Vick barely survives horrorshow
Eagles 17, Browns 16
Vick barely survives horrorshow
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
CLEVELAND -- On a day where pretty much everything the Eagles did on offense was disconcerting, except for the final score, the Eagles beat the Browns in their 2012 season opener, 17-16. And with that, the hand-wringing will understandably begin in earnest.
Why? Mostly because quarterback Michael Vick threw four interceptions, and because the Eagles forgot to run the ball for long stretches of the afternoon, and because the offensive line struggled (early in the game, especially) to get the Browns' pass rush blocked. Other than that, things were fine.
The Vick business will linger, though -- because, after a training camp that really wasn't much of a training camp at all because of injuries, the quarterback really did look bad at times. He is their most important player and he almost lost a game to Browns rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden, who threw four interceptions himself and had a quarterback rating of 5.1.
The Eagles held a 10-3 lead at the half. Their touchdown came with 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter, on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Vick to Jeremy Maclin. Up until that point, the half had been a tragicomedy of penalties by the Eagles and missed blocks. But they pulled it together on that last drive. They got it blocked. They executed. It appeared as if things had stabilized.
But then Vick just kept throwing the ball away. His pick in the first half was a clasically poor decision -- rolling left, throwing back across his body to his right, just a recipe for disaster. And as the second half wound down, it just kept getting worse and worse. Vick was locking on his receivers with a laser and never seemed to see a sea of white jerseys and orange helmets.
One interception was into triple coverage -- yes, triple. He had all day on another one and still failed to see two defenders. The absolute disaster came in the fourth quarter, when he locked on to Maclin and threw another interception when D'Qwell Jackson stepped in and returned the pick for the touchdown that gave the Browns a 16-10 lead.
On the Eagles' next series, offensive coordinator Marty Morninweg finally remembered that he had a running attack -- or so feared what Vick might do that he fed the ball steadily to LeSean McCoy and also to rookie Bryce Brown. They moved the ball decently, but then the drive stalled -- and kicker Alex Henery missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, wide left.
On the Eagles' next drive, with the clock inside of 4 minutes, Vick was forced to run on third and 10 from the Browns' 32-yard line. He was hit, fumbled, recovered and came up a couple of feet short of a first down. Then Browns coach Pat Shurmur challenged the ruling on the field of a fumble and recovery by Vick. The challenge was denied. It was fourth-and-1 with 3:01 remaining.
McCoy ran over the right side for 3 yards and the first down. On first down, Vick just missed a diving Maclin in the back of the end zone. On second down, Vick hit tight end Brent Celek -- and Celek bulled his way to the 3-yard line. There were 2 minutes remaining.
First-and-goal at the 3. McCoy and Brown both in the backfield. The give was to Brown for a loss of 1 yard.
Second-and-goal. Vick was throwing to Maclin and somehow, Browns linebacker LJ Fort failed to intercept.
Third-and-goal. Good time.
TD pass to Clay Harbor.
With 1:18 remaining, the Eagles had a 17-16 lead.
What follows will be the recriminations.
The defense looked really good. Granted the Browns offense was horrible, but they were able to shut down the run and the outside corners look a world better than they did last season. The Boykin injury has to be concerning though.— Armyofthe15Monkies- I think that Vick's tinted face shield (on his helmet) makes orange look like green.— swinger23
- Scary. Here's hoping that Vick has finished his preseason now. Credit the Browns for some good defense, but Vick better get it together before the Ravens come to town.
Now, let's hear it from those who want to turn the reins over to Foles....— dlscholt - wow...looked like last year to me— mancreatedgod
- "because the Eagles forgot to run the ball for long stretches of the afternoon," RF Again Banner's definition of an imbecile does Reid
ever disappoint in filling it???Especially when you have the best RB
in football!
— Sidewinder7 I agree, it should of been pick number 5 for the day
and if it wasn't a rookie in the end zone it would of been, the
Eagles will go no where but one and done with Vick, if they can
even get that far this year?
— mikey48 - The bad? Vick looked rusty. The good? He came through when it counted. There are people who look for reasons to worry, and people who look at the end result. I look at the end result. If this was the final result in the Super Bowl, I wonder what fans would focus on?— NorthPhillyTechie
- MORE BAD: WE WERE PLAYING AGAINST THE WORST TEAM IN THE NFL! COULD BE WRONG, BUT I THINK THAT COUNTS FOR SOMETHING.
- Time to go to Foles.— Ed Gein
- THEN WHAT? I'D LAY A DOLLAR TO A DOUGHNUT THAT YOU WERE SCREAMING FOR KOLB.
TO HELL WITH THAT, $100 million to a doughnut.
Now go ahead and lie. - Thank God, Reid's Swan Song has begun!
Na na na na, hey hey, GOOD FRIGGIN' RIDDANCE!!!!!! - All these experts say the Eagles have no chance withOUT Vick....look at the tape today...tell me what he brings to the table...RG3 looks better already. All these experts say be careful what you wish for...Reid is a quality coach. Year after year we watch this...HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE TO GIVE HIM I ASK???— RealizticFan
- How does RG3, a rookie with far fewer weapons than the Eagles possess, come through with no INT and a record passer rating? The young man understands the game.
Vick has regressed as a QB. He might have some great games left in him but its hard to see him coming through in a championship game. No patience, no vision, terrible decisions.
The only way Reid will use Foles is if he is forced into it by an injury to Vick, but its obvious that Vick is not the answer for this team. Foles might not be either but I don't see how he does worse than Vick - who almost lost the game to Weeden...amazing.
— Cameiros - How on Earth did Roethlisberger, a 2-time SB winning QB, manage to throw a game-losing pick 6 in the final 2 minutes? Sometimes, these guys make mistakes. — Penfold18
- How good did Ryans look? Defense played very well.— Paul SoTX
