Vick or Foles? Let the debate begin

It will be the No. 1 question asked in these parts this week.

Michael Vick or Nick Foles?

Better get used to it.

Chip Kelly wanted no parts of a 'quarterback controversy' after Nick Foles led the Eagles past Tampa Bay yesterday with a solid performance in the Birds' 31-20 victory.

Foles went 22 for 31 for 296 yards with no turnovers. He hooks up with DeSean Jackson twice for TD passes, along one for Bradley Cooper.

All of this went down with Vick standing on the sidelines, in uniform but out of action with a strained hamstring suffered in last week's win over the Giants.

Next on the schedule is a date with the Cowboys, who remain tied atop the NFC Least with the Birds at 3-3 after they dispatched the Redskins in the Sunday night game.

So brace yourself for a long week of Vick vs. Foles.

I don't think it makes much difference.

I'm more interested in another matchup that promises to be pretty ugly.

That would be Cowboys' QB Tony Romo vs. the Eagles' defense.

This one could get ugly, and I don't think whoever is quarterbacking the Birds will make much of a difference.

The Eagles are completely unable to mount any kind of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. That is the one element that can rattle Romo.

Without that, Romo will be free to stand back there and pick the Eagles struggling secondary apart. That's pretty much exactly what I think is going to happen next Sunday at the Linc unless Billy Davis can come up with some kind of scheme that allows the Eagles to rattle Romo.

Go ahead, have the Foles vs. Vick debate.

Personally, I think Vick likely will start the game, but not finish it. Hamstrings are touchy things. Practice is one thing, but when Vick makes one of those patented bolts from the pocket - which he won't do all week - is when that hamstring is likely to act up again.

The fear that the Eagles offense would be radically different with Foles at QB as opposed to Vick proved to be unfounded. Foles was able to run some of the read-option, giving the Bucs a healthy dose of LeSean McCoy, who rushed 25 times for 116 yards. Foles even got in on the act, taking a quarterback draw to finish off the Birds' first drive and stampeding six yards into the end zone.

You can talk Vick vs. Foles all you want.

I just don't think that's the side of the ball that is really going to be the problem vs. the Cowboys. R

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