Do you remember all the scorn that Andy Reid took for signing Michael Vick a year ago? I remember the introduction of Vick with the quarterback, Reid and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie on the stage at the Nova Care Complex auditorium.
Lurie went on and on about how this was against his sensibilities to give the okay to sign Vick. The organization was pummeled locally and nationally from a public relations standpoint for signing the convicted felon. Quite a few fans and media persons said they couldn’t root for this football team any more.
Reid was characterized as a fool for bringing Vick to town. Why would he put the organization through this? How many times was Reid called a Fat ……?
Vick wasn’t even a good quarterback during his time with the Falcons. The guy only completed 50% of his passes and his fundamentals were terrible as well as his work ethic.
On top of that he couldn’t beat McNabb and the Eagles in the playoffs, so why would we want him.
Why was Andy Reid putting Eagles fans through this torment? Die-hard Birds fans were having to hold their nose as they rooted for the team. The Eagles didn’t need Vick because they already had not only one but two capable quarterbacks. What were they doing?
Supposedly this didn’t make sense.
Reid’s next move which concerned Vick was his decision on that Tuesday early in the season to make the former Atlanta Falcon, the starter over Kevin Kolb. It was treated like he had assaulted Kolb. How could he treat the young quarterback with such disrespect?
I was waiting for somebody to tell Reid he was going to “rot in hell for benching Kolb and making Vick the starter”. He was called out for make the decision, but to Reid’s credit he never took a shot at Kolb or McNabb. He just stated that Vick was the starter and would continue to be the starter until further notice.
Now it all makes sense. The Eagles acquired a special talent without having to surrender any compensation. Vick has always been a “one of a kind” talent. That’s why he was the number one pick in the draft when he came out of Virginia Tech.
Obviously Reid saw that talent and thought he could do something special with him. Clearly Reid has blind spots, but he’s been pretty good with quarterbacks.
Will there be any apologies to Andy Reid? Now everybody sees why he went through the trouble of signing Michael Vick and why he named him the starter over Kevin Kolb.
I understood Reid’s pick-up of Vick. However, I had no idea that Vick could transform into this!!!!
Kudos to Reid for the reach and to Vick for the commitment to change.
If I were Reid, I wouldnt care nor need an apology…What is happening right now, with Vick speaks for itself! Those that doubted Andy, doubted Vick, or spoke openly against the two, have to eat their words! Andy Reid knew what he was doing…some may argue how would he know if Vick would be this good…..I think Andy Reid saw gradual improvement from Vick begining to end of last season…I think he felt as though Vick would get better…NFL network, was saying Eagles weren’t open to trading Vick this offseason…There has to be a reason for it! Andy Reid is a mastermind, there were reports that when Eagles signed Vick, Andy Reid went out and drew up 400 plays LOL…that many plays for a guy to just be running the wildcat? LOL…I dont think so…Andy Reid has to be applauded for making this decision and helping Vick get to where he is right now…The scary thing is, I still dont believe Vick is all the way back!
Lets go Eagles!
I want to make sure everyone knows my stance, because things can change rather quickly. This is my earlier post.
It was a record-breaking, blitzkrieg of a night. This one ranks right up there with the “House of Pain” game, except it was the offense that played extraordinary football.
With such an incredible offensive display, it’s hard to be critical. But I’ve got to call it as I see it. In my opinion, after Reid’s 15 scripted plays, the play-calling became both predictable and dangerous.
As he did in both the Tennessee and Indianapolis games, Reid called too many successive passes. Unlike those games, however, Reid didn’t call straight-drop passes. He rolled Vick out for the most of the night. Still, the successive passes allowed Washington’s defense to pin its ears back and go after Vick. The pressure began to mount. However, unlike most QBs, pressuring Vick doesn’t necessarily work to the defense’s advantage.
During the 3rd quarter, Vick took off on several scampers for long gains. After giving an all-out effort, Washington’s defensive line grew tired and frustrated, as Vick ran past them eating up huge chunks of yardage.
