And because you were wondering, the answer is YES! Yes to the fact that Fisch has returned to the blogosphere. Yes to the fact that Jimmy Rollins has been recalled of the DL. Yes to the fact that the NL East crown is the Phillies’ again. Yes to the fact that Michael Vick again has a starting job in the NFL. And of course I say YES! to the fact that Donovan McNabb is returning to Philadelphia this Sunday. The time is now for Philadelphia sports. The Phils are most likely heading into the playoffs as the best team in National League and the Eagles are fiercely pushing forward behind the acrobatics of Michael Vick. But lets forget about the Phightins for one second (Stay tuned for this weekend) and focus on a new era in Eagles history: Michael Vick-Showtime.
Yes you heard it correctly: Showtime. And nothing short of Showtime. The dude simply dominates on the gridiron. With a 6:0 touchdowns to interception ratio and a 110.2 passer rating, number 7 is suddenly the Eminem of the NFL. The bad boy who seemingly lost his way is now back with a vengeance while seeing his game soar to knew heights. But even though the electrifying quarterback looks like a sure lock for the Pro-Bowl this year, there are still a lot of questions surrounding the newest quarterback controversy in the NFL. Starting Vick is the perfect solution for the birds’ today, but not everything may be perfect by seasons end. This leads me to think of only three possible scenarios that can come out of this situation:
Vick’s Starting Job Wet Dream Scenario
So far this season, Michael Vick’s passer rating ranks only behind Peyton Manning, 4th overall in touchdown passes, and has still yet to throw an interception. This Sunday, Vick will lead his squad to battle against the man he replaced was supposed to replace, none other than Donovan McNabb. Imagine. It’s the biggest game of Vick’s career and he flat out performs. He does so to the tune of 300 passing yards, two TD passes, 50 yards on the ground, and of course a victory. This performance defines his season. Vick then goes on to a 4,000 yard passing season, 34 TD passes, 500 yards rushing and 7 rushing TD as well. After being named to the Pro-Bowl and proving all the haters wrong, the reborn QB leads his team to a division title.
Once the playoffs come around, Vick pushes his squad to the NFC Championship game, an extremely familiar place to Philly fans. And even though he would ultimately lose the contest, another familiar place for Philly fans, the season would not go wasted. He would bring back the faith amongst the Eagles fan base. He would spark a new energy within the Eagles locker room. He would bring the Eagles back to the top of the NFL. But that’s not all he’d do.
After seeing the inspirational run this dedicated and determined man started with his teammates, Jeffrey Lurie and the Eagles front office would be determined to improve the team that next offseason. Strong additions of a veteran cornerback opposite Asante Samuel, and a more reliable center than Jamaal Jackson would join Vick in a new Eagles locker room filled with a new positive and excited energy. This is the team that would ultimately bring that long awaited Super Bowl Championship to the city of Philadelphia. And it would all start with a man who everyone had once written off from football, from society and from humanity.
Vick’s Starting Job Realistic Scenario
So far this season, Michael Vick is 2-0 as a starter. Putting up all of his aforementioned stats and possessing a true leadership role in the Eagles locker room. After an epic and flat out demolishing of the pitiful Washington Redskins, Vick and company re-enter their locker room at the Linc feeling confident as ever about their chances to win the NFC East Division title this season. They eventually do, and earn the right to home field in the first round of the playoffs against their division rival and Wild-Card winner, the Dallas Cowboys. As unfortunate as Baxter being punted off a bridge, the birds are sadly defeated by the Cowboys for the second season in a row. After the game and the entire NFL postseason over, the Eagles front office sits down to discuss the future of the franchise.
