Man Up: Is O-line the reason Vick's starting?
There's a theory floating around that the play of the offensive line had something to do with Andy Reid's decision to start Michael Vick. I'm not buying it.
Man Up: Is O-line the reason Vick's starting?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Since Andy Reid announced his decision to start Michael Vick on Tuesday evening, several different theories have been offered up, trying to explain his rationale.
One of them is that the offensive line is so shaky right now that Michael Vick and his mobility give the Eagles a much better chance to win than Kevin Kolb. In other words, Kolb has no chance to grow as a QB because of the protection issues.
Sorry, but I'm not buying that one.
Has the offensive line been good this season in pass protection? No. But one reason I like re-watching the games is because I'm able to see things I missed the first time around. Such as Mike Bell and LeSean McCoy failing to pick up opposing blitzers. Such as Vick pump-faking twice and holding the ball too long. Such as the Eagles going with an empty backfield, thus facing more defenders than they can account for.
Those are isolated examples, but the point is that the pressure Vick faced on Sunday was not all the offensive line's fault.
If the Eagles believed in Kolb over Vick, they could do things to make sure he was protected better. They could call more screen passes or three-step drops. They could keep Brent Celek in to block. They could go with two tight ends.
The play of the offensive line is not why Reid decided to go with Vick. He was blown away with Vick's play through six quarters, and maybe, just maybe, for the first time in his career as the Eagles' head coach, he's feeling pressure to stray from his plan and win right away.
Keeping all that in mind, here is the player-by-player evaluation of the Eagles' offensive players against the Lions. Given the news of the day, I am spinning it forward this week, with an eye on how things change with Vick running the show.
Michael Vick- Not much more to say here, since I provided a complete breakdown of his performance yesterday. The abbreviated version is this. He was accurate with the football and could have had a completion percentage over 75 if not for some dropped balls. Vick was very good in the pocket and even better outside the pocket. He spread the ball around and got it downfield. And he hasn't thrown an interception in 58 attempts this season. What needs to get better? He needs to develop a better familiarity with the offensive line so that he can move around in the pocket better, rather than just escape when facing pressure. He needs to avoid taking big hits if he wants to stay healthy the rest of the season. And while he has not turned it over, Vick fumbled twice (both recovered, one on the snap) and threw a ball that very easily could have been picked.
LeSean McCoy- He very easily might have been the Eagles' most impressive player Sunday. A career-high 120 yards on 16 rushes, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. On the 14-yard touchdown run in the second, he took a hit at the 4, but still charged into the end zone. His vision and decisiveness were very impressive. Great job of making the safety miss on the 46-yard touchdown run. As a blocker, McCoy didn't pick anyone up when the Lions sent seven after Vick on a play in the second. It looked like he was expecting someone to break through up the middle, but the cornerback ended up coming untouched from the slot. However, on the very next play, McCoy did a good job as a blocker. Still a work-in-progress there. Only four catches for 8 yards. It's only been two games, but McCoy looks like he's made a big leap from his rookie season.
Mike Bell- He played some fullback and some halfback, and was equally unimpressive in both roles. Four carries for zero yards. And he did a bad job on a third down in the first, failing to pick up a blitzer. It will be interesting to see how limited his role is now that athe Eagles signed another running back. He was on the field for 18 of 63 offensive plays.
Owen Schmitt- He looked OK in his first action. Schmitt also played 18 of 63 snaps and got in the game on the Eagles' first offensive possession. Schimtt had a pair of catches for 21 yards and did a good job picking up a blitzer on the touchdown throw to Jeremy Maclin.
Winston Justice- He'll be the man in charge of protecting Vick's blind side. Justice struggled at times against Detroit in pass protection, which is usually his strength. Turk McBride beat him for a sack and forced fumble in the first, but in all fairness, Vick ran play-action and pump-faked twice on the play. McBride beat him again on the Maclin TD throw, but Vick got rid of the ball quickly. Justice had some good moments as a run blocker. He did a nice job on a McCoy 4-yard run in the first. And he blocked Ndamukong Suh on the 14-yard McCoy TD run in the second. Justice took a linebacker out on McCoy's other touchdown run. He was called for holding, bringing back a 35-yard McCoy gain in the second half.
