Delay Suggests Make-or-Break for Vick
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
Delay Suggests Make-or-Break for Vick
Les Bowen
Andy Reid let it be known Wednesday that Michael Vick will start Monday night in New Orleans.
The fact that Reid needed three days after Sunday's devastating loss to the Falcons to announce his quarterbacking decision tells us it was not an easy, automatic one. Reid won't speak about his thought process until Thursday, when practice resumes, but it's likely he came to the same conclusion many observers reached this week: the Eagles' best chance to save their season and make the playoffs remains with getting Vick back in the flow. The 2-5 Saints have the league's 32nd-ranked defense. Unlike the Birds' last three opponents, they are not coming off their bye week.
If Vick regains some swagger in New Orleans, the Eagles are 4-4 at midseason and everything looks better. If Vick can't beat the Saints, then the playoffs are a distant dream, and Reid might as well go with rookie Nick Foles the next Sunday, at home against the Cowboys. As Daily News columnist Rich Hofmann has mentioned, the only hope Reid has then of keeping his job is some sort of promising finish under Foles that would allow Reid to create a narrative of hope for the future. Though it's very hard to see Jeffrey Lurie buying that. Even harder to picture Lurie trying to SELL that, after last year's tortured postseaon Lurie performance, in which the owner said the only reason not to fire Reid right then was because he thought the team was on the right road to turn things around this year.
Vick's reaction to all this will be interesting. It sure seems he has one game to prove he is more than the turnover-prone mediocrity he has been this season. Does he rise to that challenge with patience and precision behind an unsettled offensive line, or does he try to do too much Monday, and throw the season away in a series of desperate gambles?
A week from now, we'll know if there is any hope for the 2012 Eagles.
Great coaches know how to structure an offense around players and talent level. Reid and morningweg have proven otherwise.— Yes_General- its time for the mv experience to end.he has shown that he is incapable running this offense.he has not looked good since the 2010 season,once d-coordinators figured him out.he cannot read defenses even after being in the league 11 years.he still does not know how to navigate in the pocket ,and he does not have the intelligence to be an elite qb. i look at rg3 and i am amazed at his qb iq at running the hurry up or 2 minute drill. i am a black man who is a REALIST not a racist and realize that vick does not have the smarts .— swgaston
- This team cannot beat the teams that will enable us to go deep into the playoffs. Even if we get a wildcard, we are not physical enough to take a playoff run without a bye, just look at recent playoff appearances. We are too beat up because of our team makeup to make a serious run without a break. So enjoy whats left of the Reid era because its over!!!— troy ernst
