Philadelphia Eagles Rookie QB Matt Barkley, Not Nick Foles, is Starting QB Michael Vick’s True Competition


Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The first whiff of the 2013 NFL Season has begun to circulate throughout nostrils nation-wide, as training camps have started kicking off across the league at last.

The Philadelphia Eagles are certainly pleasing all of their fans throughout the country with one of the most attractive quarterback battles entering into training camp. Veteran speedster QB Michael Vick is the clear-cut favorite for the starting spot, but new Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has made it clear that he will give QBs Matt Barkley and Nick Foles a fair chance at overtaking Vick.

Eagles’ fans were far too high on Foles after the Eagles settled on the former Arizona Wildcats QB in the third round of last year’s 2012 NFL Draft. But after a miserable rookie season, where he showed very little promise throughout his six starts for the Eagles, I personally have no faith in Foles as a starter.

Kelly and his staff obviously had some serious concerns regarding Foles as well, considering they traded up in the 2013 NFL Draft to nab the highly-publicized Barkley.

In my eyes, if Kelly does not believe that Vick is the best choice to lead the Eagles, then he needs to give Barkley the keys to his coveted, high-octane spread-offense. It would be foolish for Kelly to choose Foles as the starter after his showing last season, and remember, Foles is former Eagles head coach Andy Reid’s selection, not Kelly’s.

And while Barkley is not a prototypical mobile QB, which is ideal for Kelly’s system, he has certainly shown more escapability and finesse in his career than Foles ever has.

I am almost completely certain that Kelly will make the right choice and stay with Vick as his starter, but if he does not have faith in the vet, he needs to choose Barkley, not Foles, as the Eagles’ lead signal-caller.

 

Follow Joe on Twitter @EaglesRant, or here on Google+, for all Philadelphia Eagles/NFL insight. Click here to view Joe’s 200+ article portfolio for Rant Sports.



Sign Up
for the

We Recommend

Partner with USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties