There’s great drama in the story of the three quarterbacks who played for the Eagles in 2009. Think about the changes and challenges that they’ve had to deal with in the last year or so.
Imagine if you’re Michael Vick last year. You’re a former number one pick who drove your life off the cliff. You’ve just spent 18 months in a federal penitentiary. You have become the most hated athlete in the country and possibly the world.
There were and continue to be people who become nauseous, simply at the mention of your name. You’re an outcast
You’ve totally destroyed your reputation, financial life and career. Now, you’re trying to come back to the game and regain some of what you lost, but you’re not sure you will even get the chance.
Consider being McNabb. You’re a franchise quarterback in the NFL, who have the choice of giving your blessing to bringing in a former number one pick in the draft, who is one of the few NFL quarterbacks in league history who can say he’s a better athlete than you.
You know your standing with the team is getting tenuous. Your contract is up in a year. Bringing in Vick could complicate things. All you have to do is shoot it down and that would be the end of it.
On the other hand, you’ve known Vick for years including from your college days. You showed him around at Syracuse when he came in on his recruiting trip. You know he needs the help because he’s radioactive right now. Most teams won’t touch him. You would be doing him the favor of a lifetime, if you gave the thumbs up to adding him to the Eagles roster.
Next you go through an off-season of trade rumors. To the amazement of many, you get shipped out of town after an eleven-year run with the Eagles. You’ve got to accept the fact that you’re not wanted despite leading the team to the playoffs this past season and helping the offense break a team scoring record. You’ve got every right to be bitter about getting traded.
Next up, think about walking in Kevin Kolb’s shoes over the last year or so. First, you’re playing behind a quarterback who has been in his starting job for more than a decade. You spend three years backing him up and you’re told your time will come.
Finally, McNabb’s traded and you go through an entire off season of hoopla, as you get ready to step into the job. You’re interviewed by all the top media people who cover the NFL. You hear and see your name mentioned alongside of Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
You hear predictions about how you’re going to play so well that the Eagles aren’t going to miss a beat, in fact they’re going to get better because your strengths fit the offense better than McNabb.
You’re assured by the head coach and the rest of the organization that you’re the guy. They tell you and everyone else that you will be the guy in charge for the foreseeable future. You accept and believe what you’re told.
You go through the off season, training camp, then the preseason. You get off to a rocky start in the first game, which happens to be against the team that many people are picking to go to the Super Bowl from the NFC.
Near the end of the first half of that first game. you suffer a concussion and are forced to sit out a game. Your backup plays well in the first game, then plays well again in the second game and leads the team to a victory.
You’ve been assured that you will get your starting job back when you’re cleared to play. Next up, you get cleared to play and are assured again that you’re the starter.
To your shock, on the day after you’re cleared to play the head coach brings you into his office to let you know that you’ve lost your starting job.
It takes a while to swallow the news and assume the team first attitude, but you accept the decision. Now some are calling you a bust and saying you might be traded. For all you know, your career with the Eagles might be over.
Now you must summon the intestinal fortitude to work and play in an embarrassing atmosphere and with a team that has humiliated you. Just walking through the locker room and on the field is a difficult task.
Each quarterback has had to deal with setbacks, disappointments and challenges. It has caused them to bond together in a way that happens on occasion in the sports world.
Yesterday McNabb talked about how he has been able to maintain a relationship with Eagles head coach Andy Reid, despite the fact that Reid traded him away.
” He stuck his neck out and drafted me in ‘99,” McNabb said. “We had a lot of success together. Obviously we’ve been through some ups and downs tighter. Things happen. It’s unfortunate. Was I upset at the time? Absolutely. I moved on. I’ve learned to move on and focus on the job at hand.
McNabb and Vick know you can’t take the game too seriously. That’s what every NFL player learns, especially the quarterbacks. In fact it’s something that every professional athlete learns. You can put too much pressure on yourself to the point where you can’t perform.
Vick knows this. McNabb knows this and Kevin Kolb must learn this. You can’t put too much pressure on yourself.
When I think about what went wrong with Kolb, putting too much pressure on himself is at the top of the list.
Yesterday, I asked Vick whether he felt more pressure now as compared to when he came into the league as the number one pick in the draft. He had a little smile down in the corner of his mouth when he let me know that pressure was nothing new to him.
“I’ve been under pressure my whole life’, Vick responded. “My whole life, there’s always been pressure. You know, pressure to take care of my family and a lot of other things. This is football. There is pressure, but you also have to make fun of it and make light of the whole situation. That’s what I try to do. There’s always going to be pressure. That’s the great part about this game because it brings the best out of you.”
