According to Matt Barkley, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback competition is between three players, not two. While most assume Michael Vick and Nick Foles are competing for the Week 1 starting job, but Barkley insists that he is not out of the mix "until one's named."
Chip Kelly has a habit of waiting until the absolute last minute to name a starting quarterback, but when he does he normally sticks with them the entire year. With about three weeks remaining until the actual season begins, Kelly is still holding out, giving rookie quarterback Barkley a belief that he still has a shot.
"I don't want to say I'm more so watching as opposed to playing in it," Barkley said, via CSNPhilly.com. "I'll still say that until one's named. I'm not evaluating it like you guys are. I'm trying to play the best I can."
No one is playing for a backup job. Every player on the Eagles team wants to be starter, no matter how far off their chances seem. It would be a shock if Barkley was somehow named the starter in Philly. The former Southern California quarterback has not spent that much time with the first-team offense during training camp. Kelly has had Vick and Foles take equal reps.
Numbers alone are not working in his favor either. In the team's two preseason games, Barkley has completed 53 percent of his passes. Vick has completed 83 percent while Foles has completed 79 percent of his passes. That puts Barkley at third-string where most assumed he would be anyways.
"You try to complete every ball, and every time that's not the case," Barkley said. "You want that to be high, but it's kind of hard to look at numbers right now. Just looking at the circumstances that you're put in and whatnot, you want that number to be higher, but I try to look at concepts."
Of course Barkley wants a chance at playing with the stars of the team. Some of his low numbers could easily be a result of playing with the lower members of the Eagles' roster. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur certainly trusts Barkley to make great decisions, but is more focused on his overall development.
"I've said it before, we've seen him do tremendous things in college, and he'll pull the trigger. He gets rid of the ball quickly, which is a tremendous attribute for a quarterback, and he's like everybody else. He's learning the offense and getting comfortable with the plays we call, and I think you'll only see him get better and better," Shurmur said.
At this point, Barkley's best chance at seeing the field as a starter in 2013 is by way of injury. He is more of a pocket passer and will have to work on mobility to run Kelly's offense. Barkley might not get the start this year, but he is certainly a quarterback to watch out for in the future.
