The myth behind Vick's 2011 injuries
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
The myth behind Vick's 2011 injuries
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Update: Lots of good feeback on this post, so I answered some questions in a second post.
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I was doing some research over the weekend for an offseason project and came across a couple Michael Vick nuggets worth sharing.
As we approach mini-camps, OTAs and eventually training camp, there will be a lot written and said about Vick's injuries and how his ability to stay healthy will go a long way in determining the Eagles' success in 2012.
For the record, I agree with that part.
But the rest of the narrative might focus on Vick's "reckless" play. You might hear that he missed three games last year and failed to finish two more. And that those injuries occurred because Vick too often left the pocket, scrambled or refused to slide.
That notion, I discovered, is a bit misguided.
I went back and looked at Vick's injuries from a year ago. By my count, there were four significant ones reported by the team: the concussion that knocked him out of the Falcons game; the bruised right hand that knocked him out of the first Giants meeting; the finger injury against the 49ers; and the two broken ribs against the Cardinals that caused him to miss the next three games.
Here's a breakdown of what happened on the four plays where Vick is believed to have sustained those injuries.
Concussion: Vick dropped back and completed a 9-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin. But LeSean McCoy did a poor job of picking up blitzing Falcons safety William Moore on Vick's front side. Moore hit Vick, who spun around and bumped into right tackle Todd Herremans. He left the game with a concussion. But this injury had nothing to do with Vick being reckless. He executed the play well, and his teammate (McCoy) didn’t do his job. It was also a freak injury. Vick did not suffer the concussion because he was hit by Moore. It happened because he collided with his own right tackle.
Bruised right hand: The Eagles ran a play-action fake against the Giants, and Vick delivered a beautiful 23-yard completion to Maclin. This was not a designed roll-out, but rather, Vick stayed in the pocket. Giants defensive lineman Chris Canty nailed him right under the chin with his helmet. A penalty could have been called on the play, but the refs didn't throw a flag, causing Vick to publicly complain about receiving unfair treatment in his post-game press conference. But again, Vick was in the pocket and completed a pass on the play.
Injured finger: By now, you may be starting to sense a pattern. Against San Francisco, Vick stood in the pocket and delivered a 7-yard completion to McCoy. But 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith got some pressure against Jason Peters around the edge and hit Vick's finger as he released the football. The play occurred in the second quarter, but Vick completed 30 of 46 passes for 416 yards in the game.
Broken ribs: And finally, Andy Reid said Vick sustained two broken ribs on the second play of the Cardinals game when linebacker Daryl Washington came untouched on Vick's front side and nailed him as he got rid of the ball to Brent Celek for a 13-yard gain. Vick went on to play perhaps his worst game as an Eagle, completing just 16 of 34 passes for 128 yards and a pair of interceptions.
Four injuries on four plays. And in each instance, Vick not only was in the pocket, but he completed the pass.
Don't get me wrong. Vick needs to do his best to avoid unnecessary hits. He needs take care of his body and the football for the Eagles' offense to be successful.
But any suggestion that the injuries he sustained in 2011 were due to him leaving the pocket, running recklessly or not sliding are off-base.
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This is the dumbest thing I've ever read. Doesn't ANYBODY know anything about football? Vick got hurt because people missed blocks. Good O-Line play and Vick stays healthy. When McNabb was in his prime, the could have a ham sandwhich and a cup of coffee before he threw the ball. He had 4 to 8 seconds to throw. Vick is lucky to get 3 or 4. The Eagles need another tackle, a good one, and all you idiots want to talk about is free safeties and wide receivers. Give Vick time and he'll stay healthy and win games, lots of them. He's more accurate than #5 EVER was, has better receivers than #5 EVER had. So, what's the difference??? TIME TO THROW THE BALL !!! For a pass play to work, successfully, the QB needs five seconds. Anything less and the play is rushed and/or the QB gets hit. Watch and game and count to five from when the ball is snapped. It will surprise you.— Craig321- The same people complaining about Shady not running enough would be up in arms if he got hurt because he carried too much. Shady is not a big RB, he is quick, agile, can catch out of the back and is arguably the best RB in the NFL. He is not however, built to take tons of hits.— dmo86
- Vick is a joke. He had one great game against the Redskins. Three or four good games, and evry other game he started for the Eagles has been a joke. The idiots that bought into this guy are paying for it now. Including the fans.— sackvicknow
- TNEaglesFan, you seem to be the only one who actually watched the SB that year. We were running all over the Patriots and they couldn't stop it, butAndy was too arrogant to take advantage of it. At the very least, we could have come away with two field goals and won the game.— qbphillyfan
- Based on some of the post here there are several fans who would rather believe in the myth opposed to fact laden videos.
Unfortunately what set up the belief in this and several myths surrounding the Eagles is lack of understanding of the game of Football in Phila.
I love the Eagles and Phila although I no longer live there. I have deep connections and always will. Having said that it's obvious the Phila Sportswriters are responsible for the fans clinging to myths.
It's easy to understand why Andy views the Sportswriters in Phila with so little regard. Phila misses Ray and to think that NFL Films is located in South Jersey one would assume that Phila was a bit more informed than the reality presents. The State of Pop Warner and High School Football in Phila confirms that the population in regards to football at the most basic of level produces low information fans and participants.
I'll bring this up again, It doesn't surprise me, but it still disappoints me that the Eagles fans saying about Vick what they used to same about Chris Carter before he left to find stardom in the NFL with the Vikings. Nor will I ever forget how Ivring Fryer's career was derailed signing with the Eagles, after productive years with the Patriots.
— Dexter - Face the fact, a lot of you don't know much about NFL Talent. How could you be excited waiting for Kevin Kolb, or Steward Bradley to lead the Eagles offense and defense, respectively? You guys are missing the boat on Shady. Without Desean, Shady is not effective and doesn't have a Pro Bowl season and, DJax gave half measures last year.
The Eagles never had the talent to win a Super Bowl, sure we played in One, and went to the NFC Championship 5 times, but that was a reflection of the strength of the competitive teams in the Conference.
The Eagles never had the offensive power to win a Super Bowl, mostly because the Financial Commitment was not there from the Front Office. Believe as you will, but signing Kerse returning from a major injury is not showing commitment to win a super bowl. Under no circumstance does that signing, one among several that were questionable represent a drive to win a Championship. It's easy to pacify individuals who know nothing about talent. The Sportswriters in Philly just aren't telling you guys the bald face truth. You've been receiving fictional accounts of what's going on with the Eagles. The Team is worth more than a Billion Dollars using that model for 13 years and, have a waiting list for season tickets 50,000 deep.— Dexter - Great distraction piece. Vick's real problem last year was TURNOVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He cost us more games with bad decisions than anything else. Going shopping for a Foles jersey now.— ironman8181 - This article was well over due, you've just won over a new reader! Most so called journalist blatantly lie to satisfy the "hunger games" audience . Good article Sheil!!— Reliable Sources
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