PHILADELPHIA — Even as Nick Foles became just the third quarterback in NFL history to open the season with 16 touchdown passes without an interception, Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly still would not name the second-year player his permanent starting quarterback.
Just as he did last week, Kelly said Foles would take the first-team reps at Tuesday’s practice because Michael Vick’s hamstring still won’t allow him to be anything more than a limited participant in practice. Beyond that, Kelly ain’t sayin’.
“I think what we’ve done for the last two weeks has worked for us pretty good, so we’re going to stick with that formula,” Kelly said Monday. “It’s got us 16 touchdowns, no interceptions and two wins. So why would we change?”
He doesn’t mean why would he replace Foles. He means why would he announce that Foles is the starter for the rest of the season.
Vick is not expected to be able to play Sunday against the Washington Redskins, and the Eagles have a bye the following week. After that, there is no telling.
It is fairly certain that, unless Foles has another stinker Sunday as he did in the game against the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 20, he will remain the starter even when Vick is good to go. However, Kelly isn’t going to deal with that until he has to.
“(This is) my approach in terms of how we’re doing things,” Kelly said. “Who’s up, who’s available? I’ve made this point before. I’ve had guys go down on Friday. So why does it really matter who I say is the starter for the next Sunday’s game?”