Vick has been in the spotlight before and he knows how to handle it. He doesn’t let the pressure dominate him.
The former top pick in the draft talked about how much he appreciated having McNabb around with his humor. “It was great playing with Donovan”, Vick told us. “I mean, every day at that locker, every day I came in to work I knew I was going to get a good laugh; every day. Sometimes four or five times a day. He’s a type of guy, you know, you can be in a bad mood or things not going so well at home and he’ll give you good advice. He’s a very responsible person. [He’s] an overall professional. I had a great time with him. I enjoyed last year and I always enjoyed my time with him when we would sit and relax at our own leisure.”
You know what really bothers me? He is the most hates athlete because of Dog fighting but we got guys like Leonard Little, Ray Lewis, and Donte Stallworth who killed people or who was involved in a person getting killed and NONE of them are mentioned or even hated. Ray Lewis is a poster boy for the NFL. Just goes to show you that are sick to values the life of animals more then humans. Before i get cricifed i am dog lover and have one.
Agreed ozzman.I have no problem with people who dont want too support him and his “comeback”. But seriosuly…if you kill a human being because you were driving drunk or buzzed your forgiven so quickly. Moral decay ion this country.Dude grew up in the slums and it was part iof his upbringing.He should of been wise enough too cut it once he got too a certain age.Dude has doen more in the community then most..so whats the problem.
If a drug dealer (who ruins lives…kills people and there livelihood) goes too prison and rehabs himself and comes out and makes a difference in the community then why cant Mike do the same.
hey ozz all u gotta do is go to thesmokinggun. com and read the police transcripts on big ben
hahahaah they actually reduced his suspension
this man raped some1 a 19 yr old college girl
some1’s sister or daughter
now i dont bring up big ben either cause its none of my biz but he sure isnt the most hated player or anything
basically im trying to say we pay for tickets to a game
what these guys do in their personal lives is their own business
who r we to judge
have of the time we dont even know the whole story
i may be wrong but i dont really look past what the player does when they play
McNabb had a great relationship with Vick
What was his relationship with Kolb
Big Ben was slapped on the wrist (4 game suspension) because he is White, it’s that simple…
If it were Vince Young or Jemarcus Russell, they would be in Jail for what Big Ben did and I say that with no hesitation…
i dont know if thats it
the fact that the poor girl didnt want her name dragged through the mud and prosecute him criminally probably saved him
but still there were a ton of facts that came out and i agree he was hit with a slap on the wrist
but so was dante stallworth in my opinion
i dont know what it has to do with but some guys get luckier than other obvioulsy
the thing that bothered me about stallworth was that this happened at or around the time of the mike vick stuff
thats y im like vick gets 18 months in jail for dog’s (btw i own 2 pits im a huge dog lover they are pets not fighting machines) and this guy killed a person and got like probation lol i dont know how it works lol
i think plaxico is an idiot but clearly getting a raw deal too
I gotta agree p-domis…way too bring out the M-60 on this one.And if that was some country boy shea…think the masses would forgive him for his dog fighting ring? yeah, i think so.
Unity amongst Birdbrains..beat Skins!!
Kudos – this is actually one of the best written, insightful articles to date. Three very different perspectives and views of the world.
I thought McNabb was great, I think Vick is playing out of his mind, and I think Kolb is going to be a great QB one day. I am very glad for Vick that he got his second chance – hell, I hope MAurice Clarret (the RB from Ohio State) gets it together.
I never watch reality TV shows. I would pay to see this one. This has got to be the best real life reality show ever. Drama I really can’t wait to see what happens next. Just wish we could see the “REAL” behind the scenes things. The saga continues.
i agree eagle, like put us on hard knocks
LMAO yeah all season long
The Justice Systems work with the “Color Green”
Stallworth settled with the Family for like $5 Million and they reduced the charges,
Big Bens case would have dragged on in court and in the papers for months and maybe even years
(That was 1 or 2 Policeman/Sheriffs that resigned too because of their impartial handling of the call to begin with)
I read an article on where the FBI is tracking down JeMarcus Russel for 2-3 years about drinking purple cold suryp and spending countless man hours and $$$$ of this big scoop.. Are you kidding me..I think there are alot more importatnt issues for the FBI to be working on…
Does anyone think the FBI was following T Tebow around when he was drinking beer with his high/neighborhood friends back 2-3 years ago… I didn’t think so…
I am moving to Costa Rica … I hope the NFL Ticket is availalbe there…
I think most people look at the Stallworth, Lewis & Little crimes as being momentary lapses of good judgment and an accident. I don’t know if they were or not but, I’m sure most people assume that and therefore find it easier to forgive because everyone experiences lapses of good judgment and, to some degree or another, may be able to identify with that. Vick, on the other hand, committed premeditated acts of cruelty on multiple occasions over a long period of time to the same animals that many have as pets which are often seen as members of their family. Why people in general haven’t made a big deal over Roethesburger? My only guess is that an inept criminal system hasn’t been able to find that scumbag guilty so therefore, some fans / writers have “reasonable doubt”. If he were convicted, he wouldn’t be playing in the NFL, period. I think that without one, the NFL and the Rooneys need to tread carefully. I will always cheer for the Eagles but can’t cheer for Vick and won’t ever cheer for the Stiller Scumbag even of he became our next QB.
