What they're saying: Vick gets ripped
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What they're saying: Vick gets ripped
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's the weekly roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles. After a Week 3 loss, the Birds, and specifically Michael Vick, took a lot of heat.
The links:
Former NFL VP of Officiating Mike Pereira ripped Vick for his comments about the officials and said the Eagles always complain more than any other team:
"Well, I thought it was ridiculous," he said. "It actually took me back, it took me back to my job in New York when I worked for the league, and it was a constant complaint by the Eagles, whether it was [Donovan] McNabb at quarterback or whether it was Vick. They clearly complained more than any other team."
"He’s a quarterback that’s on the move, he’s going to get hit more," Pereira said. "Yes, there are a couple that may be missed but the fact that a ton of them are missed and that he’s hit late all the time is absurd. And he comes out and kind of does the mea culpa yesterday but at the same time what did he say? ‘I was being too candid.’ Well, that doesn’t sound to me like much of an apology. And also the damage is done. I don’t want to be the referee that goes in there now next and works with him. If he calls a roughing the passer penalty for a hit on Vick everybody’s going to say, ‘Well, Vick taunted him into that.’ If he doesn’t [call it] there’s going to be more criticism. So I think it was a bunch of bull and it didn’t sit well with me and it still doesn’t."
The Eagles have dropped to 16th in Don Banks' power rankings on SI.com:
What a weak act that was by Michael Vick in the postgame last Sunday. Yes, you were complaining about not getting late-hit penalty flags, Mike, not merely just pointing it out to the unaware. Otherwise Vick wouldn't have felt the need to backtrack the next day and try to make the story go away. I actually saw referee Jeff Triplette bend over and help Vick to his feet after the hit No. 7 took from Giants defensive lineman Chris Canty, and I can't recall that kind of QB treatment from the guys in stripes too often. An air of entitlement might be making a comeback in Philly.
Banks names the Eagles as one of five playoff contenders already in trouble:
The Eagles appear to already be in crisis mode, but when aren't they? Philadelphia is only one game behind the rest of the division, and this week's visit from San Francisco should provide a relative breather for an Eagles defense that has been forced back on its heels. But it's imperative that Andy Reid's club gets to .500 and stabilizes a bit, because tough road trips to Buffalo and Washington await in Weeks 5-6.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says Andy Reid picked the wrong quarterback:
Three games into the season, it is clear that they made the wrong choice at quarterback. Vick is not their guy, and will never be their guy, and all the $100-million contracts and Nike endorsements and video game excitement and commissioner’s love won’t change that. Vick is not their guy because he can’t stay upright long enough for them to climb on his shoulders. He can’t stay on the field enough to lead them down it. He can’t stay healthy enough to make anyone other than his own team absolutely sick.
This offseason, in giving Vick a contract with a guaranteed $40 million, the Eagles traded young arm Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals. After three games this year, both the Cardinals and Eagles are 1-2, with Kolb owning a 93.7 passer rating while Vick has thrown for a 87.7. Oh, yes, and one more difference. Kevin Kolb has actually played in all three games, while Vick has missed parts of two of them and is currently suffering from a severely bruised hand that could cause him to miss another month.
SI.com's Peter King named Kurt Coleman and Casey Matthews his Goats of the Week:
Bad enough that Brandon Jacobs ran past a slow Matthews on the Giants' first score of the day, a wheel-route touchdown toss from Eli Manning that gave the Giants a 7-0 lead. But with the Giants stuck at their 26 late in the quarter on third-and-two, Manning threw a short pass to the left flat to Victor Cruz. Coleman came up to him at the Giants' 35, had a clear shot at a tackle, but went high at him -- around the chest -- and Cruz burst through him, shucking him off and going for a 74-yard touchdown. There were other Philadelphia defensive deficiencies later -- one at the goal line by Nnamdi Asomugha -- but Matthews and Coleman led the way in digging a huge hole for the Eagles.
The Eagles are 17th in ESPN.com's power rankings:
The Eagles got a huge break when Michael Vick's right hand ended up not being broken.
Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com says the Eagles look like one of the losers from the offseason after a 1-2 start:
The self-proclaimed “Dream Team” has gotten off to the same kind of poor start that the Miami Heat did in the early days of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade playing together for the first time. Not only is Philadelphia 1-2, it has become quickly evident that the Eagles erred by not bettering the offensive line during their wild offseason personnel spree. Michael Vick can whine about the officiating all he wants, but the oft-injured quarterback should focus the brunt of his anger on the five players in front of him who are doing a shoddy job of protection.
Brian Billick has the Eagles 16th in his FoxSports.com power rankings:
Eli Manning matched a career-high four TD passes and snapped a seven-game INT streak. Was it Manning or was it the Philly defense? Cullen Jenkins, Trent Cole and Jason Babin are providing consistent pressure, but the young linebackers continue to struggle.
Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com says Vick is right:
You can’t simply explain away Vick’s complaints by pointing out he is more prone to leave the pocket than Manning and Brady. The rules governing hits on quarterbacks are primarily driven by the huge financial investments owners make in the position and the position’s importance in supporting television interest.
Vick has a second $100 million contract, and I’d argue that he’s the league’s third-best individual television draw after Manning and Brady. Vick is worthy of protection. We should not dismiss his complaint as whining.
Elliot Harrison of NFL.com has the Eagles 18th in his power rankings:
Bottom line: The starting quarterback is hurt. The standings say 1-2. Last place in the NFC East. Six turnovers in the past two weeks are the six biggest reasons this club has lost two straight, and frankly, that will sink any good team in the parity party going on in the NFL right now. Kurt Coleman, that was a terrible tackle attempt on Victor Cruz. Freaking horrific.
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Mike Pereira.It insults me that Fox has this guy on every Sunday to let me know if the refs are making the "right" call. He's the ex vice president of NFL officiating aka he's a referee apologist. No Thank you Fox— Fumblersuki20- Second that. — johnny eagle
- While Vick was on the field the Eagles were ahead.— tpizza
- A more correct statement would be that the Eagles were already losing when Kafka entered the game. — 2ndNlong
- First of all most of the haters Plascki, Banks, Florio, never wanted to see Vick back in the league so their complaints are not a suprise. The Eagles just need to win and that will shut all the fools up. Kevin Kolb, is horrible in Arizona have you seen him play. Even the Arizona tv announcer say he has to play better or Fitzgerald wont' be able to save him. Eagles need to win and the will shut up. They have chosen the team to hate to be the Eagles— Blessed8251
- Totslly agree and I think its time for us so called Eagles fans to rally behind our team. I swear no matter what the Eagles do the fan base refuses to get behind them. Yes we havent won a superbowl, but at least we have winning seasons. Detroit and Cleaveland have had terrible seasons, but still have stronger fan bases. Enough of the bandwagon. — Don_the_Hun
- I don't know what you are talking about. Kolb is getting raves and is leading the NFL in yards per attempt on first down and third down on a team that has no blocking and no legit skill players after Fitzgerald. Here is the painful part for Eagles fans- Kolb has only 10 starts in his career and has been mastering a brand new offense right now. Presumably he will be improving. Look into your crystal ball to 2013 when Kolb is a top tier QB and the Eagles and their new coaching staff are desperately seeking the next Bobby Hoying. That's your future. — jtj06
- They will all be on our units when the Eagles finish up strong— rustypop58
- Agreed. But this Pereira guy -- especially since his point-of-view is likely shared by most refs -- is problematic. I think Vick touched a nerve. I have to ask if we'd be hearing from this genius if Peyton Manning had made those charges in a press conference after a devastating loss. The answer is an emphatic NO. Let's get this game at home and we'll be off to better things. Vick isn't 100% percent, and that still worries me, but if we're going to do anything, we need this one. — auntesther
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- Anyone with half a brain who watched this "athlete" through college and his career at the Falcons could have told you this is the inevitable outcome with this loser. Last full 16 game pro season: Falcons last in passing and 25th in total O. All flash, can't think his way out of a paper bag. Hey idiot: read read read checkdown. Dope can't follow that thought process, thus his penchant for getting his teeth handed to him (and his lack of leadership causes him to then blame others). HAHAHAHA. Keep expecting something different - people have been waiting for about 15 years. Loser, plain and simple.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatus
- Vick needs to...1) stay/get healthy 2)Play better! & the Eagles will be fine. The D has to get better, they should be playing man to man with the corners!— ChangeISNeeded
- tpizza brings up a point that no one can argue. While Vick was on the field, the Eagles were ahead. I know he doesn't play defense, but he led the team down the field and kept our defense on the sideline. I just hope his magic glove will protect his bruised right hand well enough that he can hold onto the ball. Not saying Kafka is bad, just that he needs more work before taking over. Those interceptions were awful.— dlscholt
- 10-6...NFC East Crown...and all of this will be long forgotten...
- That stupid Marvez comment "self-proclaimed dream team" - is that ever going to die!?! Anyone with half a brain (ie, not Marvez) knows that it was said off-hand by someone barely even on the team (and currently inactive) and denied by the entire team afterwards. Idiot.
