Vick or Young for Patriots?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Vick or Young for Patriots?
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- So who will quarterback the Eagles next week against the Patriots?
Will it be Vince Young, who engineered an 18-play, 80-yard fourth quarter drive that gave the Eagles a 17-10 win over the New York Giants Sunday night?
Or will it be regular starter Michael Vick, who missed the game because of two broken ribs?
If he's healthy it will be Vick. But what if he isn't 100 percent and can still function and play? Does Young's clutch performance -- albeit after three erratic quarters -- give the Eagles the luxury of not hurrying him back?
"I'd rather just take it day by day," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "Mike's a good player. I'm pretty fortunate I have three good quarterbacks. We're lucky that way. We'll just see how things go with Mike. I'm not going to put him a bad position, that's for sure."
Young's outing -- he completed 23 of 36 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns to go with three interceptions -- does not make it mandatory for the Eagles to rush Vick back, an Eagles source said. Still, the team was optimistic that Vick would have the opportunity to be back by Sunday's home game against New England.
Vick's status after he broke two ribs last week against the Cardinals was up in the air all last week, but the team knew by Wednesday that he would not be able to play. He was listed as questionable on the Friday injury report even though he didn't practice all week. By Saturday, however, he was downgraded to out and did not travel with the team on Saturday.
Vick was described as being very sore and not completely out of the woods in terms of his recovery. If he can't go, Young has the chance to build off his fourth quarter performance Sunday night.
"I had a couple of jitters," Young said about not starting in exactly a year. "It's been a while. Overall, I started to calm and just let the game come to me."
The 4-6 Eagles cleared one hurdle in beating the Giants, but each week will present another challenge. The Patriots are still among one of the best teams in the AFC, although their defense has struggled, especially the pass D.
Vote: Grade the Eagles' performance Poll: Are you confident in Young after Sunday's win?
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Don't see them running any sets with Vick at WR or tailback, because when he lines up there he doesn't get any protection. He gets beat up enough even with the special protection the NFL gives to QBs. Plus he's more dangerous with the ball in his hands than out in a route, not sure if he is so much the fastest guy on the field as he is the quickest.— Phils Phan 28- These are some of the dumbest comments i've ever read in my life. VY over vick, really? It's one game. Vick leads the 3rd ranked offense in the entire NFL. Our D finally stepped up and VY is getting all the praise because he waited til the final drive of the game to stop sucking? Newsflash: 17 points aint gonna get it done vs the pats next week. And while VY deserves lots of credit, don't be like those clowns in Denver and ignore the stellar defence that kept the giants to only 10 points.— teamr
- Team seemed more energized with VY. And VY has proven in the 4Q he is the man. MV a great athlete. VY is a winner, not big on stats, just wins. 31-17 i think. He can see the field better and is calmer in the pocket. MV gets too jacked up, too small and fragile. Big play or bust. i can still see last play against Packers. MV dead set on feeding Cooper when Maclin running free down the middle of the field. VY takes what they give him. Two good QBs, different styles.— oldBird
- Deleted long tirad. In short I'm biased but I suggest we rest Vick another week. VY finished his Titans career winning and low number of turnovers. So don't think he is a 3 pick/fumble a week QB. I would only suggest not booing early before game over. That is not helpful.— NFLFan9
- How many sb rings does M. Vick have? Every year he gets hurt.— atlron
- VY has won at every level of football he has played. Has icewater in veins. Was playing for a coach that didn't want him in Tenn and still won. Yes Vince was rusty in first half, but if he had been the starter fromday one you would not have been 3-6. If the Aggie coach had drafted him in Houston, I am sure we would have won some playoff games by now. He is harder to bring down than Vick, sees the field better, and just wins. Hope to see him against Brady
Happy Thanksgiving and Good Luck!— texbayouman
