Eagles Wake-Up Call: Vick Says Chip Is Slowing It Down

Believe it or not, the players have been going a little too fast for Chip Kelly’s liking. At least for right now.

“It was very difficult for us as a team at first because we just felt like we had to do everything so fast,” Michael Vick told Fox 29. “And it took for Chip to call us into the auditorium in a team meeting to say, ‘Listen, everybody relax and slow down.’

“You have to slow it down if you aren’t doing it right. You can’t be doing it at a fast pace and doing it wrong. Then it’s time to slow down and teach.”

The last couple practices the media has had access to have seemed a bit toned down compared to what we saw initially. The tempo has dropped a notch or two; same can be said for the music levels. Not coincidentally, this comes at a time when Kelly is going heavy on the installs. The action has been sloppy at times.

“We’re really starting to pile on now,” said Kelly. “And especially for some of the these young guys that piling on process…I think you can hit a wall a little bit, but they’ve got to fight their way through it.”

Some other highlights from the Vick interview:

Quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor says that he values accuracy and decision-making above all else. Vick advocated for himself in both respects.

“Sometimes we all put ourselves in a position where we wish we could have a certain pass back or two or three throws a game back that we can’t do over. My completion percentage has been around 60 percent for the last three years, so I think I’m doing something right. Can I get better? Yes. Can Chip Kelly help me get there? Yes.”

On Vick’s new way of protecting the football following Kelly’s instructions:

“As crazy as it may sound, I never carried the football correctly. And that’s partly my fault because my coaches always got everybody in a circle and did a four-points-of-pressure drill, and I never paid attention, thought I was doing it right. Now I know how to hold it. It feels comfortable, it’s tight, so I’m just trying to challenge myself each and every day and that’s what I’m doing.”

On getting asked about starting job:

“Yeah, it annoys me. It’s very annoying. But you know what? Right now I’m focusing on being the best person, the best quarterback on the field I can be. And that’s going to take being resilient after throwing an incomplete pass, being resilient when things aren’t going so well. How can you come back from it?

WHAT YOU MISSED

DeSean Jackson parts with agent Drew Rosenhaus.

The coaches are experimenting with Lane Johnson a bit. Sheil has the details.

Vinny Curry and Fletcher Cox discuss their new roles on defense.

In case you missed it, check out Kapadia’s running diary from Friday’s practice. Always a good read.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Nick Menta caught up with Bennie Logan. The defensive lineman says that the rookies have been received warmly.

He hasn’t been here all that long, but to hear Logan tell it, last year’s fragmented locker room that helped lead to the ouster of head coach Andy Reid seems to have tightened up following the regime change.

“Just to be with the Eagles’ organization is a great honor,” he said. “The organization is starting to rebuild itself. My first day here, a lot of guys were a little nervous, wondering how it was going to be in the locker room, but the veterans were friendly.

“There’s a family bond here, that’s what we sensed as rookies. You could really sense the family bond. The older guys took us under their wing like little brothers and showed us how to do things around here.”

Donovan McNabb is a fan of RGIII, but doesn’t agree with everything he’s doing and wants to have a sit-down with him. From the Washington Post.

“It’s too much right now; it’s just too much,” McNabb said, speaking from his home in Arizona. “I get some of things he’s doing to draw attention to himself: the Adidas commercials, going out and enjoying the life of a young, famous NFL quarterback. I understand RG has a lot of stuff going on.

“But if you’re coming off ACL surgery, you don’t need to be having a press conference at OTAs. Every week? Really? It becomes a circus, a sideshow. It takes away from the focus of what those sessions are supposed to be about: the team.”

“One thing Andy Reid did is he never let the injured guys become the story if they were off to the side at practice,” McNabb added, referring to the former Eagles coach. “He thought it took away from the guys who were grinding and practicing every day.

“So when I look up on TV and see him up there talking all the time about how great he’s doing — or doing jumping jacks or someone else talking about his supernatural healing powers — I wonder to myself: Is this about selling tickets to the fans or what?

COMING UP

Mandatory minicamp runs Tuesday-Thursday. Will be a busy week.