Eagles' backup plan looks good

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The first injury to an Eagles quarterback in last night's exhibition final against the Jets was the fault of neither a balky offensive line nor a risky play. The second? Someone missed Matthias Berning in the third quarter last night, and Berning did not miss Mike Kafka, slamming the Eagles' third-string quarterback hard to the ground, knocking the wind from his lungs.

Kafka stayed in the game. Vince Young, who left after crumpling under his own weight during a second-quarter rollout, did not. But after having his right leg massaged for a few minutes on the sideline, Young walked limp-less to the locker room, his smile reflective of his relief, and that of an increasingly excited fandom.

"Hamstrings, you can't get too scared with those," he said afterward, showing no ill affects as he walked through the bowels of MetLife Stadium. "I'm a fast healer . . . I don't think it's anything major."

Phew. Because Vince looked good in last night's 24-14 Eagles win. Again. Before he left just before the first half ended, he had completed 15 of 23 passes for 193 yards, adding to a solid and promising preseason that should quell some of the what-if jitters fans and media expressed after Michael Vick signed his 6-year, $100 million deal this week.

He led the Eagles into scoring position during their first two possessions, including a 91-yard touchdown drive. He feathered passes, showed nice touch, ran the offense. He did this against rookies and backups, yes, but as he said afterward, "Second team, third team - we all have to keep that same tempo," said Young. "And go out there and make plays."

"He did a nice job," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "The thing I appreciate: Here's a guy who was a high draft pick, a starter, a Pro Bowler. And the way he handled practice this week, it wasn't like he was going out there for some [meaningless] game. He was focused in and ready to go, and he appreciated the opportunity to play. From a head coach's standpoint, I appreciate that. I think everyone follows the quarterback. And most of the guys had that same mindset."

So what did we learn? Well, he was accurate. Again. He took a few big hits. He used his 6-5, 230-pound frame to fend off one blitzer and complete a pass, threaded a 16-yard touchdown pass to Chad Hall in the middle of the end zone, might have even accumulated bigger numbers had Riley Cooper or Clay Harbor held on to tough catches.

Vince Young. Mike Kafka. Both have done well with and against the scrubs this season. One gives you athletic plays and a better-than-average arm. The other has a better grasp of the voluminous Eagles playbook, a little more accuracy perhaps, less mobility, a little less zip for sure.

But the way both men were almost injured last night is a clear indication of why it will be Young, not Kafka, who goes on the field should the $100 million man pull his own muscles on a rollout, or be victimized by a few missed assignments by his still-under-construction offensive line.

Simply, Young is bigger, stronger, faster. There's even an uncanny déjà vu to it all, especially when Kafka was slammed to the ground last night and got up slowly. And while Young's past in no way resembles Vick's, he came to the Eagles a discarded and somewhat disgraced superstar, injuries and ineffectiveness costing him confidence and his starting job in Tennessee, his petulance and pouting costing him respect among some teammates and peers.

The fuss over Young's "Dream Team" comment at his initial Eagles news conference reflects that. "If I'm Vince Young trying to resurrect my career, I keep my mouth shut," former quarterback-turned-radio-host Boomer Esiason told USA Today just this week.

If there is any parallel between Vick and his possible backup, it is in the way they left their former teams and disgruntled fans. Vick flipped a middle finger. Much was made of Young's despondency on the bench in his final days.

Interestingly, Young cited "my maturity," when someone asked him the other day what part of his game had progressed the most as an Eagle.

"As preseason goes on and games go on, I feel like I'm getting better and better," he said after last night. "Just paying attention and listening and being a student of the game."

He is only 28, which means he will be 31 when the guaranteed portion of Vick's contract will have expired. Most expect Young to be somewhere else by then, piloting another NFL team.

Then again, who thought Vick would still be an Eagle last year at this time?

"I just want to make sure I'm taking care of my responsibilities as a quarterback with preparation and transferring everything from the practice field and the film room to the game," Young said this week. "I just want to go out there, manage the game, put points on the scoreboard, and show the coaches that I'm a good backup quarterback."

He did more than that last night. He showed them they might just be able to survive $100 million in lost assets if they have to.