Paul Domowitch: Foles' time could be coming if Vick doesn't reverse poor trend

"Sometimes with a player, you can step back half an inch and maybe you go forward a mile.'' - Eagles coach Andy Reid, after benching Donovan McNabb in November 2008

IS IT time yet for Michael Vick to step back half an inch?

Is it time for the turnover-prone quarterback to take a seat on the bench and see what he can learn while rookie Nick Foles runs the offense?

Not quite yet. But perhaps very, very soon.

If I'm Andy Reid, I'd still give Vick most of the first-team reps in practice this week. But I'd also give a handful to Foles to let both he and Vick know that Vick will be on a short leash Sunday night when the 2-1 Eagles face the 2-1 Giants at the Linc.

And if Vick goes out there and turns the ball over a couple more times in the first half and continues to hold on to the ball and continues with the poor decision-making he's displayed in the first three games, I'd give him the hook and bring in the 6-6, 243-pound righthander from the bullpen.

Do I know if Foles is ready for the prime-time spotlight? No, I don't.

None of us really do, including Reid. The kid looked terrific in the preseason. Handled everything they threw at him. Never once showed us that deer-in-the-headlights look you often see from rookie quarterbacks. But the preseason is to the regular season what the Oshkosh Dinner Theater is to Broadway.

So, while I don't know for sure what would happen if Reid put Foles out there, I do know what will happen if he sticks with Vick and the guy continues to play the way he's played in the first three games.

The Eagles will not make the playoffs.

They've already committed a league-high 12 turnovers and Vick has nine of them. Six interceptions and three fumbles, including two in Sunday's ugly loss to the Cardinals.

Three of Vick's giveaways have been in the red zone. Seven of them have been on the opponents' side of the 50. He's 29th in the league in passing (66.3), 29th in interception percentage (4.8) and 25th in completion percentage (.552).

He's got two 300-yard passing games, but so what? His penchant for turnovers has made that moot. Despite ranking fifth in total offense, the Eagles are 31st in scoring, averaging just 15.6 points per game.

Vick has thrown just three touchdown passes in 125 attempts. The Bills' Ryan Fitzpatrick has eight in 86 attempts. Seahawks rookie Russell Wilson has four in 75.

Is it all Vick's fault? No. His offensive line, without All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters and center Jason Kelce, has been inconsistent.

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg's play-calling has been Dr. Frankensteinish. Vick is a less-is-more quarterback. He's just 5-12-1 in his career in games in which he's thrown 35 or more passes. His 125 attempts in the first three games are more than he's ever had in a three-game period in his career.

But Vick seems to be regressing to the player he was in Atlanta.

Impatient in the pocket. Unsure of what he's looking at. Making poor decisions.

Teams are blitzing him and he's acting like, well, like a rookie. He was just 5-for-21 Sunday when the Cardinals sent five or more rushers. In Week 1, he was 8-for-17 against the Browns' blitz.

This isn't a 24-hour flu with him. It's been going on for a while. Last year, he had just a 65.5 passer rating against the blitz. Eleven of his 14 interceptions were against the blitz. By comparison, the Giants' Eli Manning had a 98.4 rating and nine interceptions against the blitz, and the Cowboys' Tony Romo had an 85.1 rating and just three interceptions.

Would the Eagles be better off with Foles? Again, I don't know. But Reid is getting very close to the point where he may need to find out.

I know this: Foles' decision-making won't be any worse than Vick's has been in the first three games. Foles doesn't have Vick's elusiveness, but he showed very good presence in the pocket during the preseason, and will get the ball out quickly. He may be able to establish the rhythm that the offense has been lacking.

Reid was desperate 4 years ago when he benched McNabb and replaced him with Kevin Kolb in the second half of a November game against the Ravens. McNabb had been playing poorly for 3 weeks. Had just one touchdown pass and five interceptions in the previous seven quarters, including two picks in the first half of the Ravens game. His team was on the verge of falling to 5-5-1.

As most everyone knows, Kolb replaced him in the second half, but didn't save the day. He threw an interception that Ed Reed returned 108 yards for a touchdown on the way to a 36-7 Ravens victory.

Reid decided to go back to McNabb the next game, and stepping back half an inch seemed to do him a world of good. It snapped him out of his funk and he led the Eagles to four wins in their next five games and a playoff berth that had seemed all but lost after that loss to the Ravens. The Eagles made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game that year before losing to the Cardinals.

In the eight games following his benching, including the postseason, McNabb had a 92.2 passer rating, throwing 14 touchdown passes and just five interceptions.

So, if you don't think Reid has the guts to sit Vick, guess again.

He raised eyebrows at the end of his Monday news conference when he was asked whether he might consider benching Vick if he continued to be a turnover machine.

The expected response was, "I'm not going to go there. Michael is my quarterback.'' Instead, Reid said, "Right now, we're with Michael and that's what we're doing. We'll evaluate as we go.''

Later in the day, on his radio show, he said he didn't mean to suggest that he was considering making a change. "Michael's my quarterback. Period,'' he said of Vick. But we heard him say the same thing about Kolb 2 years ago.

No, Reid clearly was sending a message to Vick with his initial comment. He wanted to make it clear to him that he needs to start playing better, or he could find himself on the bench. Maybe for good, or maybe just long enough to step back half an inch.

Reid is coaching for his job this year. If he feels he needs to hail the rookie from the bullpen to help him keep it, he won't hesitate to do it.