Nick Cole- He struggled quite a bit with Suh. Wonder if he called him a "juicehead" at any point? Suh went right around Cole, forcing Vick to scramble on a 3rd-and-23. He was beat by Corey Williams on the play where Vick had to slide to his left before finding DeSean Jackson for 53 yards. Cole did a bad job trying to block a linebacker on a screen to McCoy in the third. Suh beat him for a sack in the third, although, again, Vick held onto the ball for awhile. Cole did a good job on Suh on the 46-yard McCoy TD run.
Mike McGlynn- As a blocker, I thought McGlynn did a lot of good things. He did a good job on the McCoy 14-yard touchdown run and the other score in the third. McGlynn also made a good block on an 8-yard screen to McCoy. There was a fumbled snap in the third, although I'm not sure whose fault it was. And Suh went right around McGlynn, dropping Bell for a 3-yard loss in the third. It's pretty much impossible to evaluate McGlynn in terms of making protection calls, but I'll try to ask him about that today at Novacare.
Todd Herremans- Ups and downs for Herremans. Overall, it seemed like the left side of the line did a good job in protection though. Herremans did a poor job on a 2nd-and-1 carry where Williams went right around him to stuff McCoy. He was also beat on the TD throw to Maclin. Herremans made a good block on the 46-yard McCoy touchdown run.
Jason Peters- He had a good battle with Vanden Bosch, winning some snaps and losing some others. Peters left the game twice, but returned both times. Peters did a good job on Vanden Bosch on the first-quarter touchdown throw to Jackson. He delivered a powerful block on an 11-yard McCoy run in the second and a decent job on a 7-yard McCoy run in the third. Vanden Bosch was credited with 1.5 sacks, but in fairness to Peters, Vick held the ball for awhile on one of them, and the other was a screen play where the timing was completely off and Vick had three defenders in his face before he could get the ball to McCoy.
King Dunlap- I guess the Eagles trust him this year. When Peters went out, Dunlap entered the game at left tackle as the coaches opted against sliding Herremans over. Dunlap was (smartly) given some help with Celek staying in to block on the left side.
Brent Celek- The receiving numbers weren't significantly different than Week 1, but I thought Celek had a better game. He provided much-needed help, chipping and blocking in the passing game. As a receiver, Celek was targeted five times and had three catches for 27 yards. Two of those catches gave the Eagles first downs, although he did have a drop. I still think big numbers are coming for Celek in the passing game. Tight end Alge Crumpler had some strong years with Vick in Atlanta.
Garrett Mills- The Eagles went with two tight ends on nine of 63 plays. Mills was given the nod over Clay Harbor as the second tight end. He got in the game on the first possession and lined up both on the line of scrimmage and in the slot, catching the only ball that was thrown his way for 14 yards.
DeSean Jackson- I've written quite a bit about Jackson since Sunday. Three catches of over 25 yards, and it really could have been five. Jackson had a chance on the 35-yard gain in the first that was initially ruled a catch, but was overturned. And Vick underthrew him on what could have been a big gain at the end of the first. Getting the ball to Jackson down the field early in games is crucial and should open things up for everyone else.
Jeremy Maclin- The Eagles have converted five of six red-zone chances into touchdowns in the last six quarters. Three of those have been McCoy runs. The other two have been Vick-to-Maclin TDs. He was Vick's second-most targeted receiver, catching three balls for 26 yards. Maclin had a drop in the third and got away with a hold on Jackson's TD, grabbing a handful of the defensive back's jersey downfield.
Jason Avant- He should have a weekly show called The Little Things With Jason Avant. If you go back and watch McCoy's TD run in the third, take a look at who cuts down 278-pound defensive end Turk McBride. It's Avant, and it was a critical block that helped McCoy get in the end zone. As a receiver, Avant had three catches for 33 yards, although we saw a rare drop on a third down in the second.
