How long can Vick survive this?
The Michael Vick breathwatch has begun. The question is simple: when will the last gulp of air be forced from his body by another hit?
How long can Vick survive this?
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
The Michael Vick breathwatch has begun. The question is simple: when will the last gulp of air be forced from his body by another hit?
It was the overarching question for the Eagles on a disaster of an afternoon in Arizona. During a game where very little went right, in any phase, Vick was pulverized by the Cardinals’ impressive defense. If the Eagles’ quarterback wasn’t hit 20 times during the Eagles’ 27-6 defeat, the number was in that black-and-blue neighborhood. And if he survived this day, and he did, he cannot survive many more.
Easily half of the damage was self-inflicted, hits that could have been avoided if Vick were willing to throw the ball sooner. That isn’t to argue that there were tons of people open -- Jeremy Maclin did not play because of a hip injury and, yes, it did matter -- but Vick’s continued insistence on hanging on and then hanging on some more in the hope that something good might happen is borderline masochistic at this point. He really is hurting himself.
The other half of the hits could be blamed on an offensive line re-jiggered because of injuries, and on pass-first play-calling in the first half despite all of the punishment being absorbed by Vick, and by the fact that the Cardinals’ defense is very good. But the total punishment was the total punishment, and two more Vick fumbles were two more turnovers for the league leaders in that department.
The one on the last play of the first half was the game-sealer, when Vick was hit from behind on a blitz by Arizona safety Kerry Rhodes, causing a fumble that was picked up by James Sanders and returned 93 yards for a touchdown. If Vick can get the Eagles in there -- or if DeSean Jackson hadn’t been stood up on a reception just short of the goal line before the dreadful sequence began -- the Eagles would have been trailing by 17-7. Instead, it was 24-0. Oh, and one more thing: with no timeouts and only a few ticks remaining in the half, Vick has to be aware of that pressure and just unload the ball.
We’ve all been talking about this for the better part of two years. Sometimes, it is a narrative in search of some facts -- because it isn’t always like this, not every week. But it is the games such as these that no one can forget. Down the stretch there in the first half, it was fair to wonder if Vick had been clocked once too often. It was entirely appropriate to be concerned about his health, and about the long term -- because, no matter how frustrating this is, the best chance the Eagles have this season is for Vick to end it upright and on the field.
And, now, it is hard not to wonder.
How much more can he take?
Buy 2012 Eagles tickets - Reid, the "QB Killer," should have to QB behind that offensive line, with 60 passes called. I bet he'd change his play-calling then.
Vick stinks...Vick is a turn over machine...Dump Vick...Start Nick.— phil500- Vick & the OL are god awful. Vick is the dumbest qb in the nfl— Jay Grace 69
- Letting Kolb go was a BIG mistake— lonewolf 10
- Vick sucks— Jay Grace 69
- Who care, he sucks— Jay Grace 69
- Overrated and clueless is a bad combination. Bye Andy.— Ken B
- Another game in which McCoy is underused, particularly frustrating considering the constant pressure Vick was under and the ineffectiveness of the passing game. When will Reid and the OC finally clue in that passing the ball 40-50 times a game with a banged up off line and QB is counter-productive?— camtheman
/cough I take full responsibility, I need to do a better job.— DaFatman- You write as if it would be a bad thing at this point if Vick isn't out there. He is just horrendous, magnified by mystifying play calling(on the road,crowd noise,and all you do is pass? Marty?Andy?).At this point he has no sense of when to get rid of the ball, and while I don't want to see Vick hurt, this team has NO CHANCE at all to go deep in the playoffs. Same problems, different game. How bad could the kid be?— iskabobpatel
- Once again Marty and Andy prove their complete and utter ineptitude. Best running back in the league, let's just keep on passing. I hope Jeffrey Lurie continues to watch intently as his QB get clobbered because of the stubbornness of a coaching staff that thinks they'll be here forever. Two more losses are on the way in the coming weeks. Good thing they squeaked out those first two wins because they could easily be 0-5.— mpflorida
- I know this has been said a 1,000 times by others as well as myself, but it must be said again; Coach Reid NEED to learn to RUN the freakin' football. The line isn't great, Vick holds onto the ball too long and takes too many hits. Vick is NOT a WCO, neither was NcNabb so running a WCO without a WCO QB is stupid anyway. Coach Reid is so freakin' stubborn about passing the football and doing things his way even when everyone else can see that things need to change on offense that he is willing to throw his coaching job away. RUN THE FREAKIN' FOOTBALL. On the one yard line RUN THE FREAKIN' FOOTBALL.— golson@florida
- Well the team that in the past has made Kyle Stinkin'Ortin look like an All-Pro QB, let a mediocre Kolb win. Funny how both Philly teams spent the same day so similarly, no offense and sloppy defense. on't understand the eagles game plan as usual and don't understand how Vick stands there with 6 seconds left and lookes around until he is hit.— atp2007
- When does College basketball season start? Football season is over as long as Vick is the quarterback!— wayneh77
- Take your pick of why we got boat-raced by a KK lead team. Was is the poor game plan by the OC of this team? MM the OC of this team should have been fired after the first game. Why are you passing like crazy in the first half with a depleted O line? Why are you running the ball beginning of the 4th qtr when you needed to score quick? It didn't help the long routes being run by the wide-outs when Vick was being blitzed almost every play. I know I'm only an average fan and don't know as much as the pros like Marty but I will tell you that this man has no touch for his QB or the game of football.
— delcodanno
