness, his ability to throw the ball very accurately. So I want to get a chance to hopefully get him out on the practice field and see what Nick has.”

Tagged with: Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman, Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Sheil Kapadia
Posted in News

Key Questions Surround Potential Foles Trade

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Sheil Kapadia — No Comments ↓

While the NFL Combine is technically a draft event, it’s also another meeting of the different arms of the league: coaches, GMs, scouts, reporters and agents.

So you can expect to hear some some non-draft related buzz in the coming days. And that buzz could very well include Nick Foles‘ future.

We last talked about Foles when a USA Today report suggested that Andy Reid and the Chiefs would be interested in acquiring him. Soon thereafter, reports surfaced that the Eagles had no plans to trade Foles.

Ahh, the games teams play in February.

To get a firmer grasp on the potential of Foles being dealt, let’s answer some key questions.

Tagged with: Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman, Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Sheil Kapadia
Posted in Featured

Dixon: Eagles’ QB Job Is Up For Grabs

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Sheil Kapadia — No Comments ↓

It’s clear that one of Chip Kelly’s goals is to create a competitive environment where every player on the Eagles’ roster feels like he has a chance to win a spot and make an impact.

So it should come as no surprise that newly-signed quarterback Dennis Dixon believes he’s very much in the mix to be the Birds’ starting quarterback.

“From my understanding, the job is open,” Dixon said Monday afternoon during a conference call with reporters. “It’s going to be a very competitive nature around here. It’s pretty much open. May the best man win.”

Tagged with: Chip Kelly, Dennis Dixon, Michael Vick, Nick Foles
Posted in News

Vick: ‘I’m Not Going To Change’

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Tim McManus — No Comments ↓

Michael Vick was holding a blue tarp full of all his belongings during his exit interview back in late December, the one in which he strongly criticized some of his teammates for their lack of effort through a demoralizing 4-12 campaign. His locker room was cleaned out, his patience had been sucked dry, and you got the definite sense that he was ready to put the Eagles in his rear view mirror.

It felt like the end and sounded like the end, but it wasn’t. Instead he is returning to the Eagles for another season, and must play with a lot of the same teammates that he was so frustrated with just a few weeks ago. He addressed that dynamic during an interview with 97.5 The Fanatic Saturday.

Tagged with: Chip Kelly, Michael Vick
Posted in News

Vick To Tackle Yet Another Offensive System

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Tim McManus — No Comments ↓

Chip Kelly had done a little homework on the whole Michael Vick age thing, and was armed with a response when the subject was broached earlier this week.

“Number one, I think when you look at his age and study it for quarterbacks, he is actually younger than Tony Romo and about the same age as Eli Manning. I think sometimes when you look at him because he has been in the league for a while and he came out early from college. And you look at his age and say, boy, he’s aging. And it’s funny,” said Kelly. “So I think there is a lot more to Michael.”

Fair enough. But the question wasn’t about how Vick ranks by age compared to his contemporaries, but rather how Kelly planned on getting a soon-to-be 33-year old to change his spots.

Tagged with: Chip Kelly, Michael Vick, Pat Shurmur
Posted in News

Eagles Wake-Up Call: Dixon, Foles And Kelly

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Tim McManus — No Comments ↓

I fear we are reading a little too much into the Dennis Dixon signing.

We see that Chip Kelly opted to keep Michael Vick around for next season then went and signed one of his former Oregon quarterbacks, and jump to the conclusion that Nick Foles is being squeezed out of the picture and it’s read-option city from here on in.

Maybe not.

Tagged with: All-Michael Vick, Eagles Wake-Up Call, Michael Vick, Nick Foles
Posted in Wake-Up Call

Eagles, Dennis Dixon Agree To Deal

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Tim McManus — No Comments ↓

The Eagles signed former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon to a two-year deal Thursday. Dixon was most recently on the practice squad for the Super-Bowl champion Ravens.

The 28-year-old has been in the league since 2008 and has just three starts to his name — all with the Steelers. He has not thrown a pass in the bigs since 2010, and was unable to crack a 53-man roster this past season.

He is now reunited with his old college coach, however, and Kelly has worked magic on Dixon once already. The year before Kelly arrived at Oregon, Dixon threw 12 touchdowns to 14 interceptions and Oregon went 7-6. Kelly came aboard as the offensive coordinator for Dixon’s senior season. The quarterback tossed 20 touchdowns to four INTs that year, becoming a Heisman candidate as the Ducks finished 9-4.

Tagged with: Chip Kelly, Dennis Dixon, Michael Vick, Nick Foles
Posted in News