The clock was ticking on Michael Vick this year and I don’t know if he knew it. There was supposed to at least be a march deep into the playoffs. The Eagles are heading home despite being in a division which was won with a 9-7 record.
He’s gotten a break because people were willing to bend over backwards for whomever was the Birds quarterback , as long as it wasn’t Donovan McNabb.
In addition, Eagles head coach Andy Reid is the number one target of most of the fans’ criticism, so Vick has gotten a pass by the majority of fans. Yes, there are some fans who will never let his dog fighting past go, but they’re a minority.
Now his career and his future are on the line in much the same way as Reid’s. Vick’s future will be wrapped up in the 16 games which the team plays next season.
The Eagles will be able to get rid of him after the 2011 season, if they want to, with little salary ramifications.
Just like the season a year ago when he was named the starter, Vick’s 2011 season was filled with all types of injury problems and bad foolish decisions. Now Vick tells us he’s seen the light.
“I have to be available to this team for 16 games,” Vick said yesterday. “I have to hold myself accountable. I’ve got to get away from trying to do too much. Not waking up sore on Monday mornings doesn’t mean you didn’t give it your all. It means playing smart.”
I’ve said numerous times that we need more Clark Kent from Vick and less Superman. He needs to strive for more games in which he never takes out the Superman cape, but just executes the offense from the pocket.
Vick needs to throw more balls away. He can afford to abandon more plays rather than holding onto the ball and risking an interception or absorbing a knock out hit.
Sometimes it seems that Vick is still trying to impress the “brothers he grew up with in the hood”, rather than making good sound decisions on the football field, which will allow him to stay healthy.
It’s like he still clings to the “culture of the hood”, in that he’s always ready to prove he’s not afraid of anybody or anything.
The worst thing you can be called in the hood is a coward. It’s okay to be a fool, but don’t ever be called a coward. That’s why so many teenagers and young men in the hood are willing to destroy themselves and their love ones in order to get their respect.
I work with some of these youngsters and I always challenge them to show me and their families that they’re not afraid to demonstrate wisdom and discipline. Sometimes it takes courage to keep your mouth shut. Controlling your temper with somebody in your face takes courage. Walking away from somebody calling you a coward takes courage.
There’s a certain type of courage which plays under control and there’s another type of “courage” which runs head-on into linebackers and defensive tackles. Vick has to realize that as the team’s quarterback, he must show his courage by staying under control and healthy.
I want to see Vick be courageous by being disciplined with the football and with his body.
He says he sees the light. I don’t want to hear it, I want to see it.
Vick does need to make better decisions at times but I’m afraid he’s going to take the route McNabb took.
He’s going to listen to the media types and the wanna-be coach types and he’s going to stop doing what he does best.
Play your game Mike….just be smarter in the way you play it.
Just use your weapons.Stop letting yourself get blasted when you break the pocket.Its that darn simple. Good point on the demeanor of tryna be tough. I like it in a p-off game when the seaons on the line. But not againsthe Cards when theres more season left. Hes elite and ill argue that until the cows come hoem. THe game against the Skins and his skills prove it. Clean it up dude.Not many q’s you would want over him with game on the line.Least in my opinion.
If you want less Superman and more CLark, Gary.Dont you think they should re-sign the Flash?You know…every Super hero has a legit side-kick.
I really liked the use of Celek in the last 3 games. He could easily be a 1000 yard TE every year if they actually targeted him more. If Vick can spread the ball around more, it will make him even more dangerous.
So true…he catches everything that hits his hands and is a load.The reliance ion his blocking wont be there next year. Celek needs a big year for the team to move forward.
agreed bugsy. A large reason for his late season #’s can be pointed to the fact that the OLINE got better and he did not need to stay in to block as much. Crumpler was Vick’s go to guy in ATL- could Celeck be that guy next year?
