Appearing on Sportsradio 610 WIP, Eagles president Joe Banner addressed his thoughts on recent developments regarding the two spotlight players at the quarterback position for the Eagles. First, Banner explained the organization's decision to place the exclusive franchise tag on Michael Vick as opposed to the non-exclusive franchise tag. The difference between the two tags is that the exclusive tag does not allow the player to negotiate any kind of deal with another team. If the non-exclusive tag is given, the player in question is free to seek offers elsewhere and give the tagging team a chance to match the offer. If said team doesn't match the offer, they receive two first-round pick in exchange.
"I think our goal is to win a Super Bowl as soon as possible, not down the road," Banner said. "We think Michael gives us a great chance to do that next year and maybe beyond, but at least focusing on the immediate short-term future, and it's by far the most important position on the field. So why are we going to take any risks with this? We don't even want to have to deal with some offer that could be crazy. We don't want to deal with some future draft picks. We want to play this year and win the Super Bowl with a guy that we think can make a very big difference in doing that."
Meanwhile, Vick's backup Kevin Kolb has recently expressed his desire to get a chance to start, whether it be in Philadelphia or elsewhere. Banner was asked about his reaction to Kolb's comments.
"I have nothing but incredible admiration for how Kevin Kolb has handled a really difficult situation," Banner said. "He hasn't been able to play for four years. He's totally convinced, and I personally agree as does everybody in the organization, that he's going to be a very successful player in this league. He's a very competitive guy, so you can imagine what it's been like for four years to not have the opportunity to learn and prove that. I see (his comments) as the reflection of a guy who's been incredibly patient and is dying to get out there and have the fun and the excitement and take on the challenge of showing that he can play at this level. I thought he said it in a very constructive way, he didn't bash the organization or anything like that, he just voiced his feelings in a way that I thought was perfectly appropriate and reasonable."
-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 5:56 p.m., February 16
