The myth behind Vick's 2011 injuries
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The myth behind Vick's 2011 injuries
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Update: Lots of good feeback on this post, so I answered some questions in a second post.
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I was doing some research over the weekend for an offseason project and came across a couple Michael Vick nuggets worth sharing.
As we approach mini-camps, OTAs and eventually training camp, there will be a lot written and said about Vick's injuries and how his ability to stay healthy will go a long way in determining the Eagles' success in 2012.
For the record, I agree with that part.
But the rest of the narrative might focus on Vick's "reckless" play. You might hear that he missed three games last year and failed to finish two more. And that those injuries occurred because Vick too often left the pocket, scrambled or refused to slide.
That notion, I discovered, is a bit misguided.
I went back and looked at Vick's injuries from a year ago. By my count, there were four significant ones reported by the team: the concussion that knocked him out of the Falcons game; the bruised right hand that knocked him out of the first Giants meeting; the finger injury against the 49ers; and the two broken ribs against the Cardinals that caused him to miss the next three games.
Here's a breakdown of what happened on the four plays where Vick is believed to have sustained those injuries.
Concussion: Vick dropped back and completed a 9-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin. But LeSean McCoy did a poor job of picking up blitzing Falcons safety William Moore on Vick's front side. Moore hit Vick, who spun around and bumped into right tackle Todd Herremans. He left the game with a concussion. But this injury had nothing to do with Vick being reckless. He executed the play well, and his teammate (McCoy) didn’t do his job. It was also a freak injury. Vick did not suffer the concussion because he was hit by Moore. It happened because he collided with his own right tackle.
Bruised right hand: The Eagles ran a play-action fake against the Giants, and Vick delivered a beautiful 23-yard completion to Maclin. This was not a designed roll-out, but rather, Vick stayed in the pocket. Giants defensive lineman Chris Canty nailed him right under the chin with his helmet. A penalty could have been called on the play, but the refs didn't throw a flag, causing Vick to publicly complain about receiving unfair treatment in his post-game press conference. But again, Vick was in the pocket and completed a pass on the play.
Injured finger: By now, you may be starting to sense a pattern. Against San Francisco, Vick stood in the pocket and delivered a 7-yard completion to McCoy. But 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith got some pressure against Jason Peters around the edge and hit Vick's finger as he released the football. The play occurred in the second quarter, but Vick completed 30 of 46 passes for 416 yards in the game.
Broken ribs: And finally, Andy Reid said Vick sustained two broken ribs on the second play of the Cardinals game when linebacker Daryl Washington came untouched on Vick's front side and nailed him as he got rid of the ball to Brent Celek for a 13-yard gain. Vick went on to play perhaps his worst game as an Eagle, completing just 16 of 34 passes for 128 yards and a pair of interceptions.
Four injuries on four plays. And in each instance, Vick not only was in the pocket, but he completed the pass.
Don't get me wrong. Vick needs to do his best to avoid unnecessary hits. He needs take care of his body and the football for the Eagles' offense to be successful.
But any suggestion that the injuries he sustained in 2011 were due to him leaving the pocket, running recklessly or not sliding are off-base.
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All 4 plays Vick could have gotten rid of the ball faster and not taken any of the hits. I don't care if he is in or out of the pocket... Don't take hits!— Clt Philly Fan- andy reids offense puts great physical pressures ont eh qb. McNabb mostly survived because he was bigger than the linebackers. Vick doesn't have that body. i believe that letting him run around decreses his chances of getting hurt because players have to catch him, not just unload on him. It is easier to run all out at one spot than approach a man who might make you miss. But all that passing with less than max protect will get (and pretty much has gotten) every qb on the eagles hurt.— doc al
- maybe sometimes he holds on to the ball to long, like it seems every eagles quarterback does - but in reality its the line is too weak to give the guy even 5 seconds to throw a pass on many plays, not wreckless play by the quarterback.
- Great job Sheil even though 1/2 these morons will see Vick's name and comment w/o even reading it. You (trolls, haters, losers) this was good research and every game I watched last year I agree he got hurt in the pocket with questionable late hits. The Giants are just dirty with hitting above the neck and driving you into the ground, there days is coming just like the Saints and Patriots. Anyways great job of research and facts and not speculations and falsehoods.— Blessed8251
- The bottom line is Vick is not a very good QB. He makes too many mistakes with the football. Running with it like it's a loaf of bread. Throwing too many interceptions. And throwing too many incompletions. He is, however, very exciting to watch. I don't want to be excited watching a gifted athelete run around the field. I want to be excited watching my team win a Super Bowl. After rooting for the Eagles the past 40yrs, I don't think we are any closer with Vick as our QB.— davew31
- Well quit watching then since you think that we can't win.
