Chip Must Go All-In With QB Decision

On July 29, the Philadelphia Eagles officially and ceremoniously moved past the Donovan McNabb era (with one more related event to go). Though he was traded away from the team more than three seasons ago, never to wear the Eagle green again, there’s still been a bit of a hangover as opposed to a new quarterback era commencing. That’s because the “right” player has yet to be given the starting job since his departure. Make no mistake; this team was not handed to Michael Vick upon McNabb’s Easter Day trade. This was to be Kevin Kolb’s team at that point, a decision that had a lot to do with the amount of money that former head coach Andy Reid and former president Joe Banner thought he would eventually be worth and ultimately led to the beginning of the end of both men among the Eagles’ brass. Now it’s new head coach Chip Kelly’s turn to figure out who is best suited to lead his read option offense. His decision will go a long way to not only determining how successful he and the team are this season, but how long his period of grace will last in Philly — meaning, how much of a pardon, how much room for failure, he gets as he attempts to turn this franchise around. Yes, it is the Kelly era now, not anybody else’s.

Chip Kelly is going to be defined in large part by his first starting QB. Credit: Paige Ozaroski

In reality, Reid didn’t get much time to fail. Despite being the franchise’s all-time winningest coach, he was fired after his single worst season, last season, when the culmination of his one egregious QB decision ultimately came to a head. Despite owning just two losing campaigns surrounded by five trips to the NFC championship, a Super Bowl appearance and six NFC East division titles from 1999-2011 after turning around a 3-13 squad as a first-time head coach; poof, just like that it was over for him. Yes, there had been a downward spiral present that was at least two years in the making and in large part ushered in by a poor decision in regards to his quarterback, but the room for failure was, um, thin.

Sure, Vick seemingly bailed Reid out during a seven-game stretch following a concussion injury/benching of Kolb after his first game as the starter — a season-opening embarrassment of a loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in 2010 — a game that Vick almost rallied the Birds to win in a performance that earned him the starting role immediately, despite Kolb being cleared by doctors to play the following week. That was before reality set back in and Vick proved, at least statistically, to be an average-at-best NFL quarterback with the ability to break a game open just as quickly as he could throw or fumble one away. His penchant to turn the ball over (30 interceptions and 32 fumbles as an Eagle) since performing at an MVP-like rate and leading the Birds to a 5-2 record while amassing 15 total touchdowns versus zero interceptions through the first half of 2010 has been undeniable. Then, there’s the nine games he’s missed over the past two years due to a concussion and rib injuries. Today, nearly three years since he was given the job, Vick presumably remains the odds-on favorite to retain the role despite a “fresh start” that a new head coach brings in theory. And we can only wonder whether or not he’s the favorite to start for football-related reasons or due to his restructured contract, which is incentive-laden but nonetheless a consideration Kelly must weigh. The bottom line: Reid’s offense clearly was not meant to be run by Vick.

Can Vick run Kelly’s read option system? Maybe. His speed, athleticism and agility would all point to a resounding “yes.” But his lack of durability and what has become a sheer habit of turning the ball over, mostly due to making ill-advised decisions on the fly, would point to a deafening “no.” And, sorry, but the dreadful, injury-maligned offensive line of 2012 does not provide him a valuable excuse. For his career, he’s now thrown 82 INTs and been pegged for 84 fumbles. He’s had only three seasons in which he hasn’t combined for fewer than double-digit turnovers (his rookie year [two starts], 2003 [four starts] and 2009 [one start]. Be that as it may, there’s little evidence to construct an open endorsement for Nick Foles, the de facto backup as far as general perception goes, although the sandy depth chart is none too revealing right now, supposedly. Foles was inspiring at times as a rookie, completing more than 60 percent of his passes and averaging close to 250 yards through the air per game overall, but with 13 total turnovers he also raised worries, and certainly didn’t seem to have the “it” factor that any truly successful QB in this league must possess. Rookies can get away with that, but second-year players who are coming off seven starts the year prior … not so much. While it’s easier to lend Foles the excuse that the state of the O-line contributed to some of his struggles as a rookie, the fact remains the team went just 1-5 with him under center, though the one win was secured via a brilliant pass he made on a late game-winning drive in the fourth quarter at Tampa Bay in a game that saw him throw for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure the win. Still, there’s no way to justify that he simply should start over Vick.

Then again, how many second chances does Vick deserve? That’s the conundrum for Kelly, who’s already showed a bit of his hand in what he really thinks about Vick’s and Foles’ long-term prospects with the drafting of Southern Cal star Matt Barkley, albeit in the fourth round. Barkley hasn’t made a compelling case for himself to seriously challenge for the starting gig through the first few weeks of training camp by just about all accounts, however. Then there’s the patented short-term solution for a head coach who’s new to a team in that Kelly brought with him fellow former Oregon Duck Dennis Dixon. Here’s an official hat in the ring for the sixth-year veteran backup who has amassed a total of three career starts to date. That is, should Kelly objectively believe that he’s best suited to run his system. Because that’s the only guarantee anyone and everyone needs in this town right now — that the QB selected will be selected for the right reason.