Foles: ‘I’m Not Here To Be a Backup’

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When asked if he felt like people were underestimating him, Nick Foles did not take the bait.

Instead, he sang the praises of Michael Vick, calling his teammate one of the most talented athletes to ever play the game.

“I have all the respect in the world for Mike,” Foles said. “I’m going to go out there every day and prove myself and work hard. I’m just going to approach it like I’ve done since I was a kid. I’m just going to go out there and demand the best of myself and push myself to get better.”

But this year’s different than last. Foles doesn’t have to take a back seat to Vick or anyone else. He’s no longer a rookie trying to learn the ropes and adjust to the NFL game. He actually has a legitimate chance to win the starting job if he outperforms his peers in the next seven weeks.

“I have all the confidence in the world in my ability,” Foles said. “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.”

Asked if he felt like he was in the lead for the starting job after the spring, Foles said, “No, I feel like we’re still competing and there is no lead. There’s never a lead.

“We’ve got to go out there… that was the spring, that was an opportunity for the team to get better. And I feel like I had a solid spring. There’s a lot of stuff I need to correct throughout the spring. I looked at it as a work in progress. This camp is another opportunity to get better and improve on the things I didn’t think I did well in the last camp and to get even better at the things I thought I did do well. So there is no lead. Every day… one guy’s going to have a good day, the other guy’s going to have a mediocre day, something like that.”

NO ISSUE WITH DESEAN

DeSean Jackson told a national audience last week that he thought Vick would end up winning the starting job.

Foles, never one to ruffle feathers, said he had no issue with the wide receiver’s comments.

“No, it doesn’t bother me. I love DeSean,” Foles said. “I don’t worry about it. There is nothing to worry about. I just go out there and play. I’m going to play to the best of my ability and I know DeSean, no matter what, is going to play his butt off for whoever the quarterback is. And it’s as simple as that.”

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.

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