Eagles coach Andy Reid would like to put a stop to the weekly guessing games about the identity of his starting quarterback.
Reid used Thursday’s press conference to put forth a more forceful message about his decision to stick with Michael Vick after plenty of speculation that he would hand the offense over to rookie Nick Foles. Reid said that he never thought about benching Vick during last Sunday’s game and that he’s not thinking about benching him at any point in the future.
“Michael is, was and will continue to be our quarterback. This is not a week-to-week thing,” Reid said, via Dave Weinberg of the Press of Atlantic City.
It’s the most emphatic statement yet about Vick’s job security, which suggests Reid badly wants to turn down the volume on the quarterback controversy that’s been bubbling around the team for the last few weeks. It’s a good effort, but it will only accomplish that if Vick is able to play better than he’s played thus far this season. Otherwise the calls and questions about a change will remain loud and Reid will have to continue to address a question he wishes would go away.
Reid’s words were strong on Thursday, but he wouldn’t be the first coach to reserve the right to change his mind in the indefinite future.