Vick no longer anything like the one the Eagles wanted

PHILADELPHIA -- This is the New Michael Vick: a hop, a skip and a fall for 2 yards.

The gyromaniac is gone, the speed is sub-light, the wheels don't turn so fast anymore.

Michael Vick has just six yards on nine pass attempts and 65 yards rushing on 15 attempts this season. (US Presswire)

If any more proof was needed to prove the Mike Vick Experiment has blown up like a teenager's chemistry set, it came on Sunday against Washington.

Vick entered the game in the first quarter and was used -- shockingly -- in the Wildcat. He took the snap, bounced a bit in the hole, skipped a little, and then fell forward. It was not so different from what Vick has done repeatedly for most of the season.

Later, same type of formation, same type of play: hop, skip and fall. And yet later, in the fourth quarter, on the one chance he had to pass, the ball landed a foot behind tight end Brent Celek. For Vick, this must be some sort of hell.

After the second play, Vick went to the sideline, took his helmet partially off, sat it atop his head and folded his arms. He looked bored.

When Vick faces his old team this week, the Atlanta Falcons will see a different player who is no longer electric.

There was a time when Vick was feared and loathed by defenses, not just pit bulls. Now, teams want Vick in the game because it's a near guarantee he'll do nothing except hop, skip and fall.

DeSean Jackson is what Vick once was.

Not only is Vick a waste at this point, he's actually a hindrance to the Eagles.

There's often a dull murmur that echoes through a stadium when Vick first gets into the game. Then when everyone sees the result, there's more disbelief than noise.

Vick returns to the city where he was a hero as a different person on and off the field. Off the field, he's a better man. On it, he's a broken one.

Vick is extremely well liked by Eagles teammates. None I spoke to have a bad word to say about him. I'm told he's attentive in meetings, works and studies hard and has reformed, mostly, his personal life to the point where he's not the constant partier he once was.

Vick seems to be a truly rehabilitated human being.

But on the field, he's drastically different.

The burst is clearly gone. For now, at least. If you've followed Vick closely like I have for his entire career, watching him run now is striking -- his speed has become pedestrian. Speed to Vick was like megabytes to Microsoft. Without that burst, Vick is nothing. Vick is Bruce Gradkowski.

The Eagles also obviously have no clue how to use a Vick with declining skills. This isn't the guy they wanted. Now, it's like they feel obligated to use Vick since they went through the hassle of signing him, but Vick is just an afterthought. He's that pile of laundry over in the corner you've been meaning to wash for weeks.

No one should feel sorry for Vick. He beat and barbecued dogs.

Still, watching Vick is like watching an old boxer's punch begin to slow and his chin weaken. Everyone can see it except him.

Maybe none of this should be shocking. He was, after all, in prison. Many men better and stronger than Vick have left parts of their souls, let alone their 40 times, in jail. Not everything is a Hollywood ending.

Vick was never going to be singing Christmas songs in the town square surrounded by cuddly little puppies as floats went by overhead.

But we weren't supposed to see hop, skip and fall, either.