Eventually Washington’s defense was rendered feeble. In fact, by the 4th quarter, Vick had single-handedly reduced Washington to a 3-man rush, with a spy. And like any NFL quarterback, Vick carved up the secondary until it took on the appearance of a Thanksgiving turkey carcass.
My only concern is that Vick will eventually be injured as he is forced to take off on jaunts through the land of giants. After last night’s showing, however, I’m starting to believe that Vick is the one QB who can not only survive, but thrive in no-man’s land. Only time will tell.
Again, I’ve got to give Reid kudos for rolling Vick out. That move really helped Vick to see the field and allowed him more time to operate.
You Reid ball lickers! You are probably on your knees in front of banner and lurie too!
Oh, nevermind, I just wanted to see how it feels – it still seems dumb coming out of my own mouth.
Looks like Reid got it together finally! Didn’t call since less time outs…. Ran the clock out at the end of the game…… He must have tooken a coaching 101 course over the bye week or something LOL! The Carolina fans here in Charlotte want John Fox hanged for not picking up VICK LOL!
Schiller
That’s why I’ve gone on record again. I’n not feeling Reid’s play-calling. I know it’s hard to argue with such an offensive output, but at one point during the 4th quarter, Reid was approaching 80% passing. I think that kind of play-calling will eventually get your QB killed.
well after beating the weber st wildcats (skins) by 50 boise state(eagles) continues its quest for the bcs with a game vs sacred heart pioneers (giants) in which we plan to eclipse the 60 we put up on weber
As far as Reid calling all those passes check out how many Brady threw in the win over the Steelers
44 passing plays and 23 runs
I am still waiting for that 4 TD 400 yd game from McNabb
The one G said McNabb critics would still be finding fault with
mcnabb put up offensive records last yr rcp were u watching
not the same o or weaponry this yr
but thnk god for us we were saved
cause we couldnt take 3 good games out of every 8 all the time very lucky for us
clearly we shouldnt be apologizing to any1 G, but thanking mr. vick for saving a season and also giving us hope
we should be apologizing to mcnabb saying sorry we didnt mean to trade u for kolb to take over
we meant to trade u for vick to start and i think d5 will feel alot better about this now lmao
There will be no apologies and there shouldn’t be for Reid bringing in Vick. At the time it was done, every question raised was warranted. It’s easy to look back now and say everyone should apologize to Andy. I was one of the few who actually didn’t mind bringing in Vick even though I didn’t understand it but every question people raised and with all the Wildcat stuff that disrupted the game and brought criticism was very much warranted at the time. No, people shouldn’t apologize but they should give him credit for what he has been able to do with Vick. Giving him his credit is enough of an apology.
There are a couple things people need to apoligize to Ried about – comments about his inability to coach QBs – remember the ‘why can’t he fix McNabb’ – that if he was such a great coach why after 10 years did McNabb still have the same issues…. Now look at Vick – very similar, great athlete, strong arm, and has turned Vick into something special. Did you hear Gruden complimenting Ried for BOTH Vick and Kolb (and we need Kolb to be a great back up QB, vick still can’t slide – he did run OOB a few times.
Comments about his inability to draft and develop talent… look at your WR corps, the OL keeps getting better. How about Dixon
There are no apologies in football. Just say you were wrong and give credit where it is do and that’s it. Not “I’m sorry for all the bad things I ever ever said”.
RCP
23 Runs, 44 Passes = 44% passing.
Reid was passing at nearly 80%.
i agree with drummer. That third quarter in the rain worried me a little. No running the ball. i mean they ran pass after pass after pass very predictable. They get down in the red zone, they then run i formation with the qb under center and run the ball lol. Totally predictable. But hell of a win and im proud of the guys!!! I was so happy and still am But reid needs to be work on the play calling a little after his script runs out. And the defense is letting up to many points on a consistant basis. Jacksonville is the last game i remember the defense really dominated. No matter how good the offense is. The defense has to step up and play more consistent. Look at the past superbowl winners all have very good defensive units
just wish vick aint get hurt 1st game
RCP
At one point in the 3rd quarter, Reid had called 33 passes and 9 runs for 73% passing.