— reb - "You can't design a defense to stop me" — jtj06
- only 1 game back— peteike
- When the Eagles signed Vince Young they should have put in his contract that he had to wear tape over his mouth the entire season.— SteveS11
- Honestly it really doesnt matter what they are saying about the Eagles. No matter what our team does we are going to have a target on our back. If we win sunday its gonna be classified an easy win. If we win 3 straight going into the By they are going to say those were easy wins even though everybody has been riding the Bills and Redskins.Its the nature of the media once we get back on track everybody is going to be lined up to kiss Vick and the Eagles *** or shout ignorance on how we haven't proved anything.— Don_the_Hun
- Alex Marvez, the Eagles did go after o-line help. Harris got hurt and Danny was picked at #1. Maybe that was a bad pick, but they did try to improve o-line.— P Even
Complain all you want, but all of the viewpoints from the national media are on the money. Can't wait until Reid and Vick are gone (sans SB) so I can root for the Eagles again. Lurie selling the team would be a huge bonus, but he is obviously laughing too hard all the way to the bank with your money.- This Eagles team is completely suspect. The defensive coaching is atrocious and won't improve. They play a terrible scheme on D with the dumb wide 9 and wil be exposed all year. On offense they have a super streaky one dimensional(albeit an explosive dimension) WR, a QB who cannot read defenses nor play from the pocket, an O-line with tons of holes. They'll score points but 8-8 would be a great season by this team. In regard to D-Jax, does anyone realize that if you took away two games last year, the guy caught like 35 passes for 500 yds. Thankfully we have Maclin and McCoy. (and I put my money where my mouth is with a 1k bet that the Birds don't win 9 games this year so save your stupid post.— UncleStosh
- So is it: AndyReid can't coach or AndyReid can't coach+McNabb isn't a goodQB or AndyReid can't coach+Vick isn't a goodQB or AndyReid can't coach?
— OurCity2000 - Kind of surprised at all the media hits Vick is taking. Media darling McNabb never was critizised like this. Even last year with the Skins, its was Shanahan that got it, not McNabb. But Reid also still wears the Teflon. He wasn't really targeted in these quotes, the national media still lays off him.— watsonmr
- Yea this Mike Peirira or however you spell this clown's name is an absolute disgrace and I only watch the games because I'm addicted to football. Fox coverage is an utter embarassment and a disgrace.— brmorgen81
- Sheil, you forgot that great one from ESPN's NFC East blogger Dan Graziano, "while Vick is missing fourth quarters and complaining about officials, Eli Manning and Tony Romo are out there winning games in far more difficult circumstances."— jtj06
- Has anyone ever seen Pereira say the officials blew it ? I know I haven't. Why is everything open to criticism except the officials ?
Coaches get trashed for poor play selection.players get trashed for
poor execution. But anyone who calls out the officials is branded a whiner and crybaby. That hit by Canty was a penalty. Fact is Vicks get more of those kind of hits than anybody else. What I want to start seeing is the qb get knocked to the ground after every interception. That was a 'legal' hit Vick took after the interception but still a low class way to play.— bleedgreen - Well he shows objective evidence. Vick ranks 9th in the NFL in roughing the passer calls per 100 passes with more than three times as many as Favre, either Manning, or Brady. — jtj06
- I've been saying they should stick with Kolb from the beginning...I was universally dismissed as an idiot, with no clue...Vick has a career of below average QB play and half a season of good QB play...Once defenses adjusted to him, he was not getting the job done, including a bad performance in the playoffs against the Packers...This season has been mediocre and injury plagued after only 3 games— ericyshel
- With Vick on the field the Eagles are a dangerous team. With him on the sidelines they are average at best on offense. He needs to stay healthy for us to be competative. I think I saw at least 2 hits by the Giants that should have drawn penalties last Sunday. We need to keep Vick on the field period. If we do we will win most of our games. If not we are in trouble.— JimSeitz
- Did Joe Banner mean that the Beagles are the Wet Dream Team....because that's the only way they will get to the Super Bowl again EVER!— true123
- Vick shouldn't have cried about the late hits and cheap shots but nobody in the world can defend that Canty hit Vick took to me because it is 100% undefensible. The fact of the matter is mobile quaterbacks do not get the calls and will never get the calls. Donovan McNabb took as many or more late hits and cheap shots then Vick. Luckily for McNabb he is built like a line backer while Vick is built like your average guy on the street. Still he should have kept the complaints to himself because it does you no good to complain.— brannigan73
They keep talking about Vick able to run out of the pocket, but if you listen to his complaint he says he's getting hit late while in the pocket. You can't as much touch Brady much less knock him down while in the pocket and the ball is gone without getting a flag. I was watching the NE game last week and they showed a a camera view of Brady in the pocket with the Ref 5 yards away with his hand on the flag halfway pulled out just waiting to see if a Buffalo player touches Brady. I'd rather get beat by a division team who has played us tough for 6 games than get beat by a division team who we ran over for the past 10 years. Brady throws 4 interceptions and all the media can focus on his Vick.... pathetic- It makes no difference it is Vick, McNabb, Jackson, Ryan, Sanchez, Stafford, Bradford or Newton. The rule is if the QB has released the football and is hit by a defensive player it is roughing the passer. The other rule is if the defensive player lunges at the QB with the crown of the helmet it is a penalty and an ejection. The hit on Vick that he rightly complained about falls under both these rules. Vick is not the only player who get's hit late I agree however you still can't touch Brady Manning Brees or Rodgers without getting the flag. Again we are talking about LATE hits after the ball has been thrown. I also agree our o-line needs to DO A BETTER JOB!!!!!!!— VegasEagleFan
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