Or as our veteran commenter and associate member “DDD” says, “I’ve seen this movie before…”
Vick leaves the field to get X-rays of his right hand taken during Sunday’s loss to the Giants…the second time in two seasons the Eagles have had to change a QB due to injury in their home opener…
DDD is fed up a little with the old script, which he points out is loaded with questionable 4th-and-short calls at midfield in key moments of a game… and chock full of broken Eagles fans hearts.
What makes it a little worse this time is Howie Roseman told us in August that this is a new day, a new age, where we are “all in” and the Eagles Experience will deliver like a well-oiled machine… I mean, Howie promised !…
I try to keep it in a constructive perspective. Sometimes in the heat of defeat it’s easy to forget how many good teams we’ve had that started out even worse than this… and let’s not forget, the Packers had a similar start last year before they went on to become Super Bowl Champs of the Universe.
And, it turns out, QB Mike Vick doesn’t have a broken right hand after all.
Coach Reid revealed in his press conference this afternoon that Vick actually has a contusion and that the results of the original x-rays were misinterpreted because “of a blood vessel that was sitting over the bone. This, I guess, frequently happens. I’m not obviously a doctor, but that happens at times with x-rays. The blood vessel made it look like it was a fracture.”
With that issue clarified, the one about Vick being able to return to the field next Sunday against the San Fran 49ers remains a bit of a mystery. Reid not only wouldn’t say if Vick would be able to play, but he refused to identify who would replace him if he can’t. “We’ll see how [Vick] does over the next couple of days,” Reid said. “We’ve got to get the swelling out.
“… It’s not to say he can’t play with the swelling, it’s just got be where he can bend his hand.”
Asked who would start if Vick couldn’t, Reid responded: “We’ll see.”
Maybe it won’t be Kafka. There’s always Vince Young, this year’s $4-million reclamation project. Young, was active Sunday after missing the first two games with a hamstring injury. But the former Tennessee starter stayed on the sideline Sunday when Vick was forced out.
Why? Perhaps because Kafka knows the system better. But that’s just speculation, since Reid wasn’t in an explaining postgame mood. Asked whether he considered using Young, Reid simply mumbled “I went with Kafka,” one of the more detailed responses in his 4-minute press conference.
Heck, I’m not even sure I would want Vick to start against the 49ers this coming Sunday… even if he technically could do so. I like Brizer’s theory—start Kafka and bring in VY if necessary. Let Vick have an extra week to rest, heal and ease his mind, even though Vick himself denies he had any mental fogginess or discomfort left over from the quasi-concussion he suffered in the Atlanta game. He did not look decisive or sharp to me on Sunday, however… but that’s just an old armchair blowing in the wind…
What’s true about this movie is that it requires two or three QB’s just to get through the whole thing…including sequels. With Vick, who’s only played one full 16-game season in his life, the battering and bashing has taken an accumulative toll… plus being 31 years old is a lot different healing and tissue recovery scenario than being 21 or 25… Vick is, in NFL years, getting old. We knew that cognitively as fans, but we repressed that fact in our hearts with statements like “he’s only 27 in football years due to his time off in suspension and prison…” But we were in denial because that Vick Circus Maximus show was so hot last year we became starstruck with manic devotion to the star…Vickmania, if you will…
One of Tommy Lawlor’s better essays appears in Iggles Blitz this week, in which he reminds us of false starts the Eagles and other NFL teams have had in the past… and why we should not be too hasty in our condemnation of the entire shebang just yet. Here’s a key excerpt—
” I’m not excusing the mistakes. We made them and they cost us 14 points. But…to that point (in the Giants game Sunday), we’d kept things under control and had taken the lead. Unfortunately that’s when Andy went for it on 4th/1 and gave the Giants renewed hope. Horrible, horrible decision by Big Red. The Giants may still have won the game, but that call really changed things instantly.”
“My point in all of this is that our biggest problem is our own mistakes. That is something that can be fixed…”
“I understand that there is no guarantee the mistakes will get fixed. Some teams never get fully on track. I have faith in Andy Reid and the players, plus I’m an optimist by nature. I realize many of you completely disagree and think we’re headed for a mediocre season. That’s possible. The Vick injury sure makes the next 2 to 3 weeks complicated.”
“Let’s not forget that Reid has been backed into a corner before. The 2003 team started 0-2 before rallying to go 12-4. That team dealt with a slew of injuries. The 2006 team was 5-6 at one point. Donovan had a torn ACL and Jeff Garcia had looked pedestrian in his 1 1/2 games as the QB. That team then won 5 in a row and even a playoff game. The 2008 team bottomed out at 5-5-1 after a rough defeat in Baltimore. That group went 4-1 and just missed a trip to the Super Bowl.”
” Green Bay last year was 3-3 and couldn’t stop the run. They made some adjustments on offense and defense and finished okay as I recall. The 2007 Giants started 0-2. Steve Spagnuolo was a first time Defensive Coordinator and his unit gave up 80 points in the first couple of games. He was under major pressure, but the team kept tweaking things until they finally clicked. That group beat the mighty Pats in the Super Bowl shocker.”
” Reid and his coaches know this is now a critical point. They can’t be as patient with players. They’ll make whatever changes they feel will help the team. They’ll make schematic adjustments to help the team… If the coaches make the right changes and the players respond, we’ll be okay. If not, we’re in for a long year. Reid has a track record of making the right adjustments and getting things worked out so that should give you some sense of optimism.”
That’s one of the smartest things Tommy Lawlor ever wrote. And I’m “all in” again.
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