Nice article G. Good Comments Ozzman and Phillywill.
Good read with a lot of insight. Well done G.
I think Maybethey can Hit the nail directly on the head as peoples attitudes towards others crimes as compared to vicks. Very very insightful and a dead on read of the situation on my opinion. Also Ben was #8 on the most hated list. Probably deserved higher sincwe I couldn’t stand the scumbag before his alleged crimes. Go Birds.
Not to mention all those weekly stories we hear about players..and coaches…DUI’s, driving around smoking the green, domestic assults, agg assults, weapon violations. Stupid things people do and not all that much to do with money either. I don’t know why people make a much bigger deal about it when it happens to an athlete than a regular person? Because they should be setting an example? Like regular people shouldn’t be setting examples for kids anyway? Should I tell my son when he grows up “Max, don’t ask me about drugs, what does your favorite athlete say about them?” I gotta go walk my dog…in my Vick jersey…I’ll be around Levittown…honk if you see me!
maybetheycan, correct me if i am wrong, but Vick bankrolled this endeavor/business (legitimate or not). When an individual bankrolls a deli they aren’t the guys cutting the chicken. Vick took the fall for everyone who operated it. I think Vick got a lot more than he deserved (i feel the need to say it, but i am dog lover everyone) which is why i am so happy for the guy turning his life. He served his time and took the fall for his cronies. Like we discussed yesterday, Vick grew up not knowing this was illegal activity, cops would drive by them all the time and not bat an eye. That special they ha don ESPN last year was very insightful into the way he was raised and the culture in which he grew up. Did he know it was illegal, yes, but did it matter bc no one enforced it, no. It like drinking a beer when you’re 18 years old with your pops. technically its illegal but no one is watching and that is the view point his group had down in VA, no one was stopping them until they had a face to take the fall.
KTDawk, Vick’s problem was it became a federal crime when they started transporting dogs across statelines and stuff to fight. So even if he wasn’t fighting them, he knew about it, provided the place for it to be done and financed it. That’s almost as bad as doing it since he was clearly the enabler. With that said, I do think he was punished too harshly for it. I mean he lost everything and people have done things that are worst to other individuals have received a lot less. I think they wanted to make an example out of him and one can’t help but to ponder sometimes is it because he was a high profile black millionaire athlete. Of course we will never know the answer to that, but it’s interesting. And then a guy like Burress get’s all that time in jail for shooting himself.
Back to Vick. A lot of people don’t understand how your childhood and neighborhood affects you. They think as soon as you get money, you’re a new person and that simply isn’t true. I grew up in one of the worst parts in Philly. On my block, every other house was abandoned, drug dealers on the corner and all that. And guess what, they fought pit bulls right in the middle of the street while kids were around. I didn’t even know it was a crime as bad as it was until what happened to Vick. I’ve seen dogs get hanged, killed by other dogs and beaten by their “owners” and cops drive right by when it’s obvious they have the dogs fighting and the cops did nothing but keep on going. So when all that stuff came against Vick, my first thought was “They’re only dogs, whats the big deal”? And I’ve had dogs too and I have an english bulldog now that I and my family love but because of where I grew up, I’m still not sensitive to the issue because of what I’ve seen. It is possible to not know how bad something is when it was ok for all your life and the people that surround you don’t know any better either. It was bad and I just hope everyone else can move on from and let the man live.
scorp, great post, i 100% agree. He served his debt to society, now lets go watch this man win some football games. Go birds!
Dog fighting is a southern rural culture thing or at least it was at one time
Country music singer Charlie Walker had a record out ” I wouldn’t take her to a dog fight even if she had a chance to win ” back around the 60s
Buck Owens sang it on the old TV show HEE HAW — I know because I audio taped it in the early 70s ( may have been a rerun)
G – agree with Navy that this was an exceptionally-well written and well thought-out article. I read the thing twice for added pleasure. For ONCE I’m going to disagree with you PaulM – frankly if you look at profootballtalk.com’s Turd Watch… it highlights what a small minority of NFL players have been up to on the wrong side of the law. Although I deplore Big Ben’s actions, I think he got 6 games more because he WAS a big name, high-profile player(and possibly because he was white), rather than less cause of his race. I would think that if he got nothing, the first time that a less-famous non-white got suspended for a similar offense, you’d have issues.
