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Vick fits the bill - until his inevitable injury

Michael Vick has missed 12 games because of injury during his time with the Eagles, sitting out for at least two games in each of his four previous seasons. He left four other games early and was unable to return. The catalog of physical issues that sidelined him includes a quad contusion, multiple rib injuries, a hand injury, and a concussion.

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)
Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)Read more

Michael Vick has missed 12 games because of injury during his time with the Eagles, sitting out for at least two games in each of his four previous seasons. He left four other games early and was unable to return. The catalog of physical issues that sidelined him includes a quad contusion, multiple rib injuries, a hand injury, and a concussion.

It is a testament to his toughness that he not only came back from all those injuries, but - and here's the part that can drive coaches crazy - that he put himself in jeopardy of suffering them in the first place.

Part of what makes Vick an effective quarterback in the style he prefers is that he doesn't give up on plays, that he disdains throwing the ball away, that he won't run out of bounds or slide when he is running, and that he doesn't mind throwing a block if he finds himself in position to do so. Of course, the problem is that style is also why he gets hurt.

This season, it is almost an article of faith that Vick will not start 16 games for the Eagles. Somewhere along the way, he'll take one of those shots that have sidelined him before. People talk about it as if looking at the weather report and waiting for rain. It always rains eventually.

Vick made it all the way to the fourth quarter of the opener last Monday before coming up limping after a run against the Redskins. He said it was a tweak of the groin and nothing to worry about.

"I pretty much control everything that happens out there on the field," Vick said. "I didn't put myself in a position to protect myself at times, but that's what I train for. You know, that's why I weigh 220 pounds now."

Vick was kidding about the last part. He knows better than anyone that fitness isn't a magic shield against injury. The first part he believes, though. When the play is taking place, he can control what happens. So when he sees LeSean McCoy cut back on a sweep and there is someone Vick can block, as was the case against the Redskins, he didn't think twice. Or once.

"We don't want him lead-blocking on sweeps," offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. "So we told him not to do that. So we assume he won't."

Well, that's a nice planet Shurmur is living on, but it must be a little short on oxygen, because Vick's career is littered with his promises to stop doing this and start doing that to better his chances of staying on the field. When he was with Atlanta, the Falcons sent him over to the Braves and asked Bobby Cox to teach him to slide. Vick promised he would learn from the experts. The Falcons probably assumed he would.

"I don't think, at 33, we're going to get him to hook-slide," Chip Kelly said the other day. "We can talk about it, wish for it. I don't see that happening."

They can wish to see Vick throw away the ball to avoid a hit in the pocket, and wish for no more blocking, and wish for cupcakes and bunny rabbits, but history tells us that Michael Vick will play football his way, and then he'll sit down for a while again.

That doesn't make him a bad man. It doesn't make him a bad quarterback. It certainly doesn't make him a bad team leader, because his attitude gives him the respect and loyalty of every man in that locker room. But it does make him a bad risk.

Well, what of it, as we wait for the next rainstorm to begin? Was Kelly supposed to select his second-best quarterback just because he would be starting eventually, anyway?

The answer to those questions depends on your view of what this inaugural season under Kelly is supposed to accomplish. Wins would be nice, naturally, and the win over Washington was welcome, if a little surprising. But the bigger job is to put Kelly's methods into place and have the real payoff somewhere down the road.

That is the job Vick was given for as long as he is able to keep doing it this season. Vick and Nick Foles, at least according to the coach, were separated by very little during the quarterback derby of training camp. We can argue the intangibles that factored into the decision, and we have, but what gave Vick the final edge is that he more resembles Kelly's ideal quarterback than does Foles.

Whenever that future quarterback is identified and acquired, he will have more of Vick's attributes - speed, a threat to run, a strong arm - than those of Foles - a quick study with an acceptable and accurate arm, a realistic view of his limits, and the ability to reach things on the top shelf.

As long as Vick stays healthy, his performance as the stand-in for Kelly's eventual quarterback will help the rest of the team get ready for that elusive future. Judging by Monday, that's a good plan. We'll see how long it lasts. It is another game day for the Eagles and, once again, there is always a good chance of rain.