Nick Foles enters training camp with a legitimate opportunity to become the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback.
A new coach means an absence of loyalties to prior difference-makers on the team. Michael Vick -- Foles' primary challenger for the job -- cannot lean on Andy Reid's fuzzy memories of Vick's 2010 comeback season. Vick might stand as a slight favorite to win the job, but Foles has every right to be optimistic about his chances.
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"I have all the confidence in the world in my ability," Foles said Monday, according to Phillymag.com. "But I still respect the players around me and I know what they're capable of doing. But at the end of the day, I'm not here to be a backup. I'm here to be the guy. I don't think we play this game to sit on the bench. We play it to play, and I'm here to play."
Foles was asked if he believed he was in the lead in Philly's quarterback derby.
"No, I feel like we're still competing and there is no lead," he said. "There's never a lead."
That's not necessarily true. As training camp gets going, the quarterback who works more with the first team will give us a better idea whom Kelly might be leaning toward. Preseason performance will create distance as well.
But Foles' larger point is valid: He enters training camp in a wide-open competition. If he performs better than Vick and Matt Barkley, the job likely will be his.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