Vick was made an example of, no question about that. It was wrong what he did and it also was between state lines so it became a fed case. I think that we as a society need to be careful on how we think. Some people used examples of Ray Lewis, Big Ben and just assume they are guilty first off Big Ben was not convicted of rape, Ray Lewis did not commit murder. Even if they did something wrong we should watch that we don’t fall into this trap of assuming your guilty until proven innocent. That’s how the government would like it I’m sure. Have everyone convinced that your guilty and must prove your innocence. That way they can take more of the liberties we have. This thinking that all these people are guilty because it was on the news or they were accussed so it must be true is dangerous especially for people like most of us who don’t have the means to fight in a court of law. So when it comes to Vick he admitted to his crime served his sentence and now he has every right to be treated like anyone else. We also have thus mentality that once you serve time and get out of jail you should suffer the rest of your life. this is crazy too. When your done with your sentence you should have the same ability and rights as anyone else. Vick did his time, Lewis, Ben have not even been convicted of rape or murder so it’s wrong to throw those names out. You can only do the time your given after that you should have your rights restored. Otherwise eventually we would all lose our freedoms and never get them back!!!! Kinda of what’s happening. I’m proud of Vick!!! I hope he wins MVP’s, Bowls, and shows the world that you can change things for the better!!!!!!!
good article G i enjoyed walking into each of their shoes for a second.
and good comments fellas making for good reads and convo.
it seems as if we are in unison like our eagles…thus resulting in vick-tories!
let the good times roll…
Great read G thats why I love ya!..Word up this is the most intriguing QB triangle I have ever heard about…McNabb is adored by his peers because he always does the RIGHT thing..Kudo’s Donny..
KTDawk – Yes Vick bankrolled and ran business. According to the indictment Vick, in addition to his “colleagues” having destroyed many dogs during the operation of the business, also participated in killing 8 dogs. Excerpt from the indictment:
“83. In or about April 2007, PEACE, PHILLIPS, and VICK executed approximately 8 dogs that did not perform well in “testing” sessions at 1915 Moonlight Road by various methods, including hanging, drowning, and slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground”
Yes dog fighting is brutal but these methods of destroying animals is absolute cruelty and without compassion for another living creature that feels pain. If you have to destroy an animal, please have some compassion and do it in a humane way. This is my problem with Vick. Not his crime, for which he paid his dues and not even the practice of dog fighting, as repulsive as I find it, but can in some way be understood since he grew up with it, so I’m told. Unwillingness to have compassion when you can is inexcusable and I can’t cheer for someone that doesn’t have compassion. Go ahead, call me a softy….
MaybeTheyCan, you have every right to feel how you feel but it seems you think no one could change. If you believe that people can change then I don’t see the point in holding on to something like this. Your feelings towards animals aren’t the same as others. There are thousands of people who have pets but don’t treat them like “family members” because they don’t feel that way about them. To some people they are just meaningless animals and could care less what happens to them. It’s unfortunate but true.
But when you say “doesn’t have compassion” that is using the present tense which clearly show that you don’t think he has compassion now. In my opinion, he DIDN’T have compassion and isn’t the same person he was. So I’m not going to hold anything against a person for what they did in the past when they appear to have become a changed person. Not trying to get you to change your mind, just my thoughts because I can’t understand how people can’t move from the past and just think everything or everybody is the same that they used to be.
scorp – all good points. I know my feelings towards animals aren’t the same as others and, believe it or not, I’m not a PETA freak but, I’ll admit that I do become attached to my pets and that I’m incapable of doing what Vick did. I use the present tense regarding him because I don’t know that he’s changed regarding his ability to brutalize an animal. Just curious… what has he done to make you feel he’s more compassionate and is no longer capable of that or is it just convenient to assume he has? Not being nasty, I’m sincerely curious if you know something regarding this. Yes, I hold people accountable for their actions just as I am held accountable for mine however, I know people can change and hopefully, he has but until he’s done something to make me feel otherwise, I’m not going to assume his incarceration suddenly gave him compassion regarding animals. I’m absolutely certain it’s made him more sensitive to other’s opinions and laws regarding gambling etc. but not necessarily regarding how he treated those animals.