Man all these “hood” references make me think that everyone that comes from the “hood” has to take on that personality. Steve Young never grew up in the “hood” and he was just as reckless running until it clicked. I’m just saying… I understand the analogy, but man can we get by the “hood” stuff. When Vick remembered that Brent was still a TE in this offense and Brent had to stop blocking as much, it took this offense to a whole new level. Shore up FB, LG, maybe slot receiver and this offense will be uncontainable.
very wise. Mr. Cobb, Vick got a pass because most fans wanted somebody else under center than McNabb and Reid was the focus this year, but next year Vick needs to get it done or he will be gone, don’t be shocked if eagles draft a quarterback very high this year, and if McNabb ever played as poorly as Vick for an entire season can you imagine the heat he would have taken, makes you almost appreciate that clown McNabb
Vick played poorly? An 8-3 record as a starter this year? Yea definitely not amazing but poorly? Vick’s turnovers hurt the team at points this year, no doubt…But the biggest problem is Vick needs to stay healthy! Had he stayed healthy despite his turnovers, the Eagle would of locked up the NFC East 3 weeks ago!
I am still convinced that Vick can get it done. He needs to be healthy, and not try and do everything. He has a QB’s best friend, which is a great runing back. A more balanced attack combined with more of the oline protection we saw later in the year will help. He doesn’t need to do it all himself, we have the offensive pieces to compete with anyone in the league.
LG? WTF are you talking about ChuckRob?
That’s right Realtalk, the games Vick started AND finished, the Eagles were 8-3….VERY good observation.
Ah Chuck. Another inane Steve Young statement/reference with nothing to back it up.
The Vick/Young comparisons are completely absurd, as I have pointed out and proven about 50x on here, from one guy having a comp % 10pts higher than league average to another guy being well below league avg, TD/int ratio, playoff games won, Yrds, …etc etc.
But lets just take your unresearched and just completely off the top of your head statement of Young being just as “reckless”, (whatever that means) because it simply isn’t true.
Over his career Mike Vick has scrambled around on 729 of his 3511 dropbacks. A rate of 21% of the time. While with the Birds he has reduced that number, scrambling on 176 of his 1028 dropbacks, or 17% of the time.
Steve Young scrambled on 486 of his 4429 dropbacks with SF, or 11% of the time. Basically he took off half as much as Vick does.
On a per/game basis, Vick runs away an average of 7x a game, Young 4.
So please, while they both may have been “reckless”, on is more “reckless almost 2x as much as the other.
As for the “until it clicked” business. And then didn;t get the chance to start in SF for 3 years ’cause they had that other guy….but in his 1st year as a starter in SH he was off the charts good. It “clicked” pretty quickly. Just how long you willing for it to “click” for Vick? He’ll be 32 next season. He’s just completed his 9th season in the league. He’s been an NFL starter for 7 of those. He’s been starting for this team for 2 years.
*correction* 7-3.
I have him as 7-6 as a starter. Did I miss something? He didn’t play weeks 11-13 and they won behind VY one of those weeks. He played ok this year, but he should be held as accountable as anyone else on the team.
I think in the nfl if you start a game and don’t finish if the team loses you still get credit for the loss.It would be like saying vick did not get the win in the last game when they stuck in young and kafka to run out the clock because he did not finish it.QB’s wins and losses can be a useless stat anyway because you can be an average qb on a team with a good defense and have a good won -loss record.Tebow probably has a better winning percentage than alot of qb’s but he is not that good.
Bugsy — STARTED AND FINISHED — is that hard to comprehend?
It did seem like vick got a pass from alot of the fans this year.Imagine if they would have given mcnabb the same contract they gave vick and he had the same season and ranked right in the middle of the leaugue for qb rating.I think the fans would have marched down to the stadium and dragged mcnabb out of town.Even if vick would have played like a top ten QB they would have made the playoffs.
Dude, Birdo relax that comment that I posted was at the same time that all of these were posted, so that I didn’t get to see yours.
Cripes.
Guess you can’t count vicks last win when they stuck in young and kafka vick did not finish those games.
Sorry Bugsy, just tired of the Vick haters.
Jbeeee – don’t be a moronic idiot.
And I actually think it was like 7-4 or 7-5. Regardless, they had a winning record with Vick starting and finishing games. There a couple games that I actually put on Vick and thats the Arz game and the first NYG game. He shoulda done more in those games….but…..you take what you can get.
No such thing as a perfect QB.
I am not a Vick hater. Just ask Vinnie. I just don’t think that he had a very good season this year. I can say that without being a hater. That didn’t all have to do with him, because clearly the O-line had big issues. He showed me what he can be in the last couple of weeks spreading the ball around. I hope that that he progresses even more next year.