Vick: 2012 MVP and SB Champion and SB MVP— elijah29 - Thanks Shiel. About time someone FINALLY put out the FACTS. I've been saying this for a year, but the haters (people that don't know football, doesn't watch the games and then complain)will always find something— elijah29
- Sheil, while I appreciate the article, I think your conclusion is off base. First, as other posters have pointed out, you cannot look at each injury in a vacuum. While they occured in the pocket, it is unfair to ignore the cumulative effect of other hits he took during the course of the season. Especially with respect to the broken ribs--an injury which arguably resulted from numerous hits throughout the year. Second, and arguably more importantly, I think your data actually confirms the main cause of Vick's injuries--he takes too long to get rid of the ball. This is attributale to two things that are solely within his control: (1) his stubbornness: he refuses to give up on a play even when he should, thus leading to more unnecessary hits "in the pocket," and (2) his inability to read the defense pre-snap and adjust accordingly. Regarding the former, Vick refuses to give up on plays when all are lost, and this has lead to more hits and more injuries. Regarding the latter, he can learn something from watching Manning's ability to control the line of scrimmage before the play starts. There is a reason Manning is usually the least sacked quarterback in the league, and it has nothing to do with his athleticism. He has an uncanny ability to get rid of the ball before he gets hit--he recognizes where the blitz is coming from, knows which receiver he can go to before the hit comes, and if the current play does not give him the option to get rid of the ball before he gets hit, he adjusts the play at the line of scrimmage. Vick rarely, if ever, does this, and I do not know that he possess the intelligence or work ethic to ever correct this problem. So, like I said, while I liked the effort in putting together the stats, I think your conclusion misses the main problems with Vick.— phillypatrick3
- Guys like Vick, McNabb, Favre, Cam Newton, Randall Cunnignham, Steve Young, John Elway... they all had the ability to extend plays with their legs. They were fast, strong and were tough to tackle. That's what Vick brings to the table. He has been getting better at the passing and reading. The other issue about this past year is that he was given added responsibility. The Center was no longer calling the blocking assignments. That was on Vick too. So a new patchwork o-line, a QB not known for reading defenses needed to audible the Oline as well as the position players, a WR in Jackson who was 50% in it, all with a pass happy coach... I'm happy Vick is still alive! He's made leaps and bounds last year in a shortened preseason, and will be better. They have a solid line in front of him. Reid seems like he's willing to use Shady more, and Desean will be a happy player again. Vick has all the tools to put together a Superbowl run. I am way more concerned about a defense that can't tackle or plug up the middle. That's what will prevent the Lombardi Trophy from marching down Broad this year. Vick can put up points.— macd41144
- Facts never change the mind of Haters.....They have no life, have decieded Michael is the fault of their miserable existence...so Truth does not matter, Facts don't matter...only thier hate for the man consumes their small minds.....and is furthered by the imbeciles on talk radio......interesting that they think Rothisberger is tough because he stands in their and makes compeletions, and that they love Cam Newton's style but Michael somehow gets trashed for the same traits......Same story....Haters just love to hate....they have nothing else....— nuggett
- So Vick gets injured because he's small.— ej610
- Sheil, i don't often leave posts, but i have to say your articles are by far the most interesting ones to appear on this site. You're always bringing something of interest to this site and/or raising interesting things to think about it. Keep up the great work and I look forward to hopefully reading your articles for a LONG time!— jpanarey
- MV is not a big guy. He can't help that. He will hang in take a hit and deliver the ball. where it needs to go. A few years back i remember AR saying in this offense you are going to take some hits. One of the things we all liked about Jeff Garcia. He stood in there and tool shots while completing passes. Well Jeff, or Steve Young or Joe Montana were not big guys either. If you know the AR coast offense makes your QB vulnerable and all QBs are at some point in any game, why not limit that probability of injury risk as much as possible. Screens, hot reads and more running. Now they say, oh Eli is tough he can take a hit. You don't have to look far to see what those hits did to his brother. Eagles be smart.— oldBird
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