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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LOL LOL, I knew it was only a matter of time before all the freaks came out in full force, I guess they had to wait for the library to open. What I don't understand about you idiots, if you don't like the man and you already know the outcome for the season, why bother to even watch the games.— charmaine- Good article. The story with Vick isn't that he leaves the pocket too much. That can prolong a career. The main story is that he's smaller than average. The other is that he will sometimes do too much once he takes off running. Any play where he avoids all contact is a good play.— armchairGM
- He gets injured in the pocket and picked when flushed to his right...NICE.— 2ndNlong
- IF VICK CAN SOME HOW STAY HEALTH FOR ALL 16 GAMES AND THE TEAM CAN CUT DOWN ON THE TURNOVERS,EAGLES WILL MAKE PLAYOFFS AND MAKE A RUN AT A CHAMPIONSHIP....THIS TEAM'S GOING TO BE BETTER ON OFFENSE AND DEFENCE THIS YEAR .......G O E A G L E S !— bigpaulie
- he should change what he has for lunch. that'll fix it. i know this stuff.— Lunchboy
- Interesting point of view, but fails to address an issue: the offensive line, and the blocking backs. Vick is more at risk running like hell and playing his creative version of street football than when he's staying in the pocket; but when you have an o-line full of holes then you're in trouble there, too.--I'd guess the o-line will be better this year, but will it matter? If Reid continues to insist on 40 passes per game, and not running the ball, Vick is in for a short season regardless. (HTML deleted)— MidStaterUXB
- Sure he is in the pocket, in the pocket holding the ball too long yet again.— Sidewinder7
- Par league QB at best anyway. 2012 will be similar to any other year for the Eagles and Vick.— uandwhosearmy
- Bottom line is the older he gets, the more chance he has for injury, and the longer it will take for him to recover. Certain players in sports are more injury prone than others.— watsonmr
- sidewinder7- You don't remember what happened last year. None of those plays were a result of him holding the ball too long. These were 4 very good defensive plays countered by 4 very good throws. Unfortunately, Vick ended up hurt after each one.
Vick looks good EAGLES FANS. Remember when he couldn't throw the ball at all? We made him a good quarterback, so please stop telling yourself that he's not. Our offensive line progressed throughout the year and ending up being one of the best. Our season came down to turnover and not finishing on defense. You take away 3 turnover from 2011 and we end up 11-5, no exaggeration.— colahead420 - kool-aid builds championships in April and May. Andy Reid and Vick lose championships most sundays. and it adds up, and by week x, Vick has taken so many hits he gets "injured" in a visible way in/out of the pocket it doesnt matter, hes injured. Last year he was absolutely injured WHEN SCRAMBLING 20 YARDS DOWNFIELD RECKLESSLY and broke his ribs by getting greedy and going for a TD instead of a nice 10 or even 20 yard gain he had to beat not 5 skins defenders but had to try to beat the last 2 or 3 guys guarding the goalline too and paid for it. So youve got one year, and multiple years where his scrambling DID MATTER in injuring him and one year where maybe not, what do you get, an exception, NOT THE RULE. thats like saying Andy going 8-8 and therefore not winning a SB is an anomoly. He DOESNT WIN A SB EVERY YEAR. Him going 8-8 is not why he didnt win the Superbowl last year, him calling 60%+ passing and having a small defense is why he didnt, which happens EVERY YEAR. going 8-8 doesnt help, but it doesnt explain fully why he failed, just like Vick getting hurt IN the pocket one year does not fully explain why he gets hurt every year. Its alot more complicated then that, and the simple fact is he WILL get hurt again, and Andy will NOT win the SB. BECAUSE THATS WHAT HAPPENS EVERY YEAR. ROCKET SCIENTISTS REJOICE.— CharlieGarner25
- Eagles ran 450 plays vs. 330 passing plays...Not sure how that's 60% passing but I guess you are only estimating again? Either way it's a lot less than the Giants and Pats who were in the SB. Isn't it amazing that the team that finished dead last in rushing WON the SB? But that's just an estimate...
Are how dare Vick try to score a TD...the NERVE of the guy! Who needs that type of effort?— tpizza - lol, pizza you must have been waiting all day for that huh...only 11 minutes after my post...and amazingly not even remotely accurate. Vick alone threw 400+ passing attempts at 423. PLus VY had 114. As a team they passed it 554 times to only 450 rushes. 100 more passes then rushes. ummm, here alleged "proof" of the "conspiracy" http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/teams/stats/2011/philadelphia-eagles/index.html....you should look into that.— CharlieGarner25
- The injuries to Vick are due to the sub par performance of the Eagles offensive line. Vick's not the only Eagle Quarterback to be knocked out of Games because of the Offensive Line Play, Kolb, and McNabb before that were also knocked out of games, and with McNabb, Seasons.
Vick's been injured in the POCKET, last year he was knocked out of the Washington Game when pass protection broke down and he scrambled to the End Zone.
The Eagles offensive line ruined McNabb, he never played the same after injuring his knee. The simple truth of the matter is that the Eagles Quarterback, each and every one of them to have started a game or two in the last 10 years where subject to being a Tackling Dummy behind those Eagles lines. The Eagles the previous two years, 2010 and 2009 gave up 48 sacks each year.— Dexter - Charlie you didn't read the article this kid wrote. The Redskins game the play he got hurt on at the goal line, the Protection completely broke down and he was forced out of the pocket. Vick scrambling was the Eagles only offense at that time.
Last year, Vick was hit late often, if you were watching on television there's not way you were able to see the hits he took after completing a pass and not getting a call for the first half of the Season. The Atlanta hit, to start the season was a late hit after completing a pass.
Most of the sacks are within 2.4 sec of the snap of the ball. The issue is, was blocking and lack of blocking in terms of missing assignments.
I don't know where this he hold onto the ball to long begins, we only have one receiver who can get separation and generally DJax best routes take time to develop down field. The Eagles without Westbrook really don't have underneath routes because they don't have a slot receiver, tight end or running back who can exploit the underneath stuff.
Shady is a good running back so long as djax is available to stretch the field, Shady is not the receiver Westbrook was, not that their are many in the league as efficient as a receiver as Westbrook.
— Dexter
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