Gregg Rosenthal noted last week that Michael Vick had taken the early lead in his battle with Nick Foles for the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback job under new coach Chip Kelly.
With a few more practices in the books, the veteran is starting to pull away. Vick has been "tremendous," according to Reuben Frank of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, pulling away from Foles while rookie Matt Barkley has been relegated to third- and fourth-team snaps.
While it's premature to declare the fight in Vick's favor, it's been our expectation all along that he would win decisively. Foles "hasn't been bad at all," per Frank, but he's simply not as talented as Vick or as natural of a fit in Kelly's offense.
According to "Football Outsiders Almanac 2013," only six rookie quarterbacks since the 1970 merger had a lower touchdown rate than Foles produced in 265 pass attempts last season. He completed just 13-of-31 red-zone passes, gaining a total of 54 net yards.
The data we have on Foles suggests he's a checkdown machine, while Vick challenges defenses down the field and in the red zone when he gets protection from his offensive line. The next step is to increase Vick's reps at Foles' expense as the Eagles gear up for preseason games.
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