Vick is the starter next year. He needs to do a better job. His TE could help with that. He would help the birds out if he stopped turning it over. Ok- done. Lets move on to WR’s.
to clear the rest up;
vinnie- sorry about Kolb- maybe next year.
I certainly don’t blame him solely for the way the season went.
yea it was a 7-4 record in games started and finished this year…he probably shouldnt have finished the AZ game…
Realtalk…btw how can you possibly seperate the times he was hurt from the times he wasn’t? He’s always getting hurt. Its what he does.
But still, where the hell does this 8-3 BS come from???? He started 13 games this year and was pulled from 2 of them (Atl and SF). Games Vick played in:
STL – win
ATL – loss (left game)
NYG – loss
SF – Loss (left game)
Buff – loss
Wsh – win
Dall – win
Chic – loss
Ariz – loss
Mia – W
NYG -w
Dall – w
Wsh – w
So….that seems to me to be 7 wins and 6 losses (2x he left in the 4th Q). Keep making things up to make Vick sound better than he is.
As for the “superman” comparisons. Doesn’t Superman always come back to win?
How often has Vick done that with the Birds? Once. Led one comback in 2 seasons. Inspiring!
Superman?
He has only once thrown over 20 tds in a year.
In his last 16 reg season starts he is 9-7 with only 2 games where he’s thrown more than 2 tds. Did you read that right? In the age of the pass, he has 2 games with more than 2 tds in his last 16. I almost think that’s impossible.
Over his last full season, he has 8 games where he’s thrown less than 250 yards, and only 3 where he’s thrown for more than 300 (and one of those against a team already on the bus). In half his games he’s thrown for less than 250!!!!! Again…in the age of the pass!!
If Vick hadn’t been a #1 pick overall, he would be a backup at this point at best.
@Vinnie – Vick a backup? now that is a comment full of hate, right there…no NFL fan, truly believes that with Vick’s abilities he should be a backup! um vinnie if you want to nit pick, Vick threw 3TD’s this past weekend…also who gives a shit how many TD’s a QB throws as long as he is moving the ball and helping his team put points on the board…how many TD’s did McCoy have this season? 20! How many TD’s did McCoy have where the ball was 10 yards away from the goal line? Did Vick have anything to do with getting the ball in a manageable situation for the RB? Again Vinnie, and you always do this….you forget football is a team sport!
@Vinnie – but you may be right, the Eagles should trade Vick to AZ and bring back your golden boy Kolb! what a joke! I wonder had Kolb been the starter this year, would you be breaking down every performance game by game for him…or look for the gray cloud instead of the silver lining with Kolb…I highly doubt it
@Vinnie – try putting your prejudices aside, sometimes! (and no I’m not calling you racist) But it is apparent that you have some issues, that you need to work out…
Vick was 7-6 as a starter this year. I think it is fair to say they lost to Atl because they deflated when he got hurt and he should have been pulled at halftime from Ariz game and they should have ran the football and played conservatively to close out the game. So I would make his record 7-4 realistically. They were not going to beat the Giants in Week 3 and I don’t even count that personally among the blown 4th quarter leads. They were barely leading and Vick finishing the game would not have won. The Giants had our number that day. He is 6-1 in his last seven though if you throw out Ariz. He should not have been playing and the coach lost that game as well as the San Fran game. Andy was clearly at fault and blew both of those games. I refuse to credit Vick with a loss against Ariz. And although his turnovers early in the season may have hurt the team, I can’t look at any of them and say, “this is the play that cost us this game or that game.” Maclin’s drop cost us the Atl game. Maclin’s fumble cost us the San Fran game. Avants two fumbles clearly cost us the Buffalo game. Steve Smith having a perfect pass bounce off his hands cost us the early lead in the Giants game. Vick did not have a great year statistically but his adjusted record is fine. It translates to about 10-6. Good enough to win the division but not good enough to get you far in the playoffs. His completion % was weak and the TD numbers were weak. He also needs to stop carrying the ball carelessly and slide unless its third or fourth down. I can’t blame Vick for this season. He is not an elite QB and I doubt he will be but he did not cost us the season. Andy Reid cost us the season by losing to Ariz and San Fran and that defense is the reason we would not have gone far if we had made the playoffs.
My Feelings on Vick’s Season is simply this..
