There is a quarterback competition brewing in Philadelphia but it may end up all being an invention of the media. After a terrible 2012 campaign saw Micheal Vick supplanted by Nick Foles and with the addition of Chip Kelly as the new head coach, the belief heading into Eagles camp was that Michael Vick would be fighting for his job. But according to Philadelphia Inquirer beat reporter Jeff McLane, Vick took first snaps at OTA’s on Monday and if you pay attention to what’s unfolding you’ll see that Vick is likely going to be the quarterback Week 1.
Michael Vick was the QB.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) May 13, 2013
Michael Vick still has the most zip on his passes.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) May 13, 2013
Unless he suffers some kind of epic setback — which to be fair isn’t out of the question– it’s looking like rather than having to fight for his job, the starting gig in Philly is Vick’s to lose. But while he’s the clear frontrunner to grab the starting job Week 1, there are a million branching questions and annotations to that assessment.
For starters, if Vick wins the starting job who long will the honeymoon last? Vick started last season but lost the job after he helped sink the Eagles season and contribute to Andy Reid losing his job as head coach. And even though he’s leading the pack now, based on his performance over the last two seasons nothing is certain or promised with Vick and consistency is something he’s struggled with.
So while Vick is being penciled in as the starter and the competition looks to be overblown, there’s not a whole lot of starting jobs as shaky as Vick’s at the moment and most quarterback controversies don’t have the talent in terms of competition that Vick is dealing with.