Posted by Will Brinson

Andy Reid addressed the media shortly before lunchtime in Philadelphia and you'll never believe this, but the topic was Michael Vick starting. Although Reid said plenty about the issue on Tuesday night when he initially announced the decision, there were plenty of nuggets that came from the presser.

Primarily, that Vick is in fact the starter for the rest of the season (or at least until, presumably, he gives Reid reason not to start him).

"Yes," Reid said laughing. "I didn't appoint him for one week, that's not what I did."

What Reid didn't find as funny was the question regarding the possibility of Kevin Kolb not being on the Eagles roster come the 2010 trade deadline or the start of the 2011 season.

"I can't predict anything down that far -- nobody in this league can do that," Reid said. "That's ridiculous. It's very similar to things that were reported -- there was nobody that influenced this call, it was my decision."

In case you don't understand "coach-speak," that's the definition of a non-answer.

To his credit, though, Reid did respond to a follow-up about listening to a trade for Kolb with a resounding, "No, I want Kevin Kolb on this football team."

But even that isn't a guarantee that Kolb will be on the roster -- there's the possibility of him being traded this season (highly unlikely) or being traded before next season (if Vick goes All-Pro and takes Philly to the playoff, you best believe he's getting at minimum a franchise tag). Reid at the very least wouldn't guarantee Kolb's future, even though he was willing to quite clearly do so when he traded Donovan McNabb.

That, clearly, would put Kolb's long term status in Philly at jeopardy, even though Reid remains behind the youngster.

"He was the first person I met with, and that includes coaches and administration and anyone else." "And I felt that was very important in this situation."

Just remember that things change pretty quickly in Philadelphia.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Michael Vick was named the starter for the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday evening, a move that shocked just about everyone .

Primarily because, well, what the hell is going on in Philadelphia? At least that's what CBS' own Michael Freeman asked when he initially wrote on the topic. So I thought it made sense to ask him the same question on a special edition of our podcast.

Freeman and I discuss whether Andy Reid and the Eagles know what they're doing, what the future holds for Vick, what the future holds for Kevin Kolb, if this move shifts the power in the NFC East, and whether or not Vick can regain "superstar" status.

Check out the podcast below and don't forget to subscribe via iTunes .

If you can't view the podcast, click here to download .



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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Just in case you thought Michael Vick, coming off two starting QB worthy performances for the Eagles, was going to declare that he should supplant Kevin Kolb as Philadelphia’s starter, well, you’d be wrong.

Coach Andy Reid said Kolb is still his starter when he returns from his concussion, and Vick seems fine with that decision as well. He said “it’s not going to be difficult at all” to return to his backup role. “I just have to make sure I'm ready to go within my package, and go out and help this team win football games,” Vick told the media after the Eagles 35-32 win against the Lions.

He seemed fine with it.

But you have to wonder how quick a hook Reid will have if Kolb has another first half like he did against the Packers last week. Considering Vick threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 37 more yards today, what happens if Kolb throws out another 5 of 10 performance for 24 yards in the first half of next week’s game?

When does this become Vick’s team?

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

We all heard the hype before the first week of games was complete. We heard the boasts and the proclamations and the Super Bowl aspirations in the offseason and in training camp. Yet, this past weekend, we found out that some who had so much confidence perhaps shouldn’t have been so forthright about their thoughts.

Sure, some of us – many of us – bought into so much of the hype. And now we know better. Without further ado, here’s the top-ten list with a twist entering the second week of games.

Top 10 Biggest Letdowns After So Much Offseason Buildup

10. Kevin Kolb: It’s not really fair to completely dismiss the Eagles starting QB after he played just one bad half of football (that, unfortunately for him, came with a side of concussion). But after so much discussion about how Philadelphia made the right move by trading Donovan McNabb to the Redskins – who naturally won with McNabb on Sunday night – and giving the job to Kolb, this move fell flat with his 5-for-10, 24-yard performance. Now, there’s another quarterback controversy in Philadelphia.

9. Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian: I was on the bandwagon with the Vikings receiving corps, even after Sidney Rice underwent hip surgery that’s supposed to keep him out half the season. I had called Minnesota’s receivers one of the best units in the league. I might have been wrong about that – or, at the very least, underestimated the impact of Rice’s absence. Harvin and Berrian combined for two catches for 15 yards Thursday. That’s two freakin’ catches for 15 freakin’ yards.

8. Jake Delhomme: Many of us figured Delhomme was nearing the end of his career – he was going to CLEVELAND after all – but he certainly had to be considered an upgrade over the awful Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn combination from last year. And besides, he couldn’t possibly be as bad as his last year in Carolina (eight touchdowns, 18 interceptions), right? Well, he might just be that bad. For a veteran QB, he made a terrible throw that was picked near the end of the first half that killed any momentum the Browns had when they led 14-3. Delhomme still is an upgrade from last year, but man oh man, he needs to play smarter.

7. Matthew Stafford: Is it possible the 6-foot-3, 230-pound quarterback is brittle? Last year, he suffered a shoulder injury, though he showed huge guts by returning against the Browns to throw a game-winning TD pass (if you’ve got 6:27 to kill, check out Stafford’s killer Mic’d Up segment from that game – it’s cool as hell). On Sunday, he apparently suffered a Grade 2 separation of his right (throwing) shoulder that could keep him out 4-6 weeks. Considering how poor backup Shaun Hill played, some of that preseason Lions optimism has leaked away.

6. 49ers: They were supposed to win what should be a very weak NFC West. And then they get blown out by a Seahawks team that shouldn’t have played as well as it did. But you know, coach Mike Singletary said Monday he was excited about QB Alex Smith, so that has to be comforting/horrifying to San Francisco’s fans. Perhaps the 49ers are vastly overrated. Or perhaps Seattle RB Leon Washington was inspired by our Five Questions (Or More) segment we did last week.

5. Terrell Owens: Was he upset, already acting like a diva? Were his shoes bothering him? Was he getting himself checked out by a team doctor? These are the theories that have been bandied about since Owens, along with teammate Chad Ochocinco, left the field before the Bengals attempted a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half. Any which way, Owens didn’t endear himself to Cincinnati fans after a smooth preseason. He had seven catches for 53 yards, but he certainly wasn’t the dominant force he and Ochocinco predicted he could be. Lucky Cincinnati got him cheap.

4. Bob Sanders: Sanders had been annoyed this preseason about all the questions he’s faced about his durability, and he was excited to be fully healthy for the start of the season. But he's torn a biceps tendon and could be out for the season. Again, his durability will take a huge hit, and once again, the Colts will have to find a way to win without him – something they couldn’t do against the Texans.

3. Concussions in Philly: remember all the talk about how the NFL was really serious – no, no, really, really SERIOUS – about concussions and keeping players from returning to the field too soon after a brain injury? Yeah, neither does the person(s) who somehow thought it was OK for Eagles LB Stewart Bradley and QB Kevin Kolb to return to the game after suffering concussions. Coach Andy Reid explained it like this: “They were fine. All of the questions that they answered with the doctors registered well, but as it went on, they weren’t feeling well, so we took them out.” Yep, Bradley really looked fine after stumbling around the field like Trevor Berbick after facing Mike Tyson. That’s a scary, disturbing scene.



2. Tim Tebow: Two measly carries for two measly yards. That was Tebow’s stat line from Denver’s loss to Jacksonville on Sunday. Of course, he is a backup QB playing his first NFL game, so we shouldn’t expect the moon from Tebow (I could echo those sentiments for the rest of the season, in fact). But for the amount of hype we got, doubly so because Tebow was opening his career in his hometown, it wasn’t much of a payoff. Unless you like your hype short-lived and ineffective.

