It’s probably a good thing that Michael Vick had to stand on the side yesterday and watch practice rather than participate. Vick’s ribs were hurting from his previous injury and Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.
He needs to experience the pain his daring brand of football has had on this squad. This football team isn’t going anywhere in the near future without Vick learning to play a safer brand of quarterback, so that he can stay healthy.
It’s always something with Vick. It’s his ribs, or his wrist or his shoulder. It’s always something. The best quarterbacks in the league stay healthy. Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady don’t take chances with their health because they know how important they are to their football teams.
Vick says he’s learned that but we haven’t seen him play that way just yet. You can tell that Marty Mornhinweg is getting tired of seeing him get hurt. Last week, Mornhinweg wasn’t buying Vick saying that he had learned that it was important for him to slide and avoid taking risks with his body.
Vick isn’t worth his huge contract, if he’s hurt all the time. He must change his style of play in order to stay on the field or the Birds might as well select a quarterback in the first round of this year’s draft and ship Vick out of here.
He’s a leader on this football team whether he wants to be or not. Vick’s mindset to get out of control on quarterback scrambles in order to show his toughness and allow himself to be vulnerable to big hits shows up in other areas of the football team.
His refusal to be disciplined shows up when you hear this football team talk about how talented they are. It’s as if they care more about “street-cred” than winning games. From my perspective, who cares about everybody thinking you’re tough, if you lose the majority of your games and are unable to win more games that you lose.
Despite losing this is a cocky team. Winning doesn’t seem to be the number one objective. Instead like Vick this team demands their respect rather than a championship. Most of the time, they play hard eventhough many times they do it foolishly. They’ll out gain the other team but turn the ball over a couple of times and lose.
This team has Vick’s personality and they’re headed no where unless he changes dramatically.
If Vick can show more self-control in the way that he protects himself in order to stay healthy, it will affect the entire football team. I think it will also make Vick a better quarterback because he will be forced to play the game under more control in his decisions to take risks with his body or with the football.
Regardless of the who is coaching the Eagles, Vick must spend this off season adapting a mentality to play a safer brand of football by being more cautious with his throws and with his body. He must play a more disciplined style of football each day in his mind. He must train himself to slide before being hit.
He must see himself running out of bounds before taking hits. He must imagine going through his progressions quicker and throwing the ball to the open man, but not taking risks with the football.
Vick has to work on reading coverages before the snap, then executing his footwork so he gets rid of the ball more quicker than he has this year and his throws will be accurate.
Most of the focus of this season has been on Andy Reid, but Vick is just as important. If Vick had put on a performance any where near what he did a year ago during his first ten games, the Eagles would not only be in the playoff hunt, they might have already qualified.
For a media person, that was probably the most honest evaluation of Vick’ s poor play, mindset, and his responsibility for the team’s record, but on the question can he change, no, draft another quarterback as you suggested
I listened to Rich Gannon, former Oakland QB who will be broadcasting the Eagles game this weekend, discuss Vick’s performance this year. He stated that from viewing tape this year, in his opinion, Vick has regressed from the progress that he showed last year. He said that his footwork and pre-snap reads are looking more like his days in ATL, and not what we saw during his first 8-10 games last year.
We have invested a huge contract in Mike. He demonstrated a great deal of leadership and swagger last year when he took over the team. With the disappointment of this season, many loses after blowing 4th qtr leads, it has muted his vocal support and swagger.
His style of play has made it difficult for him to stay healthy and on the field, but the protection he has been provided from his O-line has been less than sufficient. The Eagles started (2) rookies next to each other and have moved other linemen from position to postion. I believe that with a breakdown in protection, Vick has returned to his older playing style and will only continue in this style as long as the protection continues to breakdown.
Vicks regression began when teams starting blitzing all day every day and he lost confidence in his offensive line. That’s where recognition and playcalling having to come into play. It’s 25 percent Vick in recognizing the blitz, 25 percent Marty/Andy in calling the right play to counter the blitz, and 50 percent the offensive line in its ability to PICK UP the blitz.
Too many free blitzers have been getting hits on Vick and it’s not stopping. It’s not even looking like it’s slowing down. We have to protect our investment and if he’s going to fail, let it be on HIM. If he’s going to “regress”, let it be because of his TALENT regressing like McNabb’s did, not because of the o-line’s inability to protect him.
He’s also not putting himself in a position to even slide.How can you slide if your running full speed into a groupd of defenders. Hes athletic enough to gear down and slide.He may even pick up a pers. foul on the way. Why hasnt the Walrus read him the riot act? The first time he slides at home he’ll getting a standing O.
Good point about the topshelf signal callers int he league G. They make it a point to play smart. I dont buy that hes dumb…he’s just what you said…hellbent on showing his toughness.Thats lack of leadership. Let your tailback and o-line show that Mike.
Amen GCobb. Welcome to the party. A year or so late, but happy to have you nonetheless.
Ahhh Birdo. I really thought it was Wayne Newton’s fault.
No other QB ever has had a free blitzer come at him. Only Vick.
75% not his fault.
How many times has Vick had a free blitzer come at him and made him miss,pick-up a 1st w/his wheels or get the ball to his reciever?
Rungame
L @ ATL 19 for 28 242yds 67.9 compl 2td 1int — over 65% that’s good right ? should have won got injured
L @ NYG 16 for 23 176yds 69.6 compl 0td 1int — uh oh 2L’s in a row–here comes the criticism
L @ SF 30 for 46 416yds 65.2 compl 2td 1int — Lead by 20points –need I say more
L @ BUFF 26 for 40 315yds 65.0 compl 2td 4int — how many tipped balls int’s ?
