The One In Which Michael Vick Is Named Eagles Starting Quarterback

Added on Sep 22, 2010 by Scott in

NFL

Having been an Eagles fan for roughly twenty-five years, I’ve witnessed a lot of strange happenings and occurrences. Randall Cunningham’s ascension to the NFL’s ultimate weapon. Buddy Ryan placing a bounty on Cowboys kicker Luis Zendejas. Rich Kotite driving the franchise off a cliff. The birth of the Donovan McNabb/Andy Reid era in 1999. Super Bowl XXXIX. Terrell Owens’ reign of terror. Brian Dawkins’ exit. The signing of Michael Vick. Donovan McNabb’s trade to the rival Redskins. Kevin Kolb’s sudden promotion. And now this…

… Michael Vick has been named the Eagles starting quarterback.

Wait, what? Someone pinch me, quick. Wake me from this dream/nightmare. Please! Oh… never mind… it’s not a dream. This is reality. And I thought the 2010 season was going to be boring. Shame on me — I should know better. This is Philly, after all. We boo Santa Claus, hurl batteries at J.D. Drew, construct a jail cell inside Veterans Stadium, blah, blah, blah. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories; true or not, they’ve become a part of Philadelphia and professional sports lore.

All that said, I’m not sure any of what came before fully prepared us for what went down yesterday. After repeatedly declaring that Kevin Kolb was the present and future of the Philadelphia Eagles, head coach Andy Reid spun his very sizable torso 180 degrees and in atypical knee-jerk fashion handed the football to superstar turned convict, turned backup quarterback, Michael Vick. Uh… sorry, that’s going to take some time getting used to.

While the sporting world and Eagles fans engage in heated debate over whether or not this was the right move at the right time, I’m going to attempt to climb inside Reid’s muddled brain in order to extract the line of reasoning that led to this extremely controversial decision. Why after just two games into the season did he scrap a plan years in the making? Was he, as some suspect, pressured by ownership, or was this strictly an X’s and O’s maneuver? So many questions, so few answers.

The conspiracy theorists will claim ‘Project Vick’ was put in motion last summer. They’ll posit that Donovan McNabb was sent packing to make way for Vick, not Kolb. In their minds, Kolb was merely a pawn in a much larger scheme that involved Kolb being anointed the in-name-only starter, while the powers that be secretly groomed Vick to take the reigns at some point. Of course, this is utter nonsense. Besides, the firm of Lurie, Banner, Roseman and Reid aren’t smart enough to devise or execute such a complex scenario.

What all this hullabaloo really boils down to is winning now, not later. Reid and Co. just don’t think Kolb is ready to handle the job. Despite singing his praises for the last six months and saying his progression was advancing smoothly, Kolb’s performance during the preseason and in the first half against Green Bay wasn’t sharp enough to instill confidence. Couple that with Vick’s last six quarters under center and the choice was simple. Reid went with who he believes gives the team its best shot at winning in 2010.

Is he right? Yes. Vick, going back to the preseason, has outplayed Kolb. He’s thrown the ball better, moved the offense more efficiently and finished drives with touchdowns. If you can’t see that, then you don’t know football. Has Vick been perfect? No. Has he made dumb decisions? Yes. Has he missed open receivers? Yup. Has he turned the ball over? You betcha. However, he’s also led the Eagles to 52 points in six quarters.

Listen, Kolb got a raw deal here. A handful of exhibition games and one half against a tenacious Packers defense is hardly a sufficient amount of time to make a detailed assessment of his skills. He deserves to get at least a couple more starts before being demoted. It would’ve been an excellent way to test his mental toughness and see if he was capable of bouncing back amidst a storm of controversy and seize the starting job for years to come. Alas, he won’t be given the opportunity to prove himself.

Either Reid, as he often said in his press conference, was so blown away by Vick’s play that he felt sitting him would do more damage than good. Or this is his way of admitting he made a mistake by elevating Kolb to the number one signal caller after only two career starts. Nobody with an iota of common sense is buying Reid’s BS that Kolb is still a major piece of the puzzle who can win a Super Bowl. That’s coach speak. He has to say those things, whether he believes them or not. And even if those statements were from the heart, do you really think Kolb will ever trust Reid or the organization again?

Fans and media can bitch and moan all they want, but none of us are privy to the behind the scenes evaluations compiled by the coaching staff. None of us spend hours a day analyzing every dropback and throw. None us really knows if Kevin Kolb looks like a professional quarterback in practice. And based on the announcement we heard yesterday, it’s pretty clear Andy Reid isn’t sure either.

The final chapter to this fascinating saga has yet to be written. We may very well see Kolb again in the near future. But at this moment, the Philadelphia Eagles are Michael Vick’s team. Fasten those seatbelts, folks. We’re in for one helluva bumpy ride.