The pass rush was coming after Vick, but he was able to scramble for big yardage on a few occasions. Because of those scrambles, Washington’s linemen had to slow their rush. Vick did with his feet what Reid should have done with his play-calling.
The formula that Reid used to beat the Falcons (included diversified play-calling with screens, quick-outs, reverses, draws, etc). Until the Falcons game was over, late in the 4th quarter, Reid passed the ball only 48% of the time. His play-calling slowed John Abraham and the Falcons defense. Even if you subtract the last 16 runs to close the game, Reid only passed the ball 54% of the time.
In my opinion, 73% passing will eventually get a QB killed.
Again, I want to emphasize that Reid rolled Vick out, rather than have him take 5 and 7-step drops. That was a very good shift in strategy from what Reid had done against the Titans.
Against the Titans, late in the first half, Reid had suddenly started calling successive pass attempts (78%). Once Kolb started taking successive 5 and 7-step drops, the defense was all over him. At the time, we held a 9-point lead. In building that lead, Reid had passed the ball only 54% of the time. However, Reid’s sudden change in strategy lead to a handful of 3-and-outs and 4-and-outs, which paved the way for the Titans’ comeback.
I hear ya scorp – I was going with the title of the article – but much like Schiller (I think he and I are clrealy the most ‘positive’ of the commentors on the site – and during the offseason thier was a very large quantity of vitrol going on….
Now, 8 weeks in after a great win (two weeks after beating Colts), they look like the eagles we know and love – making that strong November push to the playoffs –
And remember how ‘great’ the skins were going to be – with the Shanahan’s – wow – we should have just forfieted…
McNabb played really bad in the first game and got a win, and didn’t do anything in this game until the eagles were up by 35 – Patterson ate him up on those two picks……
Bottom line – great day to be an eagle fan
RCP
My math was backwards. That was 66% passing by Brady.
I’m not saying that you can’t win a game by passing so much. I’m saying that it’s a formula that will eventually get your QB injured.
Uh…NO.
Just because Micheal Vick seems to have saved Reid from himself in a similar way that McNabb did for YEARS doesn’t mean Andy Reid is responsible for this success or at least he isn’t responsible for most of the success. I will not forget that Vick was brought here primarily as a 1 or 2 year rehab project behind McNabb or Kolb ONLY. I appreciate Reid giving Vick a second chance, but to say that he intended, expected or wanted Vick to be a starter for the Eagles is just absurdity. I appreciate Reid giving himself a dose of reality when he said “…this is about people’s livelihoods and careers..” when he FINALLY decided to look at Vick as a starter in an Eagles uniform and just accepted the fact that Vick is a franchise QB and Kevin Kolb is not PERIOD.
I like the bootleg with counter that they implemented, but Marty and Andy really need to send a family certificate to the most expensive restaurant in DC to the Shanahan family. Prior to to seeing the Redskins run a bootleg with a counter blocking scheme the Eagles were running a bootleg without it last year and this year with horrible results. Fortunately a light bulb went off after seeing Shanahan and McNabb successfully create space and some extra time with the bootleg and counter in the first Redskins game this year.
navy this large quantity of vitrol u speak about is because we traded d5 and #7 wasnt the qb
i myself am for upgrading and vick right now is an upgrade
i mean skins beat us 1st game and didnt have to do anything because #7 was hurt 1st qtr
please dont think for once we r looking at this like u
we r looking at it like thk god vick bailed us out
i mean 28 woulda been good vs any other qb on our team and we lose again
Vick has saved Andy Reid as much as Andy has saved him. I think Kolb will be a good QB (not sure how good) but I think it is almost a certainty that we would have a slightly worse record than we do now if Kolb was the QB. And with 8 teams in the conference with 6 or more wins, that’s important. So as much as we have to give credit to Andy for what they have been able to get out of Vick, make no mistake about it, Kolb was the guy who was to replace McNabb. So at the same time where he gets the credit, he has also been lucky. He and Marty had no idea that Vick was going to play so well. They said that when they made the change at QB. So no apologies. He gets credit for everything he has done to rehabilitate Vick but if it wasn’t for Clay Matthews we probably wouldn’t even be talking about playoffs let alone best team in the conference.
