Delay Suggests Make-or-Break for Vick
Andy Reid let it be known Wednesday that Michael Vick will start Monday night in New Orleans.
Delay Suggests Make-or-Break for Vick
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Andy Reid let it be known Wednesday that Michael Vick will start Monday night in New Orleans.
The fact that Reid needed three days after Sunday's devastating loss to the Falcons to announce his quarterbacking decision tells us it was not an easy, automatic one. Reid won't speak about his thought process until Thursday, when practice resumes, but it's likely he came to the same conclusion many observers reached this week: the Eagles' best chance to save their season and make the playoffs remains with getting Vick back in the flow. The 2-5 Saints have the league's 32nd-ranked defense. Unlike the Birds' last three opponents, they are not coming off their bye week.
If Vick regains some swagger in New Orleans, the Eagles are 4-4 at midseason and everything looks better. If Vick can't beat the Saints, then the playoffs are a distant dream, and Reid might as well go with rookie Nick Foles the next Sunday, at home against the Cowboys. As Daily News columnist Rich Hofmann has mentioned, the only hope Reid has then of keeping his job is some sort of promising finish under Foles that would allow Reid to create a narrative of hope for the future. Though it's very hard to see Jeffrey Lurie buying that. Even harder to picture Lurie trying to SELL that, after last year's tortured postseaon Lurie performance, in which the owner said the only reason not to fire Reid right then was because he thought the team was on the right road to turn things around this year.
Vick's reaction to all this will be interesting. It sure seems he has one game to prove he is more than the turnover-prone mediocrity he has been this season. Does he rise to that challenge with patience and precision behind an unsettled offensive line, or does he try to do too much Monday, and throw the season away in a series of desperate gambles?
A week from now, we'll know if there is any hope for the 2012 Eagles.
Comments (48)
All this talk is ridiculous. Andy waited two days to say he was starting Vick. Part of that had to do with the fact that there was a gigantic and paralyzing storm wreaking havoc throughout the Delaware Valley, the other part, was that he was either making Vick sweat a little or just pulling the strings and giving the puppets a chance to write this and say that about The Eagles needing to make a change.
If history, going back only to last year, tells us anything, it’s that the Eagles’ playoff hopes are not dead, nor will they be if they lose to the Saints on Monday. The season is dead when they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, or when they give up and put a rookie QB in behind an O-line that can’t block.
— eaglesphreak23- I understand the O-line has not been very good at all, but why do people fail to realize that Vick's undisciplined play in the pocket, and mechanics releasing the ball do not help the issue? They have blocking schemes for a reason, and when your QB freelances in the pocket and doesn't follow the scheme, it's almost impossible to block, especially when there are rookies and back-ups all over the place. Also, would somebody teach Vick to get the ball up on his shoulder in the pocket? He holds the ball at his waist until he decides to throw which costs him time, and also allows the defense to react to the pass...— Dannyy90
- yeah, poor Vick might never get a 2nd chance or 2nd $100M contract....oh, wait a second...hahaha....what an idiot above. Btw, Kordell was really a wide receiver...and a average one...haha. Stay ignorant— philly thug
- Give me a break! Who are you trying to kid! Only stupid reason Reid gave for not changing QB's is he couldn't get Foles ready and fix the Defense! what a joke! And remember Laurie is your next problem after Reid and Vick are gone!— lost eagle
- VICK STINKS...stop with the weak excuses...Vick is an awful 11-15 in his last 26 games over the LAST THREE YEARS, when Eagles had Jason Peters the BEST offensive lineman in football and everyone said the eagles had one of the best lines in the NFL, so STOP with the bull shot excuses...Vick has the most explosive offensive weapons in football in DeSean jackson, Macklin, McCoy, Celek and Avant, Eagles have always been one of the highest scoring teams when McNabb was here with much less offense talent...now Vick has the Eagles LAST IN POINTS SCORED PER GAMEin NFL....Vick also leads the NFL in TURNOVERS...Vick has LOST THREE GAMES IN A ROW...WOW, Vick is awful and any other QB would have already been BENCHED....— Bob112
- @Dannyy90 - Very good points. Vick does create a challenge for an already struggling O-line and his mechanincs are a problem, but at 31, he won't be changing either of those aspects of his gme.
A change is needed, and it is for every man on that team to stop looking to someone to blame for their underachieving ways. Vick is just one member, but each defender who has spoken to the media has all said something to the same effect of, “we didn’t do anything that bad or different,” or “we didn’t make too many big mistakes.” These fools need to get their heads on straight, get some sacks, force some turnovers, STOP DROPPING INTs, and maybe they will win some games. Oh and when the team is down by 20 late in the third quarter and it takes them more than 3 minutes to get into the end zone from the 15 yard line, that' a pretty big red flag for all paties involved, from head coauch to QB and every man in between.— eaglesphreak23 - I don't get why there is even a debate as to whether or not it's a good idea to bench your QB who leads the league in turnovers. Save for franchise guys, quarterbacks get benched in the NFL all the time. Vick isn't one of the elite guys, not even Vick would argue that. I also don't get the "you can't put a rookie in there" line of thinking.
