John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Today, Aug. 9, the Philadelphia Eagles‘ preseason kicks off against the New England Patriots. Since head coach Chip Kelly played it light in practices, this will be the first day the birds get to fly across the field and hit.
To this fan, it is surprising how excited I am for a preseason game, but I am. There is reason to be pumped up. The summer has been drenched in gray skies, sheets of rain and mediocre Philadelphia Phillies play. Also, the Philadelphia 76′ers have nothing in their roster for fans to lift their head about.
But football is back in the Delaware Valley. We are hours away from the first preseason game at Lincoln Financial Stadium. This is a fresh team with a new coach, and a new system. If it collapses, it still is a refreshing sight, at least for the first few games. However, what makes it exciting is the quarterback story lines behind the two teams.
The Eagles and Patriots are both in the process of rebuilding. Kelly announced that fans should not read too much into Michael Vick starting as quarterback. He will play a few snaps and then trade off with Nick Foles. For Vick, it will be to see if he doesn’t have butter on his fingers and let the ball squirt away from him. For Foles, it is to see if his long, lanky frame can keep up with the hand signals and fast-paced directions from the sidelines.
This is a test run for the stoic, stone-faced Bill Belichick, as well. Sure, Tom Brady is secure, but he will only play a few snaps. The next quarterbacks in line against the Eagles’ defense will be Ryan Mallett and Tim Tebow. It will be interesting to see how Belichick uses Tebow, and if our linebacking corps can stuff any surprises he dreams up.
So, we have two men in the quarterback position that have been given second chances, Tebow and Vick. We have Mallett and Foles, who have to be tested under offenses that went through crucial changes this past year. And we have two teams that get to finally hit each other after staring at one another for a week in practice. Good or bad, it is going to be exciting tonight.
