On the gridiron, there's nothing the Eagles' Vick thinks he can't do

Once upon a time, Michael Vick couldn't hit a curveball.

So young Mike went to his mother and told her that he was quitting baseball.

"I said, 'Ma, I can't do it. Ma, I really can't hit a curveball,' " Vick recalled recently.

But Brenda Vick didn't raise her children to say can't, or to believe they couldn't do something even if they really couldn't do it. Like hit a curveball, which Vick said he can't do to this day.

There's that word again.

"With my mom you really couldn't talk negative. You couldn't say something that you couldn't do, like: 'I can't open this bottle,' " Vick said. "You can't say can't. Can't wasn't a word that we could use in our household."

While there were some things Vick couldn't do on the diamond, there's almost nothing the Eagles quarterback can't do on the football field. And he knows it. He's known it since he was a kid in Newport News, Va., going from neighborhood to neighborhood and dominating even against those who were bigger and older. And he knows it now that he's one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

Vick's confidence in his abilities may be unparalleled.

"You can never have too much bravado, man," the 31-year-old said. "Never."

You can see it in the way he fearlessly plays, in the way he often carries his team, and in the way he frequently talks about himself. But isn't it possible to have too much confidence and to lose sight of your limitations, even for a quarterback?

That very question could sum up the 2011 Eagles as they open their season Sunday at the St. Louis Rams. They are stocked with talent and equipped, in many ways, for a Super Bowl run. But the Eagles have holes that maybe not even Vick can cover.

Don't tell him that, as reporters have tried recently in bringing up the Eagles' patchwork offensive line. "I'm going to give defenses fits anyway," Vick said a few weeks ago. His unbridled confidence may just be the Eagles' best hope.

"I'm afraid to fail, and I think that's what keeps me going," Vick said late last month, just hours after he signed a five-year, $80 million contract. "I think that's why I keep my confidence up at a high level, because I'm afraid to fail."

Like anyone, Vick has his moments of doubt, like when he stood at the plate as a youngster and flailed at a spinning baseball.

It was almost a year ago when Andy Reid called Vick and informed him that he was replacing Kevin Kolb as the starting quarterback. You might have thought it was something the self-assured Vick thought he had earned and was ready for.

But the former Falcons quarterback knew the demands of the job. Vick knew the world he was about to reenter, and he needed someone to talk to. So he called a therapist he had been seeing since arriving in Philadelphia.

"I got all the confidence in the world in my abilities," Vick said, "but this game is not easy."

Especially for quarterbacks.

They not only have to be confident enough to lead their offenses - and, by extension, their teams - but they must also believe in themselves enough to "pull the trigger in a nanosecond and put it through a hole that's as big as a silver dollar," Reid said.

"There are going to be some days when you're firing and the hole you're putting it through is big as a basketball hoop, and there are going to be certain days it is that silver dollar," Reid said. "But you got to keep firing, and there can't be a hesitation. . . . He who hesitates is dead."

In the Eagles' second preseason game, against the Steelers, the hole was smaller than a dime as Vick threw three first-half interceptions. But hesitation wasn't his problem. Vick forced passes when a more conservative approach would have sufficed.

"Sometimes you see that with quarterbacks that have great anticipation, and they're almost too quick and they end up forcing some things," Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. "But I'd rather have that and slow the thing down just a little bit than the guy that doesn't have any great confidence."

Vick said he knows "when to put the holster on." But successful quarterbacks, he, Reid, and Mornhinweg said, shouldn't stop looking downfield and settle for check-downs. It's like a three-point shooter settling for layups.

"Believe at some point something is going to happen, and next thing you know you hit one," Vick said as he started snapping his fingers, "you hit another one, you hit another one, you win a game."

Like in last season's miracle win over the New York Giants, when Vick threw an interception and had a 26.2 passer rating in the first half, only to come back and throw for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns after the break.

Vick's first position in organized football was at running back. Eventually, coaches noticed the lefty's amazing arm strength and converted him into a "hybrid-type" quarterback. Vick credits his background as a tailback with giving him the necessary vision to play under center and in the pocket - like few can.

"I can do things that - I hate to say it - but I can do things that a lot of quarterbacks can't do," Vick said. "I can move. Like I said, I grew up as a running back in my first three years of football. I didn't grow to be 6-4. And my dad was a track star, so I inherited those genes.

"From a mental standpoint, vision, arm strength - so I'm well put-together. But I always say it out of confidence, not arrogance."

Vick often puffs himself up to exude confidence in his teammates and to deflect criticism away from them, as he did with the offensive line following a rough performance against the Browns in the third preseason game. Recently he told Yahoo Sports that "you can't design a defense to stop me, especially not on this team. We have so many weapons."

Some called Vick's comment cocky.

"It can definitely be destructive if the person talking can't back up what they're talking about," Eagles tackle Todd Herremans said. "But Mike can definitely walk the walk and talk the talk. We know it's not arrogance. It might come across that way to some people, but we know it's not."

Vick said there are many things that keep him grounded - such as when he threw his third interception against the Steelers, to Troy Polamalu. After the pick, Vick chased Polamalu down and threw his body into the safety to tackle him. It wasn't exactly the wisest decision, but Vick said a "little bravado, a little anger, a little embarrassment" got in the way.

"We're on Fox [TV]. Got my family and my kids see me throw interceptions," Vick said. "I get home, and my daughter said: 'Daddy, you threw the ball to the wrong guy.' That's when you know you're not doing your job."

Talent can take you only so far.

Several years ago, Mornhinweg had his son attend a baseball hitting clinic. Because it was expensive he told the boy - 10 or 11 at the time - that they would try a few sessions first before making a final decision on whether he would finish the clinic.

"So one day after a session he got in the car, and I asked: 'Hey, what's the most important thing about hitting?' " Mornhinweg said. "He goes, 'Confidence.' And I went, 'You can go there any time you want!' Because if a man has confidence there is no cap on him."

It's Freud's superego in practice. It's Brenda Vick telling young Mike never to say can't.

"I totally forgot about that over the last couple of years, and it's something I probably need to tell my kids because I hear them say it all the time," Vick said. "There was a lot that I couldn't do. But she always made you feel like you could do it."

Of course, a man has to know his limitations - like trying to hit a curveball or play the other futbol.

"I can't play soccer," Vick said. "I played for about a week. It was too much running, just way too much for me. I just always wanted to be a football player."

Did you hear the one about Michael Vick's being an injury risk so his new contract may be out of line? That may be true, or may not be true. Look at his career of starting games and see what you think.

Regular Season

 YEAR/TEAM               STARTED            PCT* REC

2002      Falcons         15/16                94 8-6-1

2003      Falcons          4/16                25 3-1

2004      Falcons         15/16                94 11-4

2005      Falcons         15/16                94 8-7

2006      Falcons         16/16               100 7-9

2010      Eagles         11/15                73 8-3

Total                     79/95                83 45-30-1

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