1. Jets: I knew that if I kept talking about the possibility of the Jets winning the Super Bowl, they’d make me look like an idiot. And so they have. Still, there’s little doubt that with a defense like that, New York could (should?) make a run in the playoffs (though losing NT Kris Jenkins for the season with an ACL tear could complicate those plans). The problem, of course, is the offense. QB Mark Sanchez went 10 for 21 for 74 yards, and starting RB Shonn Greene had five carries for 18 yards (plus a tough time holding onto the ball). With an offense that plays that poorly, the Jets have no chance for the Super Bowl. And maybe not even the playoffs. 

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Posted by Andy Benoit

You never want to see a player get hurt – especially when the body part that’s hurting is the brain. So of course John Fox is not glad that quarterback Matt Moore suffered a concussion against the Giants. That said, the reality is, Moore’s concussion might make Fox’s life easier this week.

Moore was awful against the Giants (14/33 passing, three interceptions). But it would be impetuous to bench him prior to Week 2. Once you bench a young quarterback, it’s almost impossible to go back to him (Just ask the Cardinals).

But if Moore misses Carolina’s Week 2 game against the Buccaneers (and with the league’s more stringent guidelines for dealing with concussions, it’s possible he will), then Fox can get a free trial run with second-round rookie Jimmy Clausen. If Clausen shines during that trial run, Fox has his quarterback for the future. If Clausen flounders, Fox can go back to Moore and claim that he was the starter all along.

(For the record, Fox said Monday afternoon that Moore is “feeling a lot better”.)

On the other side of the concussion story, Andy Reid could have a mess on his hands if Kevin Kolb’s concussion keeps him out against the Lions this week. (And it probably will; Reid has said Kolb won’t practice until at least Friday.)

Chances are, Philly will beat Detroit no matter who is under center. So if Michael Vick goes out and leads the Eagles to victory, fans will say that all of the team’s success so far has come with Vick under center. Technically, they’d be right. But that wouldn’t mean Vick is the better quarterback. (Remember, the Packers didn’t game plan for Vick; had they prepared to face a scrambler, things may have been different.)

Fans may want Vick to start, but Reid does not want to immediately bench the guy he believed in enough to trade Donovan McNabb. And he won’t.

But imagine if Kolb sits against Detroit, Vick lights it up, then Kolb gets healthy for Week 3. Reid would have to explain to volatile Eagle fans why he’s benching an electrifying, fun-to-watch athlete and going back to the quarterback who was 5/10 for 24 yards in a lackluster first half against the Packers. Think those fans will understand?

In Reid’s perfect world, Kolb would be cleared to play this week. He’d start against the Lions, post good numbers and get the Eagles to 1-1. Even this scenario wouldn’t completely hush the inevitable “We want Vick!” chants that are about to sweep across the City of Brotherly Love. But it would at least minimize the damage.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Did we just see the reemergence of quarterback Michael Vick in the Eagles 27-20 loss to the Packers? I think it’s quite possible. Let me rephrase: based on his performance in Week 1, yes, it seems like we absolutely saw the Michael Vick of old.

His stats line obviously is impressive: he completed 16 of 24 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown while rushing 11 times for 103 yards. He was a stark contrast to what the Eagles had in starting QB Kevin Kolb – who, before he suffered his concussion, looked terrible in the first half.

Kolb couldn’t get into a rhythm with his receivers (partially, in part, because coach Andy Reid kept inserting Vick into the game), and he had a tough time reading Green Bay’s defense.

But when Vick emerged, everything changed. He used his athleticism to escape the Packers pressure, and a team that only managed three points in the first 30 minutes of football, suddenly ran a high-powered offense.

Will it last? Who knows. But no matter what you personally think about Vick as a person, for one week, it was fun to watch Vick play like he used to play.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Washington QB Donovan McNabb has a few interesting things to say in the new edition of GQ .

Here are some of his thoughts (and, of course, my responses in bold ):

On the ridicule he took in 2008 when he admitted he didn’t know that if both teams went scoreless in overtime, the game would end in a tie (for the record, I was at the 13-13 game against the Bengals, and it was hands down, the worst contest featuring professionals I’ve ever seen).

