Michael Vick may be the favorite to win the Eagles’ quarterback competition, but Nick Foles and Matt Barkley don’t see themselves as second- or third-stringers.
Foles told reporters in Philadelphia today that he thinks he’s going to be the starter this season.
“I’m not here to be a backup,” Foles said, via PhillyMag.com. “I’m here to be the guy. I don’t think we play this game to sit on the bench. We play it to play, and I’m here to play.”
Barkley, meanwhile, said he’s approaching camp with the idea that he has a chance to emerge as the starter when the preseason is over.
“Your mindset has to be that you’re in the race to start,” Barkley said, via CSNPhilly.com. “You’ve got to have that mindset. I’m in a competition regardless of what everyone else is saying. You just have to practice that way, of always trying to compete. I couldn’t care less about what people are talking about. I don’t listen to that. . . . I feel like I’m part of that race, whether people are saying that or not.”
Ultimately, only one person’s opinion matters in the Eagles’ quarterback competition. That person is new head coach Chip Kelly, and Kelly has insisted since the day he got the job that everyone on the team is competing for the starting job. So Foles and Barkley are right that they can beat out Vick. It remains to be seen whether they will beat out Vick.