Riley Cooper- Cooper was on the field for 12 plays and picked up his first career catch, a 20-yarder on 3rd-and-9. He also had a drop. Oh, and about that onsides kick...
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Your headline says it all and says it correctly. This is not an indictment of Kolb or an endorsement of Vick, but rather a commentary on the state of the line, which by the way they didn't do a thing to fix in the offseason, even after Dallas embarassed it. If Reid wants Kolb as the QB of the future, the best thing to do is not put him behind that awful O-Line.— vinni- I am not so sure Reid is feeling the pressure to stray from his plan as much as he sees an opportunity that he didn't imagine - Vick is actually better than before. He can't afford NOT to see if Vick maintains this level of play - especially with the inconsistent blocking for the QB.
- The offense is explosive with Vick in there and if he can get a couple of seconds to deliver the ball to the WR's, look out. KK has to be madder than a disturbed rattlesnake right now, it'll be interesting to see if he actually gets into a game and does well, what happens? But with this division looking like the worst in football, not the toughest, you'd have to agree that this really improves thier playoff chances.— Bleue
- Sheil
"The play of the offensive line is not why Reid decided to go with Vick."
How the heck do you know?? Didn't you just write a few days ago that 2010 was about the maturation of Kolb and we all needed to just deal with it???
— RocketC 
Can we get over the denial? Kolb looked horrendous in the summer and in the game at GB before he got hurt. Sure, the O-line and lack of blocking in general had something to do with that, but while it may be the nice thing to do to deflect the criticism away from Kolb, that's just not the way it is.— ICDogg
Sheil, I'm gonna disagree w/ you on this one. And so as not to make a monologue out of this, I'll just say that Andy KNOWS this O-line is weak (despite your 'glass-half-full' take above) and risks another possible Kolb koncussion if he's put back in. Andy's got to give his new QB some help, knowing how bad this line is, yet he chooses his game plan (not enuf short passes and screens w/ the xtra blocking help, or *gasp* the occasional run play) as if he's got an experienced QB back there. This all about Andy saving Kolb's hide NOW and him saving face for NEXT year.- Sorry, can't stand Vick. I could care less how he plays. He's nowhere near as good as McNabb. Amazing hearing Reid talk about how great Vick is, 105 QB rating, best QB in the league on 3rd down, and top 4 QB in the league - after beating the Lions. I'll expect to reevaluate his QB at half time against Jacksonville. If Vick isn't great, he should make a change. Let's do this half by half and make a change.— MikeP
Sheil - you undermind your case re. OL being the reason for the switch. You use the term "struggle" in characterizing 2 of the 5 linemen; "ups and downs" for Herremanns; McGlynn missing line calls; and Peters in, at best, a "stand-off" vs. Van Bosch. You also say that Reid can compensate for problems with the OL by running more 2 TE formations which weaken the offensive options. 3 step drops are nice, but how often is Kolb going to be able to do that?? In short, AGAIN, Vick is in because he's got a very UNRELIABLE OL playing in front of him and he can compensate for that (to a degree) and Kolb cannot. Yes, it is as simple as that.
I think the fact that the Cowpukes opened 0-2 has as much to do with the decision as Vick, Kolb or the O-line.— tornadoh- http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/09/22/eagles/index.html
another point of view— peteike - Sheil: Once again, the voice of reason. The offensive line is fine, it was just an excuse to try and cover for Kolb's failures. Now that Baby Arm is back on the bench where he belongs, we can get back to exciting, winning football with Vick.— brmorgen81
- guess what? its still andys fault.who signed andrews? andy. who told us kolb was ready? andy. who traded mcnabb? andy.who thought jamaal jackson would last? andy. its still andys fault . time
to go.— eglftbl1 - rocket C, shut up. He totally defended why he thought that way.— tripschaos
- It is not the only reason but it is a big part of it.....Andy's decisions on the o-line....makes his decision on Michael his only chance notto be thoroulgy embarrassed...The next quest is what kind of trick can he pullout to find run stoppers and corners that can cover......— nuggett
- O-line is the reason I may be joining the Can Andy Reid Fan Club.— tacklinjoe
- First, I can't ever get past what Vick did, and still can't believe the team I love signed him.
