The Football Fan Spot

            Michael Vick is officially an NFL player again. ESPN reports that Vick has signed a 2 year deal for an undisclosed amount of money with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick has not played since 2006, when he was the highest paid player in the league as quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. Since then, Vick has served a 23 month jail sentence for hosting and funding a dog fighting rink in his home, as well as training dogs to kill, fighting dogs to the death, and euthanizing dogs unfit to fight.

            The buzz around the internet, at least with Eagles fans, is that Vick will add another dimension to an already dangerous offense. The Eagles will be able to do crazy wildcat things with Donovan McNabb and Vick together in the backfield, as well as the speedy Brian Westbrook and possibly even receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. To those people I say this, check your calendars. Week 1 is September 7th. Today is August 13th. The Eagles don’t have time to make major playbook changes in order to get the most out of Vick’s speed. The Eagles will play the same West Coast offense that they have for the past decade with Donovan McNabb and Vick, who ran a West Coast offense in Atlanta, will be McNabb’s backup.

            What Andy Reid and whoever else that was behind this move is hoping is that Vick, who is probably the best backup McNabb has ever had, will motivated McNabb. However, McNabb been very angry the last few times his status as franchise quarterback was threatened. When the Eagles drafted quarterback Kevin Kolb in the 2nd round of the 2007 NFL draft, McNabb had some words behind closed doors for whoever made the decision, though he denied this accusation. Last November, when McNabb was benched midgame for Kolb, he had some more words for the person responsible. This move may just create a quarterback controversy where there wasn’t one, which is never a good idea.

            What could happen, though, is this. McNabb could get angry and piss and moan to the people responsible. And then, he could go out and lead the team to the Super Bowl. McNabb always seems to performance best when his back is against the wall. In 2007, after they drafted Kolb, McNabb had a borderline career year just months after knee surgery. Last year, after he was benched, he responded by winning the job back and leading what was once a 5-5 team to the NFC Championship. Or, he could just piss and moan. Either way, I wouldn’t take the risk of shaking McNabb’s confidence, though it could pay off.

            I also wouldn’t take the PR risk. Philly fans can be ruthless. They will likely do a combination of two things. One, they will set enormous expectations for Vick because of his name, which he will not live up to. Two, they will not like him because of the dog fighting arrest. Eagles fans have dogs too. You have to think that at least some will not spend their hard earned money to pay Vick’s salary by buying Eagles tickets. I’m happy that Vick gets another chance, but I don’t think he’s worth the risk for the Eagles.