After further review, Michael Vick has been named the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, and it isn’t 
related to the concussion suffered by announced starter, Kevin Kolb.
Andy Reid, the Eagles head coach, told the media on Tuesday that Vick has shown the team that he is among the league’s leading quarterbacks after Week 2. We have to assume Reid is aware it was against the Lions who own the most questionable secondary the NFL has seen over the past several years.
Regardless, earlier in the week, Reid announced that Kevin Kolb would return to his starter’s role, but Vick’s QB rating, during his time behind center is 105.1, ranking him fourth in the league.
Vick threw for 175 yards, threw one touchdown and ran for 103 yards during the two quarters of a 27-20 season-opening loss to Green Bay. In Week 2 against Detroit, he had 284 yards passing and two TDs in a 35-32 win at Detroit.
Numbers don’t always tell the whole story and anyone watching that game knows that Vick threw several balls up for grabs in desperate 3rd and long situations and the Lions secondary although outnumbering Eagles’ jerseys just could never come down with the ball.
Another factor in the decision has to be Philadelphia’s somewhat ineffective offensive line. With his ability to move outside the pocket, he can get past the inefficiencies up front. Vick was running for his life most of the Detroit game and despite Vick’s ability to scramble, the Lions still had 6 sacks.
Vick has not been intercepted and shown, even to his detractors that he looks to pass before running. He goes through his options, looks for check-downs and his arm is like a cannon. In his post-game remarks on Sunday, he seemed sincere when he said he wouldn’t resist Kolb’s return to the starting role when he was cleared to play. He said he believes that he is ten times the quarterback he was when he was forced out of the NFL, after his indictment on federal dog-fighting charges.
It was plain to see that in the final months of his two-season deal with the Eagles he could smell the future and it included a free-agent pick up for a team looking for a starter who can lead a team.
Used with permission of the author.
Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles.
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