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Scout: Vick no longer special

Teams' unwillingness to part with draft picks to acquire Michael Vick has less to do with the whole dogfighting ordeal than it does his diminished athletic ability.

As we mentioned yesterday, the Eagles' QB situation is the NFL topic most likely to be discussed around the nation between now and draft time.

Yesterday, we pointed you to Peter King's MMQB column on SI.com in which he questioned why more teams weren't making aggressive plays for Donovan McNabb.

And today, a similar question pertaining to Michael Vick.

Per Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com, the reason is simple: teams don't think Vick is a special player anymore.

In other words, their unwillingness to part with draft picks to acquire Vick has less to do with the whole dogfighting ordeal than it does his diminished athletic ability.

Marvez spoke to a scout who watched all of Vick's snaps last season.

"He can't throw," the scout said. "A guy could be open 20 yards downfield and he'll throw it 25. He never could throw, but he was fast before. It's not like he's slow now but he doesn't stick out like, 'Wow, this guy is faster than everybody.'"

To be fair to Vick, I'm not sure it's right to judge him on those 64 snaps. We all watched how the Eagles shuffled him in and out all season. It's a situation that most NFL quarterbacks would likely have trouble with, especially one who was coming off a two-year stint in prison.

But then again, what other evidence is there to go by? It's not like he's a draft prospect who can hold private workouts for teams. It's not like teams had scouts at practice to see if he was picking up the offense. They really can only go by those 64 snaps and people they talk to.

Marvez asked an NFL personnel director whether the lack of interest in Vick was because he's no longer a "special athletic talent" and the guy responded via text: Right on.

Vick completed six of 13 passes last season for 86 yards and a touchdown. He carried 24 times for 95 yards and a pair of scores.

I'll try to post our Year in Review on Vick later this week.

Anyone happen to have all of last year's games on DVD? I'm going to need a special DVR with more space next season so I don't have to clear these out...

As both the Inquirer and Daily News have reported, running back Mike Bell is in town for a free-agent visit. The good news on Bell is that he has just 348 career carries in four seasons, and will only be 27 when next season starts. Click here for his career stats.

Good piece by Les Bowen today, which updates the QB situation.

And finally, Paul Domowitch takes your questions in an Eagles chat at 11 a.m.

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