He was average at best, We all knew the Defense was going to be a real work in progress at least for the first half of the Season and they were…We also know from prior Seasons and priro QB’s, that if the Eagles QB (or any other team) does not play at a consistently high level, that the fortunes of the Team will be not be acheived and this is exactly what happened in a nutshell to this 2011 Team.. The Offense was going to have to carry this Team right out of the gate and they simply failed to do so and to compound matters and make it worse, they turned the ball over at an alarming rate giving their opponents even more chances against a new Defensive Coordinator, 4-5 New Starters, an unproven LB Corp and a revolving door at Safety.. When I look back, it’s amazing to me that they even finished 8-8 to be honest with you.. … In this day and age of high-scoring Offenses, If you can’t score 28 Pts a game, you will not go very far… and please don’t state that the Eagles set a Franchise Record for Yards, Points,with this 2011 Offense for just about every team did so in this era of High-Scoring NFL Games..
It about match-ups and making big plays and preventing big plays and the Eagles failed in this area on both sides of the ball.. They finished what they were, which was an average team..
@Paulman – can’t argue with you there….
Vinnie- ill break this down again for you…… we had 3 qb’s.
1- Dmcnabb- great run here in philly- had to move forward- i didnt like it but i was ready to welcome the kolb era.
2. Kolb- had a few great games. Was clearly not a big enough arm for the way Andy plays. He built him up…. created demand…… sold to the highest bidder and now Kolb is the backup to the backup. He did not have the arm like Vick or McNabb. He has not been able to read the D’s any better than the other 2 and does not have the toghness of the other 2.
3. Vick- has a huge arm, can run around. reads the D about the same or slightly less than the other 2.
over and over you have talked like the birds had a 4th qb on the roster….. we did not have Maning or Brady or Rivers or Brees or Rogers on the roster. looking back now we could have either had the guy thats out of football or the guy that was replaaced by Skelton. he was the best qb option we had. And of course the Eagles have to build it up. thats how we got 2nd round picks and a starter out of the last 2.
@jbird – I was with everything you said up until you said Vick isn’t an elite QB..besides that statement, I agree with your post…But you did mention drops, which in turn does impact ones completion percentage…So Vick completed 58% of his passes against the Cowboys last week I believe, but had a QB rating of 107….soooo completion percentage does not always tell the whole story, just saying
The offense was unable to carry the team because we didn’t have it togehter with the offensive line in the first half of the season. Once they gelled, the offense was better. But we didn’t have Maclin healthy for several games and Desean quit on the team with his pouting. The blessing here is Vick found a comfort level with Celek once he could get off the line and not have to cover for Winston Justice. Vick will be better next year. He had some turnovers because the competitor in him tried to do too much. others were because he was careless. if he can clean up the carelessness, he will be a top ten QB next year. He just isn’t a top five QB. I can’t put him over Rothlissberger and I hate the Steelrs with a passion. And I can’t put him over Eli with the way Eli played this year.
i say go get Haloti from baltimore and put him next to jenkins. then Maybe Brooks from san fran or willis backup. And please go get Plax for that redzone man. Get andy out of here and bring in Pete Carmichael, Jr as head coach. Check his resume and see what he does for Drew Breese. Breese and vick are the same height so there is no excuse for the batted balls Mike thats all you bro bro.
Vick s problems as a quarterback have nothing to do with ability, or even heart, its his inability ,unwillingness to play the position of quarterback, protecting the ball, protecting yourself, not taking negative yards, just throw the ball away, when do you ever see Vick throw the ball away, become a student of the game, Joe Montana, that’s right real talk if you consider him an elite qb you compare him to other elites, after each season he asked for films of each interception he threw, Vick minimizes his turnovers, said it was one of many reasons the team failed, no, be a leader, say your play was poor early on and probably cost us a playoff bid, so how can you call him elite
Vick is what the stats say he is, average quarterback at best
Real….I would definitely put Rodgers, Brees and Brady over him and Peyton if he comes back healthy. I know you wouldn’t argue that. Eli looked like he may have turned a corner in his career this year and Rothlissberger had better numbers and a much more impressive resume. There are other guys that are on Vick’s level out there as well. I would put him somewhere in the top ten. He’s better then Kolb, Bradford, Jackson and Alex Smith. He is better than Ponder, Freeman, Cam Newton (for now), Grossman and Romo. I would argue he is not ahead of Matt Ryan, Stafford or Cutler. They are all about the same at this point. He is better than Fitzpatrick, Sanchez and anyone on Miami. He is better than Palmer, Tebow, Cassel, McCoy, Dalton, Flacco, Hassleback, and Gabbert. I can’t say he is better than Rivers. They are about the same right now. Forget Flacco. Vick would have a SB ring on that team. Flacco is dead average. So top ten is all I can give him. I say top ten is not elite.