Clay Matthews made the play of the year. Who would have thought that injuring your 1st string QB was the best thing that could have happened to you.
Navy,
My stance has never changed. Reid is a great coach in many ways (motivator, play design, etc.), but he has had blind spots which have prevented him from winning the big game.
For years, he didn’t need receivers, linebackers, running backs, kick returners, etc. How do you pass more often than any team in the league and expect to win with mediocre receivers? And how do yo finally get a No. 1 receiver which vaults you all the way to the Superbowl (breaking records along the way), then go BACK to mediocre receivers (but more of them this time)?
And even today, when you throw the ball 70% of the time, you are setting your QB up to get injured. The reason that teams like to play with the lead is because offenses are then forced to play one-dimensional football, which is easier to defend.
Of course, with Reid, one dimensional football is par for the course. Just as in the past, we’ll have some great games, but Reid is putting his QB in harm’s way, unnecessarily. That’s why McNabb had so many injuries. Who calls 50 passes while his QB is playing on a broken ankle, sports hernia, broken ribs, etc. Only Andy Reid. Perhaps, you guys maintained positive attitudes during all that mess, but in my opinion, that’s “drinking Kool-Aid.”
Again, let me say that rolling his QB out is a new strategy that could pay dividends (with Vick at the helm).
didnt matter scorp if he doesnt get hurt
we get shutout and andy cant face his players and tell them he’s starting kolb again
Yeah, I didn’t see why we needed to sign Vick at the time, but with hindsight being 20/20, it turned out to be a great move.
Reid should not have handed the job to Kolb after the trade, he should have had a fair competition. Regardless, it is working out great for the team. The respond to him, he and the recievers have clicked, his running ability has helped our offensive line by slowing the rush and his passing has helped the run game by loosening things up. Lastly, by scoring points in the red-zone he has helped the defense by creating leads that they can play more one dimensional offenses when they are behind. Bottom line, we need to sign Vick longterm and build the team around him, and hope that the big money does not take him back to his days in Atlanta.
There is no crying or apologies in the NFL..
Ther Eagles took a chance and I doubt that anyone honestly foresaw that Vick was going to absorb and master this offense, enhance his craft as a pocket QB like he has and end up being the Starter for this team and playing at the level that he is right now. I think many may have wished it, but to expect a player and especially a QB who was inactive for 2 + years to now be at the level he is.. It’s a remarkable story just from a football point let alone the manturity and overall gorowth of Vick the person has made. In summer camp and Pre-Season games he looked ok but nothing like he has during the Season. It’s great that this has happened to Vick, the Coaches,The FO,teammates and to fans, but there is nothing to apologize for. Vick has earned his playing time just like the other 53 players in that locker room, just like the Coaches on the Eagles Staff and everyone else associated with the Eagles Organization for many of whom stuck their necks out in bringing Vick in.
It just goes to show all of us, When given an opporutunity in life, how do you handle it..are you ready,prepared,driven to be the very best that you can, or are you going to be a like too many other people who complain,whine and expect free hand outs or the easy way out…
My Dad always taught me, “There are 2 kinds of people in this world, talkers and doers”
and believe it or not, you have the power to make that choice everyday…
Congrats to Vick,his family,the Eagles FO,Coaches and teammates for this “Wild Vick Ride” is only begining I believe…
He took flack because he wasted our 2007 draft pick with kolb when we needed a safety not a qb and then he took even more flack because he only got us a 2nd rounder for mcnabb. maybe if he untucked his shriveled balls and put it out there that he was willing to roll with vick and kolb we could have gotten max value. he gets no apologies, he did his job, and got lucky. watch him effe up the kolb trade too.
PW, I’m not saying that if Kolb doesn’t get hurt he doesn’t eventually get benched. What I am saying is that it most likely would not have happened that soon because Andy and Marty didn’t even know Vick was going to be able to play that well. But because Kolb got hurt, Vick got a chance to showcase his talent against a good team. Lucky for us it was the first game of the season. If Kolb doesn’t get hurt, he’s most likely still playing the next couple of games. It harder for Reid to look his players and coaches in the face and start Kolb when Vick played so well than it is if he never got into the game. So for that, I say thank you Mr. Clay Matthews.
