Reid's contract; utilizing Vick
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Reid's contract; utilizing Vick
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Some interesting links to pass along this Wednesday afternoon.
We start with an item from Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post. Lombardi touches on two topics.
One is Andy Reid's contract situation. Considering that Jeffrey Lurie obviously had to be talked in to the Michael Vick signing, Lombardi wonders if Vick's success and Reid's extension are tied together to some extent. With two years left on his contract, is now the right time to start negotiating with Reid? Lombardi advises against it, saying the Eagles' best option is to wait and see how things play out:
Waiting is the right move. There are too many variables right now to make a huge commitment to Reid for the future, especially since he has two more years left on his current deal. The move to not extend doesn’t imply that the team isn’t happy with his work; it just implies that they’re honoring their commitment to Reid. The lack of an extension now doesn’t imply they won’t eventually extend -- it just means not right now.
Lurie was actually asked about Reid's contract situation when he addressed the state of the franchise at Lehigh.
"You all probably, more than most journalists in the country, know how I feel about Andy," he asid. "Outstanding in every way. I see great success for Andy with the Eagles and that will continue."
A follow-up question asked him if there have been talks about an extension.
"I know you guys have to ask questions like that, but in the history of dealing with coaches and with Andy in particular I’ve never ever spoken publically about it," Lurie said. "Even when we have slow season starts, as we often do, and everyone wants talk about [whether Andy is still going to be the head coach]. Everything will happen very privately and that’s the way it’s always been. I think that’s why it works so well. We talk very directly and honestly and don’t use the public forum."
So basically, if they do talk extension this season, we won't know about it until something is signed or agreed upon.
Lombardi also wrote about how the Eagles could best use Vick, and he offered a take I hadn't previously seen or heard. His suggestion? Use Vick as a change-of-pace QB for 8-12 plays a game. Let him run around, tire out the defense a little, get the opponent thinking about attacking the Eagles differently and then bring in Donovan McNabb to throw against a bunch of worn-out players.
It's an interesting concept. Of course, that would mean taking McNabb off the field for 8-12 plays a game. Remember when Patriots owner Robert Kraft was asked about New England bringing Vick in? He answered -- why would we want to run less plays with Tom Brady on the field? I know McNabb's not Brady, but doesn't the same theory apply to some extent?
And Ron Jaworski has preached about the importance of McNabb being in a rhythm, something Lombardi's system would disrupt.
And finally, one more link to pass along from the folks over at Iggles Blog, who take a look at McNabb's performance in the red zone compared to Vick's.
I actually wanted to take a statistical look at Vick's previous numbers inside the 20 for an MTC post, but IB has it covered. They found that Vick accounted for far more negative plays than McNabb in the red zone, meaning he threw more INTs and was sacked more often.
But their completion percentages were pretty similar (keep in mind the comparison looked at three-year windows for each QB). And as you would expect, Vick is a far bigger weapon in the run game.
Anyway, check out the link for greater detail.
i heard somewhere that this Michael Vick guy is not a very nice person... did anyone else hear anything like that?— oTTo the CzAR- I hear he is a pretty nice guy. Apparently he does a lot of work for the Humane society— tampaPhillyfan
- The red zone stats can be a bit skewed, as McNabb is much less of a risk taker than Vick was as a Falcon. McNabb doesn't throw a lot of picks, period.— JSaq
Do nice people fight and kill dogs or associate with people who do? Do nice people run illegal gambling operations? I would guess he isn't a nice person. Maybe 2 yrs in jail made him nicier, but that probably doesn't happen much in jail.- Didn't he have a job way back when as a dog groomer or something? Sounds like nice friendly work.— TBear
- That is true, I had brought my dog to his establishment one time and asked him to take a little off from the top......wouldn't you know....— Keiferscool
- Sheil, whenever I want to actually learn something about this team, I turn to your blog. Nice work - keep it up all season!— Fozzie27
- lets not forget that vick didn't have great targets in the redzone, mcnabb always had a good runningback and above average wideouts. I'd like to see what Vick can do with this offense, I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out running the offense better than mcnabb. Mcnabb always seems to throw behind or at the feet of the receivers at the worst possible moment. Not to mention how tired he gets towards the end of the game.— #12Cunningham#12
- And he throws up at the worst possible moment!
- If Andy started complaining about wanting a new deal or the Eagles went and offered one, that would almost seem hypocritical after the way they have dealt with Lito and Sheldon...I agree extend either after this year or during the last year.— subsonickharma
- 33-30-1 the last 4 years...I hope they go 4-12 and the arrogant "father of the year" gets run out of town. He signed a dog killer.— Dr. Michael
- Rhythm is a big thing, as is confidence. Ideally, McNabb brings the ball down to the twenty, and then Vick takes over to put more pressure on red zone defenses. Only works if McNabb isn't thrown off by the change.— tacklinjoe
- tacklinjoe....that idea wouldn't be good for my fantasy team— tampaPhillyfan
- The last time the Eagles used a backup QB (Randall) to come in for special plays, it meant the beginning of the end for the starting QB (Jaws). Why would it be any different this time. That type of defensive exhaustion is usally done by a powerful RB, something Reid doesn't believe in. As it is McNabb often can't get into the pace of a game, imagine if he didn't come in until the second or third quarter. Would Vick really want to be used as a tackling dummy?— atp2007
- dr michael has a PHD in stupidity— tripschaos
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