Look what's going on across the league. Here are some names: Griffin, Luck, Weeden, Dalton, Freeman, Bradford, Ponder, Newton, Stafford, Tannehill, Wilson.... Pretty much all of these guys have been playing in the league only a year or two. And pretty much all of their teams are as good or better than the Eagles in the win-loss column. I'm not saying Foles is better or even as good as any of those guys. Say what you will about the O-line (I can pinpoint quite a few subpar units on the above list) but you simply can't just dismiss what Foles can or can't do until he's given the chance. Let's be real here: even if Vick gives the Eagles a better shot to win this week, does anybody in their right mind believe he's capable of leading the team to a Super Bowl?? So then what are we doing here.... - the whole you cant put a rookie behind this line excuse is brought up by vick supporters who have sympathy for the man. they dont want to see a rookie do better than their hero. they infact would root against foles and hope he gets injured and does not do good just so their hero doesnt look bad. if we were to root for vick to get injured we are racist... — defroe
- @Walkdogbl32 you right on man!!!! You have 3 token black QB's backing up Tavaris Jackson, Tyrod Taylor, and Joe Webb lol!!!! Jason Campbell and Byron Leftwich have black coaches lol!!!! People ignoring this blatant racism is beyond me!!!! Man it's the same as it's always been they looking for the next black stud if he mediocre 9/10 times he won't be backing up it's the cold hard truth!!!!!— shaad
- i agree with panpizza,no other NFL team would have rolled out the red carpet for conVick,,in his last 20 games he's 10w-10L with 22 INTS 19 fumbles,,as i mentioned last season conVick looks to be 'washed up' he's a back up QB at best,,the BIRDS should have started Nick Foles from the get-go,,6 rookies are starting already,,it's a joke how phony al sharpton (sheed) want to deal the race-card over conVick's horrible play..MV=0SBs..Book-it.....wolf.— wolf 4
- If you look at jay cutler, he is similar to Vick the defense makes the bears...they don't ever say lets bench cutler, romo has two 4 int games the owner backs him, Vick has one turnover that led to points...yet every week I hear play nick foles. Vick is a playmaker like Brett farce let him do what he does...and then except the good with the bad. But theses losses weren't his fault. It was a team loss in each loss. To think nick foles a 3rd round draft pick would play better is just not rational. It was pre season when every QBs usually has good numbers because teams run vanilla defenses. All the rookie QBs are struggling right now. Forget it ....this is like arguing with a stop sign!— Walkdogbl32
- If they put Nick Foles in, he better wear Vick's flack jacket. That O-line can't help running backs or quarterbacks. Might as well yell "Ole" everytime the defense breaches the line.
- The race card being played here is utterly embarrassing, and more of a reflection on your intelligence level. No one cares what color a QB is if they can play effectively. RG3 is the toast of the league. People blame the QB when the team plays poorly and is LAST in the league in scoring. Vick got plenty of love when he played well, but he leads the world in turnovers and stupid decisions right now. He refuses to step up in the pocket and run north / south, instead scrambling around backwards and sideways like an idiot. He appears to not understand how to properly read a defense and go through progressions. He does not know how, or refuses to learn how to run and slide feet first, which would protect himself from unnecessary hits. He's just playing awful football, and being white wouldn't change a thing.— cdedrick05
- I'm not playing a race card I'm giving you facts! The eagles dont have an ofeensive line and they send there receivers on deep routes on most plays. When the Eagles release vick he is most likely finished. most black QB's are finished at a time when they can still play. They are held to a higher standard and almost always are told they aren't smart enough. Vick is/was the most exciting QB to ever play the game. he made plays with arms and legs, yet people always say he sucks because he runs! — Walkdogbl32
- please never compare conVick to Brett Favre 71,000+ yards passing-500+TD passes--3 time MVP-3 time all pro QB ,,he took the Packers to a 13-3 record at Age 38 and the Vikings to 12-4 at Age 40 and missed going to the SB because of a OT coin flip..conVick is washed up at age 33 and never had the heart or onfield leadership of HOFer Brett Favre..MV=0SBs..book it....wolf.— wolf 4
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Eagletarian is your home for comprehensive coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Les Bowen
Daily News Staff Writer
Paul Domowitch
Daily News NFL Columnist
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