Eagles: 'No conspiracy' in Vick injury situation

Friday afternoon, Eagles head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder told reporters there was "no conspiracy" regarding the concussion treatment of quarterback Michael Vick, and Vick released a statement saying he appreciates "the support of the entire Eagles organization."

To paraphrase David Byrne, "Well, how did we get here?"

Our journey begins Thursday with a Howard Eskin report, on Twitter and then on Fox 29, that Vick was getting worse, not better, and that he might be sidelined for the remainder of the season.

From there we need to travel briefly into the land of conjecture, but it's pretty obvious conjecture. Vick or somebody in the Vick camp saw the report. Vick and the Vick camp know what is being written and said about the Eagles' future lying with rookie quarterback Nick Foles. There has to be some trepidation, and maybe even a bit of resentment there.

Plus, a perception exists among Eagles players that Eskin reports reflect in all instances what the organization wants out there. In my view, this is a dated perception, especially now that Joe Banner's in Cleveland, but it exists.

Somebody - maybe Vick, maybe an agent or family member - got hot. This had to be the Eagles trying to smooth the path to Foles playing the rest of the way. "Hello, ESPN reporter? Looky here . . . "

ESPN's Ed Werder reported that Vick "thinks he's a victim of politics" after failing to pass the imPACT concussion test he has to pass to return to the field, failing it three times this week, including Friday.

So the Eagles spent some time fence-mending Friday, and we all got something to write about, amid the boring decay of 3-8.

"I've talked with Michael, and Michael is good," Eagles coach Andy Reid said Friday. "I don't know where things get started, but Michael is fine with it. He understands that everything is in the best interests of him right now, and making sure that he's ready to go."

Burkholder said the imPACT test Vick is struggling to pass is graded by league concussion experts in Pittsburgh, who devised the test, not by the Eagles.

Reid reiterated that "Michael is the quarterback of the team" when healthy. "Until I tell you guys differently, that's how I feel," Reid said. He praised Vick as the "ultimate competitor."

Vick later released this statement through a spokesman:

"I want to thank my fans for the thousands of well-wishes. I also appreciate the support of the entire Eagles organization. I feel strong and healthy. As a professional athlete, I want to play in every game, but the NFL has a specific protocol to protect players. My focus is to complete this process successfully, so I can rejoin my team on the field."

Burkholder said Vick has reached a plateau in his recovery. He can run without symptoms, but complicated eye-tracking triggers balance problems and fatigue. Eye-tracking is part of the test Vick must pass. Burkholder said the team has been approaching this as something that can be rehabbed, through doing tracking exercises, and he hopes Vick can pass the imPACT test Monday.

"I have a feeling that he'll do better, because we've addressed the problem that he has," Burkholder said.

Burkholder said if that isn't the case, he is considering taking Vick to the Pittsburgh concussion experts, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, for further evaluation.

Burkholder said Vick can exercise to the point where his heart rate is 80 percent of the ultimate target. "He ran with me today, and I thought he did pretty well."

"As the gatekeeper of these guys, he's not going to play until he gets past baseline and gets through the five phases. He's in Phase 4, hasn't passed the baseline, hasn't seen the independent neurologist yet."

Burkholder said in Vick's three successive tests, Vick's reaction time was exactly the same, "which is unusual." Burkholder said that caused him to target eye-tracking. "There's a little program that we do on the computer to train him," Burkholder said.

Burkholder said he didn't find unusual Vick's ups and downs since suffering the concussion Nov. 11 vs. the Cowboys.

Shady progressing

Rick Burkholder said the Eagles' other high-profile concussion victim, running back LeSean McCoy, has progressed to the second phase of his recovery. Burkholder said McCoy is able to pass an imPACT test, but can't practice or play because he still reports some fatigue.

"His symptoms are down almost to nothing," Burkholder said.

McNutt gets a chance

It has been a difficult journey for sixth-round rookie Marvin McNutt, a wide receiver from Iowa. The Eagles drafted him to be a red-zone threat, but McNutt looked a little slow and a lot hesitant in training camp, and he was cut when the roster went to 53. McNutt joined the practice squad, where his most notable contribution was to mimic Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III a few weeks back.

Friday, McNutt joined the roster, taking the spot that opened when DeSean Jackson went on injured reserve. The Eagles still have Jason Babin's spot open.

McNutt said he doesn't know if he will be active in Dallas. He said he feels he is better now than he was in the preseason at "just finishing and knowing how to play the game the way we play here, and really just getting used to the speed of the game."

Dallas Does Dallas?

Know how you've been reading all week about the likelihood that Evan Mathis will have to play center this week, as Dallas Reynolds sat out practice with an ankle sprain.

Well, file all that great stuff away for the next time there's an injury at center. Reynolds was listed as a full practice participant Friday. He's listed as questionable, but seems very likely to play.

Same listing, same situation for defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. Cox missed Wednesday's practice with a tailbone bruise, then was called back to Mississippi by a death in the family. Andy Reid said Cox will meet the team in Dallas.

" @LesBowen

Blog: eagletarian.com