I love your line “no NFL fan, truly believes that with Vick’s abilities he should be a backup!”
Fantastic! Everyone talks and talks and talks about his “abilities” and yet where is the proof of these magical abilities??
Comp % 19th
3300 yrds? good for 17th
20 tds 15th
And he’s had the same numbers for 9 years!!! Who, other than a 1st overall pick, would still be revered like Vick is after 9 years of pure mediocrity??
Lets stop beating around the proverbial bush. Is Vick an elite QB or isn’t he?
He isn’t. Not even close.
Now then…if he isn’t elite, and by no measure at all can we say he is, then the question is whether or not he is even a “good” QB.
At best, Mike Vick is a middle of the road ranked 15th QB. That’s what he’s been his entire carer. Why do you guys insist on seeing him as something that he is not? Nor ever has been.
So we have a mid tier QB when we look at every QB metric. Then, throw in his propensity to fumble (led QBs every year he’s been a QB), combine with a worst in the league taking sacks after 3 seconds, toss in 5′ 10″, sprinkle some scrambles (bails) on a higher % of dropbacks than any other QB in the league, mix with a healthy dose of “injury prone”, and for good measure add in a dash of his surly “me first” attitude, and what do you have?
Garbage at the QB position, which, like it or not, is the most important on the team.
Its your opinion Vinnie.Save everyone from your diatribes about Vick. He’s our qb and thats it. id rather have em then Eli ,Romo,and wtf the Skins have. Your a broken record. You need new material and others on here probably feel the same way.
His performance this year was mediocre.No doubt. He will rebound next year and with a tailback whos Allpro and a solidified o-line you will be singing a differnet tune . If not ,who cares…its your opinion. Stop runnign around and looking for arguments and a reason to convince everyone of your b.s..
If we’re talking about elite QB soley based on this season, then let me be clear – Vick did not play like an elite QB this season…Was he better than Brees, Rodgers, Brady, Eli nope, his numbers don’t match up…real talk…But is he an elite QB, does he do things better than other QB’s? Yes! does he give your team a chance to win?
Lets take a look at the definition of elite….The best or most skilled members of a group…
how many total yards did Vick have this season? close to 4000 I’m sure…but you guys dont care about the 1st downs that Vick picks up with his legs, he must be a passing QB only…no running…right? thats not fair! I bet Rodgers, Brees, Brady, wish they had the wheels Vick has…
Also for the record, Brees threw 22 INT”s last season and Eli threw 25…Now all of a sudden they are in your elite group of QB’s, right? Well who’s to say Vick wan’t turn around this down season?
To Jbird,
The Offense didn’t jell in my opinion because of the poor condtion and play of the Eagles WR Corps and QB Vick.. Maclin had no summer camp and was not at 100% until 6-8 weeks into the Season, D-Jax held out the first half of camp and then had his pouty attittude due to getting no contract for much of the Season.. The fact that Vick did not spend a good chunk of the off-season passing and throwing to his 2 biggest playmakers on the outside had more of a negative impact than the OL, the play-calling, the referees, jaun Castillo, the Defense or anything.. This lack of working with each other hurt the timing on routes, the conditioning of the players where they continued to run out of gas by the 4th period contributed to many poor 2nd Half’s by the Offense in my opinion.. The lack of game conditioning and mental toughness also showed up in the Turnovers where the WR’s and VIck where getting the ball knocked out very easily… The Strength of this Eagles offense was to be QB Vick and the WR’s and to be honest, it was the OL and McCoy, but unfortunately it took the Coaching too long to adjust the game plans to their strengths and the bottom line to me, You play how you practice and everyone dogged me back in the Summer when I expressed many concerns about the lack of conditioning and focus by this Offense and in particular with Vick & WR’s during Pre-Seaosn and everyone kept on saying, “Easy Paul, It’s Preseason, it’s meaningless, they will turn it on for the start of the Season, well guess what, Preseason is meaningful and I don’t mean the final score or a Teams record, but I am talking about a Team’s Attitude, Mindset and Focus are important every time you step onto the field and this Eagle Team simply lacked the Effort, the Heart and the Committment from the beginning of Summer Camp to get it done and by the time they started to take things serious and really focus in on the task at hand, it was too late, with too many losses to overcome..
