Leonard Weaver Thinks The Eagles Need To Pick A QB, Questions Team Unity
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Leonard Weaver was not a member of the Philadelphia Eagles for long, but after retiring an Eagle, he's made it clear he wants to be part of the fabric of the team and the Philadelphia media moving forward. So when Weaver took to Twitter on Monday to question the vibe of the locker room, people took note.
"There is a lot of speculation about players being disgruntled, and it does not look promising," Weaver tweeted on Monday. "As much as I want to cheer for Chip Kelly and the squad, I'm a bit worried about the unity of the team. Because at the end of the day, if the players do not believe in the coach system or style, then it's going to be tough to win games."
The comments from Weaver come less than a week after quarterback Michael Vick said that he believes the starting quarterback should be named prior to the start of this summer's training camp.
Weaver joined Angelo Cataldi and The 94WIP Morning Show on Tuesday to explain his comments.
"I've just been kind of watching the media, in terms of some of the things that have been coming out and I know DeSean [Jackson] and Mike [Vick], and different things that have been happening and I know both of those guys, and I met Chip Kelly once," Weaver said. "I think all those guys are phenomenal people, I just think that now it's starting to come out a little bit, maybe a little distance of what's going on. Even the Michael situation, of him coming out with the comments. I understand exactly where he's coming from. I mean, this team definitely needs an identity and if they don't get an identity with the quarterback that's going to be the starter in terms of getting the repetition with the guys and getting the rhythm down which is very key in this league. I definitely understand where he's coming, and I also understand where Chip is coming from too. He has to make sure these guys are for him, and different things like that. I just think that it's going to cause some problems up the road, because that's one of the things the Eagles struggled with last year, and the year before that, is an identity of who they are. Whether it was the starting quarterback, or running the ball, or passing the ball. There needs to be a consistency in what's going on."
Much has been made, both positively and negatively, about how different practice has been under Chip Kelly than it was under Andy Reid. One of those differences is Kelly's repeated claims that he is not settled on a starting quarterback. Vick has already voiced his opinion on the matter, and Weaver agrees.
"I think I would go ahead and have to make a decision as far as the quarterback. The reason why is because you need to have the players get to a level where they are comfortable in who they are playing with, knowing who they are playing with, and they can develop a sense of comradery and unity just like with the offensive line, with the running backs, and the receivers, with the quarterbacks," Weaver said. It's just something you need in this league to come together and with the offense being as new as it is, it's going to be kind of difficult to develop that late in the game, in training camp with everybody kind of moving around. But I understand what Chip is doing. I do understand."