Second, just looking at football, it has been clear to me that Kolb would get destroyed behind our OL. Vick can, at least move around.— MJSI - Reid must bring-in Charles Philip Bednarik to give those GIRLY Offensive linemen some tough love. The Eagle Cheerleaders would give the QB more protection. Vick will be running for his life against a great Defensive front four.— jpelle36
- O-line will be fine. I mean, sure, we all miss BDawk, but signing Stacy will help keep Shawn emotionally stable. Both these guys are former pro bowl players. Im looking for a big year out of this line. huge.— dragoon6
- vinni, did you read the article? He said he doesn't believe that's the reason.
— Lonny - tripschaos - relax dude, I'm entitled to my opinion. Plus he was wrong last week when he said Vick would never play once Kolb was healthy. That's a fact. He totally defended his thoughts last week too.— RocketC
- I think you are missing the point, instead trying to play the blame game. Regardless of whose fault it is and I do believe the OL has a big part of blame to share, the pressure is real and it is there and it is happening. In that regard yes, Vick has more mobility to avoid the pressure. But the defenses so far are having a field day against the Eagles protection.— billro33
- We all realize (NOW) that the O-Line upgrades Andy initialized last year have turned out to be abysmal failures. What MOST won't say is that almost EVERYBODY figured those changes to be wonderful moves when they were made. EVERYBODy loved the Jason Peters signing. EVERYBODY thought getting the older Andrews brother a GREAT thing. Most thought that the Fat Kid would be able to get back into the swing of things. Then reality started begging for attention in the form of: 1) Neither Andrews brother could do what Andy hoped could be done. 2) Peters looked, at times, like he had never played the position before. 3)Herremans got injured, and hasn't been the same since. 4)Jamaal Jackson suffered an ACL tear in the last part of the season.(I think the triceps problem saved him from re-injuring the ACL because he had not given it sufficient time to heal PROPERLY.) 5) The quality of the back-ups forced to play, was, charitably, somewhat less than All Pro calibre. The result, this year, is/was (unfortunately) reliably predictable. Now, the next off-season MUST be spent in re-visiting the same problem, instead of using the draft picks, FA signings and possible trades on other, emerging needs. Oh, did you hear that crash?...Another plate just dropped off a stick....and anoth........— TBear
- Definitely. With a stinko offensive line, Kolb would be running for his life. Vick will be forced to run too but he can run. It still will be a loooong season for Eagle fans.— fanup
1. andy doesn't think linebackers are important..really.. he's had a couple of great ones by accident, but really never gets the right three together. 2. andy will buy a new o-line next year unless this current one suddenly comes together magically. 3. the way the o-line is right now, kolb will get killed.— Evilvet- dragoon...how's that time machine working for ya?
- This is all about having the best chance to win in week four. Laurie & Co. could not live with themselves with getting mopped up by McNabb and the Skins as Kolb goes through growing pains of learning on the job. Also, if the Birds win in week four, Eagles brass win three ways and get to prove how smart they are again: traded McNabb, signed and developed Vick and Kept Reid and beat the 'new' coach in the East, Shanahan. If Kolb played against J'ville he probably would have been decent and the Birds would win(J'ville worst team in the NFL). Then what do you do for the Skins game knowing Vick has the better chance to win in that game. Bench Kolb after his first win as the new franchise QB? For a guy that never tells you anything, he has built the reputation that when he does firmly make a statement, once he has time to think it through, the result will be the complete opposite. This is why he is a horrible game day coach, he cannot think on his feet and make changes on the fly. Reid is not stubborn or a liar, just slow and stupid. Wait until we get into the teeth of this schedule, things are going to get real ugly. GoBirds!!!!!!!— gobirds17
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