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.
Scout: Vick no longer special
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
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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I don't know how you can tell based on the very limited # of chances he got last year.— potus
"He can't throw" sums up #7. He had less than 200 pass attempts at VT for a reason. The fact that Vick was once the highest paid player in the NFL is a testament to the dopes running the Atlanta Falcons. 5 + 7 + Reid = 3 reasons to sit out 2010.— 5280philly- Sheil, I believe you can get a PC and a TV card. You can then use the PC as a DVR, which will have a lot more space than the cable company's DVR. Some TV cards will actually come with the channel guide software so you can stop "renting" the DVR from Comcast or Verizon and just use the PC hard drive as your DVR.— mikeyhigs
- 5280 philly, 5+7+Reid=a reason to sit out? As if McNabb and Reid are so bad? Playoffs and winning 10-11 games isnt fun to watch? Either you are taking the losses too hard or you arent enjoying watching really good football for the last decade.
- maybe the eagles should be allowing or even presenting a workout of vick for interested teams— zwarte piet
- i love how all these personel guys know he's not a special player anymore based on 60+ plays with no offseason workouts in 3+ years and no regular practice time during the season. I would not be surprised at all after a full offseason of reps, running and training that we see a player markedly better then what we saw from Vick last year. Not saying he'll be Vick of old, but he should be considerably better then what he was in 2009. It's all posturing. A team wanting Vick wants him cheap, the Eagles want to get the most from him. Meet in the middle.— tsg19
Comment removed.- Vick isn't special but he's better than half the starting QB in the league and better than any QB coming out of college this year. QB is the most important position on a football team. You can't contend without a quality QB. Teams will be using 1st round draft picks to select unproven, mediocre college QB but think the Eagles are asking too much for Vick. Any of the Eagles QB should get a minimum of a 1st round pick plus. Kolb is a quality QB that has been in a pro program for 3 years and is prepared to start. Teams really think they can get that for less than a 1st? I'd keep them versus give them away. We have seen Eagles season where the 3rd string QB ends up the starter due to injuries.— MikeP
- It matters little if they can't trade Vick this year because if they hold on to him for this season next season they will receive a 3rd round draft pick as a compensation. Personally I would rather have Vick as the 3rd string QB as opposed to a rookie or a low skilled journeyman veteran.— Nothing but the truth
- Vick is no longer "special" but he can be of consierable value as a wildcat back. The key to wildcat being more than a gimmick is having a dual-threat, running or passing. Vick certainly qualifies, and as the season went on his passing improved. Plus, because he is no longer a franchise-caliber player, he is expendable should he get injured. Finally, he can also serve as a backup QB. He may not be worth a 1st round pick, but he has value. And that's probably why the Eagles are slow to trade him - if they can only get 10c on the dollar for him, why not keep him?— Bobby G
- He can't throw but he makes Eagles fans throw up. Enough of the Father of the Year Andy Reid failed experiment, 11 years is enough.— Dr. Michael
- These scouts "kill me" with their posturing. You really think you can judge a guy after that long a layoff? The Greatest Basketball Player of All Time even took a season to get back into playing shape and that was without spending 2 yrs in prison. If Jake Delhome can get a job paying him 7 Mil per (The Panthers PAID him 12 Mil to Kick Rocks) with the Brownies after his abysmal 2009 and 2008 seasons at 35 yrs old, Im quite sure Vick can find a starting gig, somewhere. Get your popcorn ready folks.— BooDuhBud
"He can’t throw," the scout said. "A guy could be open 20 yards downfield and he’ll throw it 15. He never could throw, but he was fast before." OOPS, sorry, that's the other Iggles QB.— tornadoh- Comment removed.
- Zeru77, what????????????????????? 60 yds on a rope????? it was a screen pass that maclin took all the way you DOPE!— tremo12
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