Outside of a Super Bowl Championship Teams like the Steelers,Packers,Patriots, I thnik it is imperative that every other team takes the Summer Camps,Preseason games seriously, in the end, what has this Group won or achieved.. .That’s right, not very much outside some NFC East Divsisional Crowns which really don’t mean a hwole lot anymore..
I jsut hate it when I see talented players not giving their all, or players having the attitudes of , yes, were great, we are unstoppable and they haven’t even won a damn playoff game yeat… Let’s blame the Coaches and everything else under the Sun, this Team or should I say Collection of Players lacked the Heart and Passion for doing what it takes to be a Champion.. They were smug and arrogant just like their Leader and Coach Andy Reid.. So maybe in the end, the best thing that can come from this Season is a little himility and the rude awakening for these Coaches and Players that they will have to work very hard and together as a team if they are to achieve greatness..
Way to live up to your name….real talk…
Sometimes it seems that Vick is still trying to impress the “brothers he grew up with in the hood”, rather than making good sound decisions on the football field, which will allow him to stay healthy.
It’s like he still clings to the “culture of the hood”, in that he’s always ready to prove he’s not afraid of anybody or anything.
These 2 statements are COMPLETE Bull Shyt
Fair assessment: Vick is a tremendous athlete. He makes something out of nothing time and time again. He is the best scrambler/runner of all time. He has elite arm strength and a quick release. He throws accurate and catchable passes. He reminds me a lot of Randall with his accuracy and touch.
Weaknesses: He does not recognize blitzes that well but he is improving and I think he will continue to improve next year with a full off-season. He does not read defenses particularly well and this leads to turnovers. He also does not do well throwing the ball away and that ability to make something out of nothing hurts him there. He is also careless with the way he holds the football in the open field and sometimes in the pocket. Cleaning up these things would lead to less turnovers but I’m not sure he is willing to do that. Maybe slightly more willing than Jimmy Rollins is to play small ball and take more pitches as a leadoff man. In other words, not too much. And although he has elite arm strength, I have seen much more accurate deep passers including the incomparable Donovan McNabb. Not that I would take McNabb over Vick.
If he continues to recognize the blitz better and better this will go a long way because it has been proven to be the only way to effectively stop him cold. His reads may get a little better as well if he is willing to put in the work. If he takes care of the football better and runs less he is capable of leading a top five offense with ot without Desean Jackson. And he could lead a team to a championship. But he does not have the singular abilities to do it on his own like a John Elway or a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning. He needs an elite defense to bail him out when he is not having his best days and he needs a the balance of Shady to keep teams from keying on him. Reid can provide the balance, but I don’t think much can be done about this defense unless Spaggs truly is a defensive mastermind and they decide to hire him. I think he is over rated and had 15 minutes of fame. And I don’t think they will hire him anyway.
Here’s a different way to look at it. Here are the NFC playoff QBs this year:
502 343 68.3 4,643 9.25 45 6
663 421 63.5 5,038 7.60 41 16
657 468 71.2 5,476 8.34 46 14
566 347 61.3 4,177 7.38 29 12
589 359 61.0 4,933 8.38 29 16
446 274 61.4 3,150 7.06 17 5
Here’s Vick:
423 253 59.8 3,303 7.81 18 14
Does anyone here honestly think he’s going to approach the kind of numbers that it takes to get into the playoffs in this day and age? And if so, why would you think that seeing as he’s never, ever, come close to putting up numbers like that in his career. (This of course is ignoring Alex Smith- we all know they’re one and done this year anyway)
Erock…well, as long as he’s better than Rex Grossman, then we’re all good!!!
You said alot there Pman….I would agree with most of your comments.
The birds have many high level players, but for too many games this season, they didn’t play together. Something needs to be shaken up to turn things around.
Paul, preseason still doesn’t matter.