Philadelphia Eagles News: Chip Kelly Lays Out Vision For Starting Quarterback
By Josh Sanchez
The Philadelphia Eagles need to sort out their quarterback position, but Chip Kelly has given no hints as to what he wants in his starting quarterback in the NFL. Well, that can all change now. Kelly has been discussing his vision for the quarterback position and the quotes he gave do not seem like good news for Michael Vick.
Vick has been sacked 85 times in his last 36 starts. He tries to extend plays and looks to run, but he is often brought down behind the line of scrimmage.
That won’t fly with Kelly running the show.
From Kelly’s comments, he made it clear that he is looking for a quarterback that will be able to get the ball quickly and not take sacks. That certainly isn’t Vick.
“In our attitude, every sack is the quarterback’s fault,” said Kelly, per Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Daily News. “It’s not a sack if the quarterback throws the ball away. Nobody ever lost a game on an incomplete pass. Throw the ball away, and give us another opportunity to make a first down.
“The job of a quarterback is simple. He has to ‘let it happen’, and not ‘make it happen.’ We want to move forward. … The cardinal sin at our place is the quarterback sack. We want the ball out of the quarterback’s hands in 1.5 seconds. That does not mean holding the ball until 2.5, waiting for someone to get open.”
One quick note for Kelly: Nobody in the NFL had an average throwing time of less than 2.4 seconds last season, so the 1.5 second mark just isn’t realistic.
While the time of Kelly’s quarterback’s decisions will have to adjust, there is no doubt that Vick is not the type of quarterback the former Oregon coach is looking for. Vick does have the speed and athleticism to fit in Kelly’s scheme, but he doesn’t have the quick decision making ability that Kelly is looking for.
All signs point to Vick, who is due to make a $15.5 million base salary, looking for a new home this offseason.