Hey Mike, nobody cares….still !

by Joseph Birmingham

Wednesday November 11, 2009 

Hey Mike, nobody cares….still ! thumbnail

This week Michael Vick came out to state he is not happy with his role as the “wildcat” option with the Philadelphia Eagles.  Wow, is this a news flash.  Maybe Vick needs to understand he is not ANY option with the team, and were it not for the respect McNabb has from team ownership and Andy Reid he probably would be not involved with professional football at all.  I mean, this is a team with a proven winner in McNabb and his heir apparant in Kolb who said hello to the NFL with record back to back 300 yard passing games for his first two starts in relief of an injured McNabb.

I have been a Vick non-supporter since the signing, have waged my own personal wars with friends and readers regarding his skill set, his status, and his moral fiber and past choices.  I have heard the “Everyone deserves a second chance” arguments, and listened to people try to make this about race, about heritage, and about upbringing.  The bottom line is, this is a pro athlete, who is remarkably immature, and not really as good as he perceives himself to be.  What we heard when he stepped up and mildly complained about his playing status and team role was the sound of reality hitting the “ex superman” from the Atlanta Falcons, and hitting him hard.

McNabb on the other hand, is mature, hard working, dedicated, and obviously a much bigger man as he did what he could to give a fellow athlete the chance to return to glory.  All McNabb has done in his career is pass for 30,000 yards, 200 touchdowns, lead the team to parts of 4 NFC East titles, and a superbowl.   His statistics are better than any Philadelphia quarterback in history, a list that includes the likes of Ron Jaworski and Randall Cunningham.  But HE gets NO respect, after an ugly loss to the Cowboys, a game they should have won, I hear most of the criticism getting heaped on Reid’s decision to go for three late in the game, and McNabbs statistical performance.

During preseason, I said the Eagles were a 10-6 team, maybe 11-5 if they focused and beat the teams they were supposed to beat.  Here at the halfway mark of their season they have proven to be exactly that;  at 5-3 they are average for the NFC East, a division that will most likely require 11 wins to lead that may also field a wildcard team.  Were it not for the Giants near total collapse, the Eagles would be in third place and so far back as to have no shot at either of those playoff spots.  As it is, they have gotten some help and can still salvage the season.  In order to do so, they need to stop worrying about the wildcat and Vick’s future, and get back to playing some NFC East football.

They have several new weapons in Weaver and McCoy, good young recievers in Jackson and Maclin, and a proven quarterback that can get it done, with a young replacement wating in the wings.  It is time to end the “Vick experiment” and get back to playing football.  With a 2-1 record in their division, they need to win 5 more games and then focus on some new plays and formations that will shake up the competition in the playoffs.

Now that the Phillies are near the top every year, and the Flyers show serious promise, the Eagles need to do more than just be perennial also rans.  Reid has been here long enough and McNabb is in the twilight of his career.  I feel both these men deserve a championship, and I believe they can still bring it home to Philadelphia.   I just don’t think Vick is a needed piece to the puzzle.  I never did.

Vick should take his 16 million he doesn’t deserve, and the 1.6 million or so he didn’t earn this year, and quietly retire.

Filed Under Eagles

Comments

Got something to say?