Exactly Paulman. No one knew what was going to happen INCLUDING Andy Reid. He got lucky because NO ONE would have thought Vick would be playing his well, LET ALONE THE STARTER. There’s nothing to apologize for. Just give him his credit for taking the risk and everything working out. Doesn’t mean he’s not going to make another boneheaded move down the road.
About the only person who can accuratetly predict or see into the future is your own Paulmandonis,
and I would be lying if I toldf everyone I saw this coming.
2009 season was the chance, year on Vick..Lets be honest, we weren’t at the practices and only witnessed what we saw on game days…Vick in a wildcat package…We all saw glimpeses of the old Mike Vick at times during the 2009 season…Game against Dallas, Vick hit Maclin with a pretty impressive TD pass…I think what the Eagles saw from Vick last season, was a little more than what they expected…With one year of limited playing time under his belt a full training camp, who’s to say the coaching staff did not believe this would happen..
When it comes down to it, the Eagles only had a few questions about Vick…
Can he stay out of trouble? [Vick is presently answering this question]
Can we make him a better passing QB than he was in ATL? [Yes]
Will he work hard? [probably answered this question last year and is answering this present day]
Will he regain his mobility? [answered last season, and during training camp]
I think as time went out, the Eagles knew they may have something special…you dont take a chance a guy like this, without having some faith in him!
does anyone honestly believe that Kolb was the sole reason as to why it was easier for the Eagles to deal McNabb?
Pman – college update – lax scholarship to play in Hickory NC – go Bears! Signed the NLI this week!
Ike Reese said months ago that Coach has been lusting to get his hands on Mike Vick since the NFC championship game a few years ago. I always suspected that Reid felt if he had a shot to coach up on Vick, he would have Donovan 2.0 (or actually, Randall 3.0). Last year was obviously a red-shirt year, and this year he blew up when given the opportunity. I am stunned, he had such a reputation for being a slacker in Atlanta, I hope he is able to keep up this level of play. We’ll never see another game like last night. Reid deserves plenty of credit for taking a chance, and then helping Vick along, but then again, Coach is stupid and fat, he could not possibly have had anything to do with something that turns out well.
Congrats Dave to your family and Son..
Would that be Lenoir-Rhyne College.. A nice little campus and Hickory is a nice little town..
I live about 1 hour due north of Hickory right up Hwy 321 ..
Yep! he liked it a lot – nice small town and some DII lacrosse!
I do think that Reid wanted to see what he could do with Vick all along. I think they figured, that McNabb is out of here soon and we know Andy likes to do things a little differently with his personnel. He’ll talk the athletic QB and mold him into a good passer over the guy who can be a good passer but that’s all. I think the small bits and pieces of the Wildcat was a way for Andy to get a feel for Vick’s speed and instincts on the field. Basically to see if he still had them. I think the couple plays he had against atlanta, NY and Dallas made them say to themselves “he’s getting there”. So in the offseason while everyone was talking about how much they are trying to trade Vick, I didn’t believe that especially when they got rid of McNabb. By that time you need a good back up and they weren’t just going to go with Kolb and no viable backup.
In the end, I think Reid got the QB he’s always wanted. He’s got the athleticism of a young McNabb but a better passer. McNabb became a better passer (and he still had weaknesses) when he wasn’t as mobile (gaining weight and knee injury). So what we see in Vick is McNabb and Cunningham in their primes all rolled up into 1 package. Probably what Andy envisioned and hoped for, but probably didn’t expect.
That’s why I said the best thing that happened to us was Kolb getting hurt. I think Andy would have stick with Kolb for at least 2-3 games because Kolb looked brutal against the Packers but then could come out great the next week which would be hard to go to Vick. By Kolb getting hurt, Vick playing well it made the transition a much easier choice which people cannot dispute (even though they still try).