Vick Wants A Starter Named Before Camp

Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com wrote an article on Thursday night about Michael Vick’s thoughts on the Eagles quarterback competition. Vick wants a starter to be named before training camp begins.

“Hopefully, Chip makes a decision before training camp and we won’t have to answer that question,” Vick told CSNPhilly.com, “so we can go out there as quarterbacks and just focus on this season and not answer questions about competition every day.”

Per Mosher: “A few moments later, Vick was approached again to make sure he understood that his comments were on the record. He responded by asking the reporter to print his request that Kelly settle on a starter before camp.”

Here’s the thing, Michael. Quarterback competitions aren’t decided in May. They aren’t decided in shorts. They’re decided during training camp and the preseason, not before. Can anyone recall the last time a team with a quarterback controversy settled on a starter before the second or third preseason game?

And by the way, who is Michael Vick to be making demands that Chip Kelly commit to a starter before training camp?

Vick was very fortunate that Kelly went out on a limb and stuck his neck out by bringing him back after the way he’s played in the last two seasons. Before the team’s surprising decision to bring Vick back, it was widely assumed around the league that he had taken his last snap in midnight green. But Kelly stuck his neck out to give Vick another chance, and now Vick rewards him by complaining to the media about the quarterback competition before camp even begins?

Ungrateful much? How about showing a little class and respect for the way that the new head coach (who not only did Vick a favor by bringing him back, but also defended him by shifting blame to the offensive line in a news conference several months ago) wants to set his depth chart? It’s understandable that a veteran like Vick wouldn’t like the fact that he’s got to prove himself over a couple young unknown mid-round draft picks, but given the situation that he supposedly knowingly signed on for, there’s no justifiable reason for him to be making demands that a starter be named before camp.

According to Kelly and Howie Roseman back in February, Vick understood that this was to be an open competition and that his starting position wasn’t guaranteed. Clearly he never understood that, or at the very least didn’t believe it. Now that OTA’s have begun and reality has set in that he is in fact going to have to beat out the other quarterbacks on the roster, Vick suddenly is bothered by it?

Why can’t this guy just shut up and play football? Vick doesn’t do himself any favors anytime he opens his mouth. He creates stories like this and makes himself look more ridiculous every time. Whether it’s declaring the Eagles a dynasty in the making, declaring that Chip Kelly has solved his fumbling problem in under 10 minutes, or demanding that the team name a starter before training camp, Vick just continues to bring a lot of negativity on himself.

I don’t understand why Vick is allowing himself to become so upset with the quarterback competition and distracted by media questions. Chip Kelly wants Michael Vick to be his quarterback. Kelly is in love with his physical ability, and he still believes that Vick has something to offer this team. That’s why he made the unpopular move to bring him back, and that’s why the organization is still paying him a considerable amount of money.

This is Vick’s job to lose, and even though he’s the most physically talented of any of the quarterbacks on the roster, his attitude isn’t doing anything to help his cause. That’s not to say that it could negatively impact his chances of winning the job, but you can bet that Chip Kelly and his staff want to see much more professionalism and true leadership from their potential starting quarterback than this.

All that Vick needs to (and should) say right now is something along the lines of “Each of us wants to be the starter, we understand its a competition, and all I’m going to do is put out my best everyday to win the job and help this football team win games whether I’m the starter or not.”

It’s that simple. If he says something like that, then there is no story. The team goes about their business, and maybe the writers become impressed with the way Vick carries himself through the competition.

But instead, Vick chose to go controversial. Not only did the veteran tell reporters that he wanted a starter named, but he went out of his way to tell them to print his request. He went out and attempted to undermine what the coaches are trying to accomplish by calling for them to make a decision before camp. That’s not what a leader does. That’s what a guy who is insecure and unhappy with his position on the team does. He’s not focused on the team and helping them win right now. He’s worried about himself. A guy with as much pride as Vick isn’t going to take it well if he loses his job to either Nick Foles or Matt Barkley. He’s been thinking about it everyday since OTA’s begun, and it’s going to continue to distract him until the competition ends.

Denny Basens is the editor of GCobb.com. Email him at dbasens@ycp.edu