Eagles Notebook: Vick says Oakland 'didn't really come up'

IT WASN'T THAT he spurned the Oakland Raiders, or necessarily would have spurned them had the opportunity arisen, Michael Vick said yesterday.

Vick was responding to recent remarks by his NFL appointed mentor Tony Dungy, who said he advised Vick to stay away from the tumultuous Oakland situation.

"When I got released from prison, I didn't care where I would have played," Vick said as the Eagles began preparations for Sunday's game at Oakland. "It really didn't come up. I think coach Dungy just wanted me to be in a place where I was going to be protected, and I just wouldn't have a lot of pressure on me. I think that's what he meant."

Vick said tossing him into the mix would not have been good for Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the first overall selection in the 2007 draft, 6 years after Vick was taken in the same slot by the Atlanta Falcons.

"If I'd have gone there, there would have just been a lot of quarterback controversy," Vick said. "I think the most important thing is for JaMarcus to get his reps and get a feel for the game and place, to prove that he can play in this league. You don't get too many years to prove that. They've given him his shot, and he deserved it."

Vick said he thinks the Eagles' framework is ideal.

"Any quarterback who comes through this system is going to be successful, with the coaches we have upstairs, because they demand a lot out of the players," he said. "That type of structure they have, you want to please the coaches because they're good guys and know what they're doing, and you know when they're telling you something, they're not telling you just to be saying it . . . Any quarterback who comes here is going to thrive."

Raiders coach Tom Cable yesterday told a conference call with Philadelphia-area reporters that signing Vick was "never something we seriously considered." Cable said the Raiders had four quarterbacks on their roster last spring, when Vick was conditionally reinstated, and had no room for another.

Of course, none of that is to say Vick won't end up in Oakland at some point. He has a 2-year contract with the Eagles, but from the tone of his recent comments Vick seems to think he will be competing for a starting job somewhere next season. That almost certainly won't be the case here.

"I can't look beyond what can happen this year," Vick said. "The most important thing is to focus on today, the game we have this week. I'm here to help this football team win. I can't look too far down the road, because I don't know what the future holds for me. I've got to enjoy this season, enjoy being in this locker room, enjoy being with the guys here for a year or 2, then that's what it is."

"I'll be back this week," Laws said yesterday.

Eagles coach Andy Reid reiterated that he chose to activate Antonio Dixon over Laws last week because Dixon is bigger and stronger (6-3, 322 vs. 6-1, 304). But given that Dixon was picked up on waivers last month from the Redskins, and Laws was the first Eagles selection (in the second round) of the 2008 draft, that doesn't say great things about Laws.

"He's a big body," Laws acknowledged.

He said the coaches might have been trying to send him a message, but all he is sure of is that, "Antonio played well, and I'm going to be back this week making plays, and that's all there really is to it."

Herremans, who underwent stress-fracture surgery on his left foot Aug. 28, has targeted next week's game at Washington for his return; last week, he even brought up the possibility of playing this week. This week does not seem likely, given that Andy Reid said yesterday the priority is to "just take it nice and easy and ease him back into playing football now."

Reid also shied away from saying Herremans is on target to play against the Redskins.

"We kind of need to see here what happens," he said. "I don't want to lead you on to anything on this. This is the first step."

Wide receiver Kevin Curtis practiced but said his ailing knee didn't feel much better. "It's still not where I want," said Curtis, who has missed the past two games . . . Corner Dimitri Patterson (quad) did not practice, and corner Sheldon Brown (abdomen) was listed as a limited participant . . . Donovan McNabb said he "absolutely" will again wear a flak jacket to protect his ribs this week . . . When a reporter asserted that McNabb had never had young receivers like DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin before, McNabb said: "I've had Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkston." He might have been kidding. Or not . . . Comcast SportsNet.com reported that Victor Abiamiri and Jason Avant were fined $5,000 by the NFL, Avant for a chop-block penalty Sunday, Abiamiri for his blow-to-the-head-of-the-quarterback violation in which his hand brushed Josh Johnson's facemask. Left guard Todd Herremans worked out in individual drills during part of yesterday's practice, the Eagles said, Herremans' first such activity in more than 2 months. Herremans said before practice he was "stoked" to get back on the field. He was not available during the time reporters were allowed in the locker room after practice.

Defensive tackle Trevor Laws said he isn't overly upset about being inactive last week, especially since he said he has been told he'll be back in the rotation against the Raiders.