The media wants you to be honest and up front with them, and then when you are, they just throw the dagger at you. "Oh, what was he thinking?" There were a lot of responses from other players who said the same thing I did, and then when the referee tells you, "Hey, you get another five minutes to go after this quarter…" Nobody talks about that.

You're in the game and the ref…?

We're in the game, and we go off on third and out, they're out there, and I'm like, "Hey, we need to get this thing going, how much time is left?" I'm looking at the clock and the ref is like, "We've got another five minutes afer this quarter if no one scores." I didn't think nothing of it, but I did hear it. It was a mistake on my part. I've got to know the rules.

OK, so maybe an official gave him faulty information. But it’s still hard to believe – as it was when he first said it two years ago – that McNabb wouldn’t know a rule as elementary as that. Yes, ties are rare. But still, he should have known that games can actually end that way. He deserved to hear criticism about that.

After he was benched in 2008, how did he and coach Andy Reid repair their relationship?

“I had a meeting set up with Andy and [owner] Jeffrey Lurie after the season. We sat down and talked, and I got everything off my chest from '99 on. It went all the way back to the T.O. situation, it went back to us not winning big games, me being criticized for whatever, leadership, whatever it may be, and how no one in the organization ever stepped up and said anything. They'll say something to you in the building, but not publicly. My feeling was, 'I'm out here getting cut up, where are you? I'm always defending and helping you guys, but where's that support?' I thought it was beneficial, because you can sit there and tell somebody you truly love them, you're a big fan, your family loves you, but what about when we're over here in the hot seat, where are you now?

I agree with him. I think McNabb unfairly was a lightning rod during his time in Philadelphia. It goes back to the booing he received during the 1999 Draft (by the way, from looking at that video, there can’t be anything much lamer than painting your face and wearing shoulder pads during the freakin’ NFL Draft).

Did he puke during Super Bowl XXXIX?

No, at no point did I throw up. I got hit and dumped on my face a couple of times…we lost Todd Pinkston…we all were gassed, and there were a couple of times in the game where I got hit either by [linebacker Teddy (sic)] Bruschi or by [defensive end Richard] Seymour, I had grass in my helmet and maybe I lost my wind a little bit, but nothing to the point where I would come out of the game. People can run that game back and forth and find out that I wasn't throwing up, but I guess it's a sexy topic to talk about.”

The question here: do you take Terrell Owens or Donovan McNabb at his word? Me? I’m going with McNabb.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

After a loooong stay at Lehigh University, the Eagles broke camp today. As the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, it sounds like it was a scene directly out of “Dazed and Confused” when Alice Cooper sings, “School’s Out” where papers are flying and students are ripping up their text books and kids are jumping out of windows (I can’t find a video clip, but I’m sure you know what I mean).

By all accounts, it was a grueling camp, but the best news for Philadelphia was that the team suffered no major injuries.

From the Inquirer:

(Coach Andy) Reid said that there were an extra 200 plays this camp as a result of the extra week of practices. With 13 drafted rookies, more than a dozen undrafted rookies and plenty of other new faces, the extra time allowed all the newbies to get acquainted with the Eagles' ways. And that meant enduring Reid's brutal two-a-days.

“I think that built a foundation," Reid said. "In particular, a young group, and I think they need to be introduced to what the National Football League is all about. It’s faster, there’s more pressure put on you mentally and physically than what you had at the college level, and there’s no better place to figure all that out than right here."

According to Reid, camp also showed that quarterback Kevin Kolb could handle all the responsibilities that come with the job and exemplified further that the Eagles weren't misguided when they traded away Donovan McNabb and promoted Kolb.
  The best part about this scene was what occurred on the basketball court in the parking lot after school let out.

Apparently, RB LeSean McCoy didn’t believe that QB Michael Vick could dunk the ball and bet him that he couldn’t. Vick proved him wrong, and without taking a running start, flushed the ball through the hoop with a two-handed jam.

Unlike Broncos WR Brandon Marshall, who might have an inflated self-worth of his basketball skills , maybe Vick actually could play in the NBA if there’s an NFL lockout next year.

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