Matt Barkley praised by Chip Kelly
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley (2) before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
It looks like Matt Barkley will be the Philadelphia Eagles No. 2 QB on the depth chart this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, because starter Michael Vick is unlikely to play this week after injuring his hamstring against the New York Giants. Despite practicing on a limited basis yesterday, Vick is still expected to be absent, so Nick Foles looks set to get the start. He played well against an awful Giants secondary last week after Vick went down, but it will be much tougher for him to have the same kind of success against the Bucs defense.
We haven’t heard much of anything about Barkley for a while, but the reps as the No. 2 QB in practice should help him with Vick limited. Being the No. 2 QB due to an injury doesn’t mean much, but it does mean that Barkley would be next in line if something were to happen to Foles against Tampa (assuming Vick doesn’t play).
It’s great to hear that Chip Kelly is high on the things Barkley has done, and there is a chance of Barkley being the Eagles quarterback of the future once Vick is gone. Here’s what Kelly said, via CSN Philly’s John Gonzalez, “I think Matt’s done a nice job. It’s hard when you have three quarterbacks and getting reps and things like that. “Matt does a really good job on the scout squad. I know [quarterbacks coach] Billy [Lazor] takes those guys individually every day during one of our team periods, whether it’s Nick or Matt, and takes them to a throwing progression. We’ve worked Matt out every day before every Sunday before games. I’ve seen Matt improve, and I think the one thing about Matt is he loves football. So he’s around here all the time. He studies all the time. Obviously, he’s not going to have as many reps as you would feel really comfortable in with a guy getting thrown into that situation. [He’s] not going to have the reps that Nick had, but I feel comfortable in what Matt can do as a quarterback.”
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