Eagles' Vick not worried about Week 1 performance

Andy Reid or Ray Lewis may say that the Michael Vick who threw four interceptions against the Browns will not reappear Sunday in the Eagles' home opener, but only the quarterback, really, has any inkling.

And Vick may not even know himself. Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens can make even the best quarterbacks look foolish.

But since Vick's hellish performance in Cleveland, every analyst, professional or otherwise, from ESPN to the office watercooler, has chimed in on what is ailing the 32-year-old quarterback.

Vick is holding onto the football too long. He has happy feet in the pocket. . . . His mechanics are off. . . . He's still carelessly scrambling. . . . Reid has turned him into a robot. And so forth.

"I'm the one who lived it, and everyone else watched it from afar and is just speculating about it and what they think," Vick said Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex. "That's just perception and people going off of what they see. I'm the one who has to deal with it and go out there and make it right."

Reid said he was encouraged by the resiliency of Vick, who led the Eagles on a 16-play, 91-yard drive to win the game in Cleveland. Vick completed 6 of 11 passes for 55 yards and feathered a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clay Harbor. He did have to recover his own fumble, however, and could have been picked off a few times during the drive.

"He finished the way a great player finishes, and you see this all the time in basketball where shooters, the great shooters, they're going to have an off day and they keep shooting," Reid said. "When it comes down to the end, the great ones end up sinking the winning shot."

Reid has been reluctant to publicly criticize his quarterback, although it could be argued that it may straighten him up. But the Eagles coach has done his best since Sunday to maintain Vick's confidence and have him focused on the Ravens.

"I can't dwell on what happened last game because I just don't plan on having that type of ball game again," Vick said.

Vick, of course, was asked to dwell on that last game, when he telegraphed his throws, threw across his body, and tried to squeeze passes into double and triple coverage. He said the errors were not mental.

"I think it's decision-making, pressing, and not pressing as hard to try and make things happen when things aren't going your way," Vick said.

Two of Vick's passes were intercepted by Browns linebackers. There could have been another when L.J. Fort let one slip through his hands a play before the Harbor catch.

Baltimore's Lewis, a surefire Hall of Famer, has 31 career interceptions, sixth best all-time among linebackers. He has never faced Vick, but he expects to see a different quarterback than the one he has seen on film this week.

"He's going to get past that real quick," Lewis said during a conference call. "That's what professionals do, especially a guy like that who has the ability to bounce back and make those plays. The same mistakes he made last week, we're not looking for him to make those same mistakes this week."

Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg could implement a game plan that has more balance than last week, when Vick dropped back to throw 60 times. Vick agreed that a little more rushing could help the offense.

"I think we can balance it out a little bit," Vick said. "But if Coach wants to call 56 pass plays, then that's what it is. We're going to go out and have fun doing it and go out and try and make it work."

The coaches could also trim the playbook and take out some of the guesswork when Vick drops back. Reid and Mornhinweg could call for more short, timing-based passes as they did last October in Washington, the week after Vick tossed four interceptions against the Bills.

Some have suggested that the Eagles have caged Vick in the pocket, turning him into something he is not.

"I think I should go out and play my game within the system, and use my God-given abilities whenever the time calls for it," Vick said. "Just play and get back to having fun playing the game of football."