PHILADELPHIA -- The reviews are in on Michael Vick's opening night, and listen up, Philadelphia: The Eagles are better without Michael Vick than they are with him.
At least they were Thursday night in Vick's first appearance in 2½ years. The Eagles won, overcoming Jacksonville 33-32 on a last-minute David Akers field goal, but the final score doesn't matter. Nope, this was all about Vick and how he looked -- and he looked tentative, slow and a bit disruptive to a Philadelphia offense that should be more effective than it was.
For the record, Vick was on the field for six plays -- five as a quarterback, one as a wide receiver -- with a 13-yard completion his shining moment. He stepped in for a snap here, a snap there, often with quarterback Donovan McNabb split wide as a receiver. And while he made no mistakes and completed all his passes, he seemed to fracture the flow of Philadelphia's offense.
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Check the score sheet. For the four series Vick was in, the Eagles produced a field goal. But when he sat down early in the second quarter, they drove the length of the field on four of their next six possessions. Draw your own conclusions.
"We tried some different things out," said McNabb, who played three quarters. "Did it throw some things off? Maybe. But this is what the preseason is for, for us to clean some things up."
That's not to say that can't happen with Vick, but it sure didn't happen in his first appearance. The Eagles seemed disjointed and out of sync when he was in the lineup, responding only after McNabb took charge. Vick didn't disagree, but he issued a warning to the rest of the league not to pay too much attention to what happened here. Things change, he said, and so will he.
"I'm about 70 percent there," he said, "so right now I'm just going off my natural ability. Once I get myself into top shape the sky's the limit.
"I sat on the sideline today and was thinking about so many different things that we can do. It's almost scary. Whatever I have to do, I can do it all. I did it all when I was younger. I can do it all now."
I guess we'll have to trust him there. All I know is that for one night he seemed like nothing more than a gimmick, with the Eagles unsure what to do with him or how to use him.
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So they tried him at quarterback, with McNabb split wide right. They stationed him at slot receiver. They had him at quarterback again, this time with McNabb on the sidelines. He ran. He threw. He did what he was told, but all he did was interrupt what McNabb & Co. had going.
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| It might be early, but it's obvious Michael Vick hasn't found his role in Philadelphia's offense. (AP) |
"It was unbelievable the way I was embraced and the warm welcome I received," he said. "It actually made me screw up one of my reads. I wanted to please the crowd, and actually made a bad play. Some things worked, some things didn't."
Yeah, I would say that was a fair summation. But this is the third preseason game, when clubs are supposed to be fine-tuning offenses, not experimenting with part-time quarterbacks. Nevertheless, the Eagles tinkered with their new toy, never allowing him to do more than play it safe with his throws, while he moved slowly, indecisively and ineffectively in the option.
I know, he hasn't played a game since December 2006, when he finished his career with Atlanta in this stadium, and he spent a year-and-a-half in prison. But I guess I expected more from him and the Eagles. I guess I expected Vick to play a complete series, or most of a complete series, instead of making cameos.
I guess I expected him to be more involved in the Eagles' red-zone offense, too. But he wasn't involved at all. In fact, when Philadelphia drove to the Jacksonville 1 midway through the second quarter, Vick was on the sidelines. And he was on the sidelines two series later when the Eagles made it to the Jacksonville 3.
"We had some plays scheduled," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said, "but we didn't get to them. There are some reasons for that."
Translation: They don't want Vick on film in the Wildcat formation for future opponents to study, and I get that. What I don't get is how they work Vick in during the season and keep everyone, including the former star quarterback, happy.
The risk of taking on Vick was supposed to be to the Eagles' image, not to their play, but Vick did better off the field Thursday than he did on it. In fact, there was no organized protest outside the stadium before the game and a lot more No. 7 jerseys than I anticipated. Granted, there were three young women who carried a banner reading, "Murderers are not Role Models," but they were the lone rangers -- outnumbered by a group of roughly 15-20 Vick supporters, led by J. Whyatt Mondesire, chapter president of the Philadelphia NAACP.
"We're tired of a one-sided dialogue," Mondesire said to a crowd of reporters. "We're tired of people saying he should not be given a second chance because of the horrible nature of the crime. He paid his price for this terrible crime. He's gone to jail for 18 months. He lost almost two years of his professional career. He lost millions of dollars. Now it's time for him to have a second chance."
He got more than that Thursday. He got a third. And a fourth. And a fifth. When he ran on to the field 11 seconds into the game, he was cheered, and he responded by shoveling a 4-yard pass to rookie running back LeSean McCoy. Then he jogged off the field, reappearing three more times in the second series. Once, Mornhinweg hesitated before sending him on the field, but by then it was too late, and the Eagles were forced to burn a timeout.
But that's what I'm talking about when I say he disrupted the offense. Vick played OK, but having him run in and out of the huddle seemed to fluster the Eagles more than it did Jacksonville. The Eagles clearly need time to figure out how to use him, and they'll have it. Vick won't be allowed to play a regular-season game until commissioner Roger Goodell clears him, with a decision no later than Week 6, and he and his new team could both use the timeout.
In the meantime, expect no fireworks off the field. Not for a while at least. Though the Philadelphia police had its civil affairs unit at the stadium Thursday, it didn't need it. Vick might have provoked visceral reactions when the Eagles signed him, but there were few signs of vocal dissenters inside or outside Lincoln Financial Field. Hey, this is the City of Brotherly Love, right?
"Vick is out there speaking against the atrocities that were committed and for what he was involved in," said Bobby Nolan, 50, of Cape May, N.J., "and to me that speaks of remorse. Isn't that what this nation was founded on? The man is absolutely deserving of another chance. But I'll tell you this much: I burned T.O.'s jersey in that parking lot [he pointed across the street] when he played his games, and I'll burn this jersey [he wore No. 7 on a black jersey] if he doesn't live up to his honor and integrity.
"He's standing up now and saying what he did was wrong. He's telling people that those who abuse animals are wrong and to stop it. He single-handedly could do more to help the cause than anyone out there. I believe he's paid his debt to society and is doing what he needs to do, and in this country when somebody does wrong and makes amends for what they do, they're entitled to another chance."
The Eagles will give Michael Vick plenty more chances to prove he can help them. And maybe he can. It's a long season. They can use the time to get to know each other. Then maybe, just maybe, they will be a better fit than they were Thursday.
"Regardless of what we're doing," Vick promised, "I will be able to make it work."
