Mike Vick won't rock Eagles' boat as they finish up a lost season
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| Michael Vick is not happy but he's keeping his frustration of not starting to himself. (US Presswire) |
Michael Vick isn't happy, but he isn't unhappy, either. He doesn't like the decision, but he understands it. He doesn't want to spend the rest of the NFL season on the bench, but he knows he has no other options and he's determined to make the best of it.
Vick returned toEagles' practice on Monday and talked to reporters for the first time since he suffered a concussion against Dallas on Nov. 11, more than five weeks ago. In that time, the Eagles (4-10) completed their freefall from the NFC playoff race and coach Andy Reid anointed rookie Nick Foles as the starting quarterback for the rest of the season even if Vick returned completely healthy, which he said he is now.
“Regardless of what the situation, I understand,'' Vick said of the demotion. “I see that certain things have to be done and I'm going to continue to be observant, continue to want to learn and help this football team in whatever way I can. I can't get upset or be disgruntled by anything that happens.
“It's different, but that's just the way things are right now,'' Vick added of not being the starter for the first time since Reid gave him the job four games into the 2010 season. “I have to roll with the punches and deal with it and make the most of it and continue to work hard and continue to try to get better, continue to try to help Nick out, continue to help Trent [Edwards], continue to help this football team.
“That's my job -- to do everything I can to help this football team, regardless if I'm the starter or the third-string quarterback.”
Despite his uneven play and the injuries he's suffered -- not to mention the fact that he lost his job because he was injured again -- Vick said he can still be a winning quarterback in the NFL.
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“I'm a competitor and I've always felt like -- and will continue to feel like -- I'm one of the best and can play at a high level,'' Vick said. “I want to be out there, I want to play, but it's just not the ideal situation right now. So, I have to accept my role, accept it like a man and find positives in it.”
One positive might be the fact that he won't have to deal with it much longer. The Eagles only have two more games to play and wholesale changes are expected to be made in the offseason -- and the odds are that the two men who started this season as the coach and the quarterback of the Eagles won't be with them next year.
But Vick said he will be somewhere and he expects to be the starter no matter where it is.
“I just feel like I have a lot of football to play. I feel like I have a lot left in my tank,'' he said. “I'm enjoying the game, I feel fresh … I don't know, man … I'll have to talk it over with my agent [Joel Segal] and just see what happens. Right now, I have to continue to help this football team win these last two games and the future will take care of itself.”
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow @CBSEagles.
