DeSean: I Think Vick Will Win the Job

DeSean Jackson didn’t want to answer at first, but ultimately he decided to offer his prediction when asked who he thinks the Eagles’ starting quarterback will be.

“In my opinion, honestly, I don’t want to be put on the spot, I know y’all gonna do me like that, but Michael Vick’s got a lot of confidence in himself. He’s been there, going on 12 years in the NFL, I think he’ll get the job,” Jackson said during an ESPN interview. “Nick Foles is a great, great talent coming in from Arizona, actually a Pac-12 guy. He has the hype, he has the skills as well too. Going into camp, I think Michael Vick will probably be the starter, but we still don’t know. I think Chip Kelly’s gonna keep everybody honest and keep everybody open.”

Jackson has said previously that it’ll help receivers build chemistry with the quarterback if a starter is named sooner rather than later. But, as mentioned in this space yesterday, the likelihood is that Jackson, Vick, Foles and everyone else will be waiting for a starter to be declared until deep into the preseason.

As for why he thinks Vick can be successful, Jackson indicated that built-in running options in the offense will help the veteran quarterback.

“From Day One, when Michael Vick actually came in… they tried to switch his playing skills up a little bit, try to [have him] sit back and just be a pocket passer,” Jackson said. “First off, Michael Vick is a quarterback that uses his legs first and foremost. When things break down, that’s what he’s got to depend on. He can’t sit back there and just take hits.

“To try to get a Michael Vick to stay in the pocket when things kind of shut down, that’s hard to do, and expect him to just pass the ball, pass the ball and not use his legs. So as long as he’s still able to use his legs and do things like that, I think he’ll be alright.”

Of course, having the quarterback run using the read option is different than having him run as a freelancer on called pass plays. Either way, Jackson acknowledged the importance of Vick staying healthy if he’s going to bounce back.

“Running is hard for a quarterback,” Jackson said. “You can see what happened to RGIII, taking those hits, it’s a brutal game. The NFL is no joke, so as long as you can get down and slide, do things like that… which I encourage Michael Vick to do, get down bro, we need you, we need you to learn how to slide man…”

Jackson and the rest of the veterans report to camp next Thursday. The first full-squad practice is a week from Friday.

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One more piece of news you might have missed from this afternoon: Jason Peters will get roughly $2 million from his lawsuit against Roll-A-Bout, the product he was using when he re-injured his Achilles last offseason. From the Associated Press:

Lawyer Michael Trunk says Peters had to endure a second operation because of the setback. He missed the entire season. Trunk says the product was sold for patients weighing up to 500 pounds, while Peters was listed at 340.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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