Could Vick miss the opener?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Could Vick miss the opener?
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
Michael Vick isn't out of the woods just yet.
While an x-ray of his ribs following Monday night's preseason game against the Patriots came back negative, the Eagles quarterback will undergo an MRI and a CT scan this morning to see if there is damage other than a fracture.
"He got a good shot there," coach Andy Reid said of the hit that New England linebacker Jermaine Cunningham delivered to Vick's mid-section. "The precautionary measure is to see if it’s involving cartilage there.”
Vick has been down this road before. On Oct. 3, 2010, he left a game against the Redskins when he took a blow to his rib area. He had an x-ray but the team did not release the results after the game. Reid said then that he had a "sore chest." A day later, an MRI revealed that Vick had injured the cartilage that connected his second and third ribs to his sternum, according to the Eagles.
Reid said that Vick had fractured his cartilage. Vick admitted this past spring that he fractured his ribs. Whatever the injury, he did not play again until Nov. 7. He originally said that he would miss probably only two weeks. But he sat out the next three games. A bye week followed so Vick may have returned earlier, but he did not play until the Colts game -- 35 days after the injury against the Redskins.
The Eagles open the regular season in 19 days on Sept. 9 at Cleveland. They have two preseason games remaining -- at the Browns on Friday and at home against the New York Jets on Aug. 30. Reid did not rule out Vick for Friday's game, but it is unlikely he will play in either contest even if his injury isn't serious.
Quarterback Mike Kafka won't play with a fractured hand, so rookie Nick Foles and Trent Edwards will likely split the Browns game. Foles performed well in relief of Vick against the Patriots. He could have the backup quarterback spot locked up.
Vick and the Eagles returned to Philadelphia from Foxboro, Mass. early this morning. A source close to the quarterback said he spoke to the quarterback when he arrived and that he sounded optimistic that his injury wasn't serious, for whatever that is worth.
Still, Vick can't seem to avoid injury. In the preseason opener he bruised him thumb when his hand hit the back of center Jason Kelce's helmet. Last year, he suffered a concussion at Atlanta, bruised his hand the following week against the New York Giants and broke two ribs in November against the Cardinals. He sat out the next three games.
The Eagles have tried to stress to Vick that he needs to do a better job of protecting himself. While the 2010 injury occurred when he was scrambling, Vick's last five injuries have occurred in or around the pocket.
Guard Evan Mathis took the blame for Monday night's injury. He was beat inside and Vick had to spin away from a defender and into the arms of Cunningham.
“Completely my fault,” Mathis said. “It’s something that can’t happen. Something we’ve got to work out. Fortunately, Michael is not too seriously injured, but it’s very concerning. It’s our job to keep him safe. To keep him off the turf. When the quarterback takes a hit and is laying on the ground, you feel it.”
Could Vick have done a better job of avoiding the hit? Should he have thrown the ball away when he saw that Mathis was beat? Reid said that Vick didn't hold onto the ball too long or make the wrong decision.
Whether it's Vick's fault, the line's fault, Reid or offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg's fault for trying to turn Vick into a pocket passer or all of the above, it is unclear. One thing is clear: Vick has been getting hurt way too often.
- Why would you want #5 as a back up Qb? He's no better than Vick! And what part of Fole's game needs development since he's already much better than Vick will ever be. For that matter, Trent plays better than Vick also!!
— OldBill1934 
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
Just face the facts. Vick isn't smart enough to stay healthy. Yea Mathis might have missed his block last night but then there's Vick scrambling around and just heaved the ball up for grabs. He was lucky it wasn't picked off. Manning, Brady, any QB with half a brain just slides there and lives for another possession. Vick has been in the league forever and still can't read a defense. Eagles are going nowhere with Vick. Glad this is the last year of his guaranteed money— pflynn20- Gruden is not the answer, he lost his team in Tampa and was terrible his last few seasons. McNabb talk also, just please stfu already with that nonsense. They got value for him and moved on at the exact right time. Kolb was also a smart move to get rid of as we are seeing now. Vick was the plug in filler they needed to stay relevant, that is all. He can still be succesful, but its nice to finally see a pocket passer with an arm running this offense. He should see some real action this yr, and most likely be the starter next season. Im fine with that.— peteike
- "Vick was the plug in filler they needed to stay relevant, that is all."
did I nap through the part where the Vick kept the Eagles "relevant" ?
2010 was 10-6 and "one & done"
2011 was 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
except for the fevered imaginations of the Eagles faithful, the Eagles haven't been "relevant" since they lost the Super Bowl.
yeah, that's seven seasons.
failed to make the playoffs 3 times,
failed to win a playoff game twice
and the year they made their deepest run (to yet another Conference Championship game loss) they nearly missed the playoffs again.
Expect them to revert to their normal mediocrity while woofing it up constantly.— ekw555 - I dont disagree. Still relevant as in, the talking heads always thinking they have a great team, still in the playoff discussions whether it happens or not. That kind of relevant. Def not relevant to actually having a chance to win it all. — peteike
- While his propensity for poor judgement has been reduced it certainly hasn't been eliminated.— Eddieboy
- CYO, thanks. I just read all that BS from wiff and you did the dirty work for me. When and if wiff ever says anything remotely resembling the truth please let me know. Donovan/HOF comment was funniest yet and KK seems to have been all but forgotten...wonder why...?
wiff, KK's pool needs cleaning again...chop chop chump.— tpizza -
I couldnt care less if he plays another NFL game....I refuse to root for Eagles while he is on the team...He is a lousy person and a lousy quarterback..DOG KILLER— flyers1000 - Go back and take a look at the play in question. Vick rolled to his left, saw pressure and spun back to his right. At this point he had a lane big enough to drive a car through and open field for 20+ yards. The playmaker Vick would have made huge yardage with his legs. The new, improved pocket Vick tried to throw off balance and got nailed for it. Reid and Morningwad are fools and Vick and the Eagles will pay for their foolishness.— REVOLUTION
- What happens first...Foles replaces Vick or Cousins replaces RGIII...discuss.— 2ndNlong
- Comment removed.
- Foles, Foles, Foles.
BW, I thought a helmet hit on a QB was illegal. It was clearly a spearing.— jjthree - It's nice to see a big, tall, strong, QB with good field vision, pocket awareness, reasonable escapability, a canon for an arm and accuracy. The kid could be the one to run this offense with repititions, he may get those first due to injury and then due to success. If he does turn out to be special and have a big impact the defense can still lose for us. But if he succeeds all of the Andy detractors will have to admit he made a good pick. I want to see how many will do that.— bentlip