With these 4 losses in which every one we all can agree should have been wins…If we win those 4 games NO ONE is bashing Mike Vicks play
“Vick’s mindset to get out of control on quarterback scrambles in order to show his toughness ”
“His refusal to be disciplined shows up when you hear this football team talk about how talented they are. It’s as if they care more about “street-cred” than winning games”
These two statements are complete BULLSHYT
“Should have won” Too funny.
…those #s amazing…242 vs Atlanta a team that gives out 300 yrd days like candy
Solid 176 vs the NYG…no TDs….INT….a game that we led by 2 for 6 minutes? Do the NYG even have a secondary?
Yay!! He played well in SF!!
Buffalo game. I was there. Vick was terrible with wide open guys everywhere. The pick to the LB. Pathetic. How about that deer in the headlights play when he stood there for 7 seconds – just stood there – and then threw the ball out the back of the endzone too late. GREAT PLAY!
You keep on defending those 4 ints – tipped balls are exactly one of his problems)
What about his last 3 games?
52 of 102 for 500yrds 1 td and 4 ints.
Jake Delhomme #s buddy.
And those statements aren’t bullshit….just take a look at the locker room celebration after the NYG game last year when he basicically shoves Reid coming to hug him ’cause he had to do his “me me me” bob and weave act for the cameras.
Guy is all about himself.
So the fact that every time he was hurt this year it happened in the pocket just slipped your mind in this “fair and balanced” article.
The play that broke his ribs was a COMPLETION to Celek and then he was clobbered by an unblocked receiver.
Oh i see Vinnie is cherry picking again…
– ATL – um thier 8 – 5….Greenbay gives up HELLA yards too I don’t see anybody dismissing what they’ve done this year.
– NY game was after the concussion and he shouldn’t have been playing ’cause he was CLEARLY still not 100%. And they were up by 2 when he was knocked out. Nuff said.
– Buffalo that last INT wasn’t on Vick. That ball was ripped out of Avant’s hands – it was called an INT cause technically Avant never had full control but that was a fumble more than anything…I’m not going to argue the other three…but wasn’t that the game of the Ronnie Brown fumble and (another) Avant fumble and slew of other bs? Please.
Are there things Vick can do better? Sure. But he’s not even the top 3 reason why this season has been so shitty. And anyone who thinks so just has M. Vick issues.
Regressing to Atlanta? Please. He had a shit o-line in the A. He’s had a shit o-line in Philly. Contrary to popular beleif Vick has been picking up the blitz just fine this year for the most part but if his line doesn’t block well than ain’t ish he can do but run for his life or complete the short pass and get slammed.
The point was if the Eagles were 9 and 4 ….would anybody other than you care about Vick’s #’s
When a team is WINNING games everyone’s happy
When they are losing EVERY little thing gets magnified
I’m watching the National Media give a chewy everyday to a dude out in Denver who’s completed no more than 10 passes in a 5 game winning streak and it’s no problem cause they are winning
Count the steamboats when he gets hit in the pocket ts.
He’s worst in the league getting hit after 3.5 seconds. No wonder he ‘gets hurt in the pocket’. He’s standing there with the ball when it should be long gone.
Atl game – I’m not dismissing anyone’s D. I just bring up the fact that Vick’s peers put up $$ numbers against Atl and Vick was relatively pedestiean.
NYG game. Lot of 2 pt leads to start the 4th hold up.
Buff – glad you’re not going to argue Vick’s ‘other 3’ interceptions (I mean that’s a laughable statement). The Brown fumble was against SF.
Vick is a bad QB. You guys all so quick to admonish Casey Matthews and basically blame him for all the troubles first half of the season, meanwhile the most important player on the team is playing at a JV level and all you do is defend defend defend.
This line does a lot better job than you think. Perhaps if the QB just did what he is asked to do and throw the ball before 3 seconds, then you’d have a different opinion.
Wasn’t Tebow 15 of 18 in the 4th Q this week?
I posted the Eagles were nuts to sign him to that contract when they did
I said he was an injury machine
It is beyond me why they couldn’t see that based on last years performance
The Eagles have no immediate future
They need a QB
And less Kafka is the find of the decade I don’t see any on the horizon
Wonder what all the get rid of Kolb we need a mobile QB because of the O line are thinking now types
Not to change the tune,
Redksins Safety LeRon Landry placed on IR for Achilles Tear..
This is 3 of his 1st 4 years in the NFL that he’s been placed on Season Ending IR list, He is a Free-Agent in the Off-Season but damaged goods so please don’t mention that the Eagles should go out and sign this guy.. He’s like Bob Sanders of the Colts, when he plays, he’s great, the problem is that he doesn’t play too often…
Like I’ve said many times. This team needs to be blown up. The entire coaching & personnel staffs need to go, along with Asante, DJax, Vick, the entire LB core & both starting safeties (put on special teams). I think they can probably get a high pick or two for Vick. Let DJax walk, & give the Matador his pink slip, just like the one he wears under his skirt! Draft a QB of the future (there is 5-6 great/good ones), LB’s, a DT & a safety, with your first 5 picks. Get a f^#@ing real GM to make the picks! I’m sick of talking about these turds!