Vick confident ahead of showdown with Packers

Michael Vick's confidence hasn't been hurt by the hits he's absorbed over the last six games. His legs? That's not so clear.

Vick, whose ability to perform will be crucial when the Eagles play the Packers in Sunday's first-round playoff game, was asked Monday if his bruised quadriceps is back to 100 percent after five days rest. "I'm getting there," he said. In a later interview on ESPN radio in Virginia Beach, he indicated that he had recently improved to about "75 percent."

He was far more definitive on his own attitude and whether he needs to adjust his play given the way defenses have hit him and forced turnovers in recent weeks.

"I don't got to do nothing," Vick said, his voice full of bravado. "I'm still going to be me, still going to play my game, still play with confidence, still try to rally the guys around me."

As in the first meeting with the Packers, the Eagles will need Vick to be at his best to have a chance to win. Even if he is merely good - not great - it might not be enough.

The Eagles have scored at least 27 points in each of their 10 wins. Each time they've scored fewer, they've lost. The defense is giving up an average of 24 points per game and will face an offense that scores an average of about 24 per contest.

If Vick, the Eagles' best player and unquestioned leader, is feeling pressure to carry the team in his first playoff start since 2005, he wasn't showing it. He stood by a wall as he spoke to reporters, wearing a black knit hat.

"This is what you dream of. This is what you play the game for. So it's no time to be nervous or to have any type of anxiety," Vick said. "You're more so excited and eager to get it on than anything."

Vick is still one of the most dangerous players in the NFL, but his play has dipped from its earlier heights. The Giants held him in check for all but eight incredible minutes, and the Vikings stifled him with their pass rush. They were the latest of six consecutive opponents to hammer the quarterback and force turnovers, a trend the Packers will try to prolong.

And this time, Green Bay has the benefit of planning for Vick with plenty of game tape to dissect. When these teams met to open the season, the Packers had prepared for Kevin Kolb, and no one had seen the 2010 Vick in full force.

Filling in for an injured Kolb that day, Vick was electric. But a season of big hits has taken a toll, an issue the Eagles hoped to rectify by resting Vick and other starters Sunday.

The task of stopping Vick falls most prominently to linebacker Clay Matthews and cornerback Charles Woodson, both Pro Bowl starters. Matthews has 131/2 sacks, including three when he terrorized the Eagles Sept. 12.

Woodson could play the same blitzing role as Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, who lived in the Eagles backfield two games ago. "He's a great blitzer, great blitzer," Reid said.

Reid said the recent turnovers and sacks - the Eagles have given up 50 this season, the most during Reid's tenure - are a team-wide issue.

"Everybody has a little piece of those [sacks] as you break them up. But the bottom line is we have to do better there," Reid said. "I will tell you the same thing about the turnovers; we have to do a better job there."

Vick's greatest win came against the Packers in 2002, when he led the Falcons to a divisional playoff victory at Lambeau Field.

Vick, however, said there is "nothing" from his past experience that he'll rely on Sunday because this season's teams are so different. But he had one message that, at this time of year, is timeless.

"Win or go home, and that should motivate everybody," Vick said. "Do your job, or if you don't, you won't be playing next week, and that's all I can say. There's really nothing more to say."