It’s time for them to realize one thing: Michael Vick deserves a FAT paycheck. Unfortunately, The birds have already invested a lot in Kevin Kolb as well, and Vick suddenly has tremendous value around the league. After a pro-bowl caliber season, Vick could most likely be traded in exchange for a first and second round draft pick, and maybe even a player in return. This is when Andy Reid’s always gaping and drooling mouth turns into a slight smile. He then chuckles to himself and begins to develop and evil look in his eyes. Reid, slamming his fist on the table, shoots out of his comfy conference room chair and roars with an extreme amount of pride, “Kolb is our guy”. Suddenly, the Eagles coach begins daydreaming about Kolb returning to the team the next season, with fire in his belly and a vengeance to prove to everyone that he was in fact worth the risk to trade Donovan McNabb two seasons prior.
Kolb is then awarded the starting job and leads the Eagles to 4 postseason appearances over the next 7 seasons. The quarterback never reaches the Super Bowl and makes one Pro-Bowl appearance. He has an average career. This all occurs as Michael Vick is traded to the San Francisco 49ers to replace Alex Smith. Vick is the quarterback who would finally bring the 49ers to the playoffs post-Jerry Rice and Steve Young era. Vick would win one Super Bowl with the team.
Vick’s Starting Job Wrist-Slitting Scenario
Michael Vick faces his biggest test of the season when the Washington Redskins come to town in Week 4. The game is surrounded by incredulous amounts of media attention, player hype, and personal goals that Vick himself has made. Fortunately for the reborn superstar, he leads his team to a victory over the hated skins and there suddenly washed-up quarterback, Donovan McNabb. The national media, the city of Philadelphia and most importantly, all of the Eagles organization now definitely has 100% confidence in Vick as the team’s franchise quarterback and face of the team. However, the birds’ schedule gets harder. With tough games against Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts all in a row, Vick struggles, the locker room begins to fall apart, the entire organization loses confidence in him as the starter, and Kevin Kolb even starts the 4th quarter against the Colts. All throughout the next week, ESPN reports that Andy Reid is seriously considering starting Kolb over Vick once again. He doesn’t, but the speculation throws Vick off his game even more, thus almost begging Reid to make a change at quarterback.
Kolb then returns to lead the team to a 4-4 record for the rest of the season and leaves the team in the middle of the NFC East standings with an overall record of 8-8. Nothing compared to what fans were expecting after Vick’s first three weeks of starting play. They were expecting playoffs, possibly an NFC Championship Game appearance. But, a Cinderella feel-good story only happens in Philadelphia when it comes to the Phillies. The Eagles are suddenly left clueless about what to do with two overrated or untalented quarterbacks on their roster and no teams around the league are calling with trade offers. This is the point when Andy Reid first realizes his mistake in trading McNabb.
Of course, the last scenario will definitely not happen. I firmly believe that in no point during the rest of Andy Reid’s coaching career, and maybe even his entire life, will he ever, ever, EVER regret trading Donovan McNabb. He was, and still is, injury prone, lacks sufficient on-field leadership, and suffers from seriously inconsistent play and accuracy. My buddy Andrew describes any mix-up between a quarterback and wide receiver that results in a short throw a “McNabb fireball”. (He actually slips in an explicative as well, but the committee of one on this editorial board really tries to keep this blog PG-13). But this isn’t about McNabb; it’s about Michael Vick.
Now, I’ve provided you with three possible scenarios that can come out of Vick’s starting gig in Green and White this season. And I honestly believe that reality will fall somewhere between the Wet Dream and Realistic scenarios. It is extremely difficult to say that, with this shaky of an offensive line, the Eagles can effectively run the ball and provide Vick with enough time to pass on 80% of downs in the playoffs. Great teams are able to run the ball in the postseason, and I would feel extremely sorry for Shady McCoy if I had to watch him get pummeled by NFC defenses these playoffs. That being said, this team is honestly a Center and second Cornerback away from contending for a Super Bowl Championship with Michael Vick in control. This team’s offense is as electrifying as Kim Kardashian in a bikini and seeing Khloe and Lamar Odom’s marriage last longer than a year. While praying, seriously praying, that the Eagles’ front office will make some legitimate offseason moves during this upcoming spring and summer, anticipate great things from the team in the seasons to come. This year is only an amazing building block for future dominance.
