Vick's passion reason players flocking to Eagles
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| Andy Reid and the charismatic Vick both prove to be Philly selling points. (AP) |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Michael Vick is more than the Philadelphia Eagles' most dangerous weapon. He's their biggest draw, and I'm not talking about putting people in the seats. I'm talking about adding names to the roster.
That's because Michael Vick is more than a quarterback. He's a phenomenon.
Players across the league don't want to be like Mike as much as they want to be with Mike, joining the Eagles to team up with one of the game's most dynamic and charismatic individuals.
Vick is everything they respect and admire in an athlete. He's extraordinarily talented. He's passionate about his profession. He's uber-competitive. He can create. He can orchestrate. He can scintillate.
Most important, he can win.
"I think he's perceived -- and this perception is reality -- as a great player," said coach Andy Reid. "But he gives you an opportunity to win football games, too. I've always said this: No matter how much you pay guys, they always want to win games. When it's all said and done they want to put themselves in a position where they can go and get a ring ... and that means something.
"So much in this day and age you hear about how a guy just wants to make money. Well, that's not the case. They'd like to find a situation where they can get both accomplished. They want to win, and they feel like Michael can help them do that."
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So they watch Vick demolish Washington in a Monday-night laugher where he becomes the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, run for 50, throw four touchdowns and run for another two ... all in one game ... and they want to be part of that.
They see him lead Philadelphia on an astonishing 21-point comeback with eight minutes left to beat the Giants, and they want to be part of that, too. They know he produced 30 touchdowns, achieved a career-best passer rating (100.2) and won eight of 11 starts to lead the Eagles to another division title, and they want to be part of all that.
To paraphrase rock musician Walter Egan, Vick is the magnet, and others are steel. People are drawn to him, whether it's fans calling out to him after practice or wearing No. 7 jerseys or opposing players expressing interest in teaming up with him. He is, as Reid acknowledged, "a rock star," but a rock star who "hit bottom and who had certain things he wanted to do -- namely, better his game and better himself as a person."
Well, he succeeded, and now he … and the Eagles … reap the rewards as they reel in high-profile free agents, many of whom mention Vick as an element in their decisions.
"He's a big part of why anyone would want to come to a team," said cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who left Oakland for the Eagles. "Vick is a guy you want to play with, not someone you want to play against."
I'm not sure he -- or anyone, for that matter -- makes that statement a year ago because a year ago Vick was the Eagles' backup to Kevin Kolb, with no one sure what either would offer for the coming season. Then Vick stepped in after Kolb was hurt, played the best football of his career and proved so indispensable that the Eagles protected him with their franchise tag and traded away Kolb.
Philadelphia kept Michael Vick because it believes in him. But so do others, some of whom are not in Eagles' uniforms. Not yet, at least.
"I found this out early when I was at Green Bay with Reggie White and Brett Favre," said Reid. "The first thing that Reggie White said is, 'I'm coming to the Packers,' when people didn't think he would because it was a small media market at that time, and we hadn't really started winning. But we had this quarterback he respected and thought the world of. So he came in and said, 'I want to be a part of that.' "
Sound familiar?
"This guy is special." Reid said of Vick. "I saw it with Donovan [McNabb] here, and now I'm seeing it with Michael. [Free agents] had to make decisions quickly [this summer], and when the lockout ended guys had to find a home. Michael Vick knows a lot of people and is very, very popular and is a good guy. So you have a great player, a good guy and someone who represents this organization very well. I have no doubt that that's why players seek out the Philadelphia Eagles. I have no doubt about that at all."
There are, of course, other reasons. Free-agent addition Vince Young mentioned Reid and his history of success, as well as his admiration for him as a teacher and someone who treats players fairly. Vick mentioned Reid, too, saying players across the league understand what he's done for him and what he's done for others -- a group that should include Terrell Owens, who had one of the best and most successful seasons of his career when he played for Philadelphia in 2004.
In the end, though, there has to be more than a successful coach -- and there is, just as in New England it's not just Bill Belichick who beckons players; it's quarterback Tom Brady.
In Philadelphia it's Reid and Michael Vick.
"I understand [players' reactions]," Vick said, "and I think it's important to take full advantage of it. Players have an opportunity to come play, not just with me but for an organization that cares about its players and makes you better. It's important that players have that opportunity. I just think God creates situations for certain reasons, and this is one of them."
"But what is it about you," I asked, "that resonates with other players?"
"I think they see I put 110 percent passion into the game," he said. "I take pride in what I do. Each and every snap I play like it's my last. Even when I'm not supposed to take a hit I take one -- even though that's going to change this year.
"It's just the effort and desire I put into my work and my craft; the desire to be great, wanting to be great. I want to end up in Canton one day, and it takes hard work and preparation to get there."
It takes success, too, and Vick found it in Philadelphia as he did years ago in Atlanta -- maybe not as easily, but he found it nevertheless. Where the Eagles last season were a popular preseason pick to finish somewhere in the middle of the pack, they surprised by winning 10 of their first 14 starts -- with Vick the catalyst.
Yeah, I know, they were beaten by Green Bay in the first round of the playoffs, but they came this close -- falling short when a last-minute Vick pass to the end zone was intercepted. So he fizzled. Big deal. All season Vick lifted the club and carried it on his back, and one play would not cause people to forget.
"I just think people respect where I've been and how I've been able to bounce back -- not the negative aspect of it but the positive," Vick said. "[It's about] keeping your spirits high, standing tall, working hard and grinding and being blessed with a gift from God.
"I've been able to play the quarterback position at a high level. I've just got to thank God because I was blessed with unbelievable talent and ability to do things that some people can't. Now, I'm just trying to take full advantage of it."
The results are everywhere, and not just on the field.
