Posted by Josh Katzowitz

A couple of days ago, we told you about the creepy Vince Young stalker story in which somebody passing himself off as the Eagles quarterback had been collecting money in the name of Young’s (real) foundation and posing for pictures with kids in hospitals.

It was bizarre, and it led Young to make a video in which he warned others that there was a fake, um, him out there roaming the streets and to be cautious of him.

Not anymore. The Prince George’s County police department announced, via its Twitter account, that the alleged Young imposter, named Stephan Pittman, had been arrested today without incident.

The department also released Pittman’s mug shot, and if you squinted your eyes from far away, he could perhaps be confused for Young if it was Halloween and you’d already had a few cocktails. But other than that, it seems as though Pittman allegedly only could have fooled people that he was Young if his targets had never actually seen Young before.

There's also video of Pittman being led into the police station.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Michael Vick suffered a concussion on Sunday night in Atlanta, and that put his status for Week 3's game against the Giants in serious jeopardy. Good news for everyone involved -- well, except Tom Coughlin, but he expected it -- since Vick appears prepped to start Sunday, as he's at Eagles practice on Thursday, taking snaps with his helmet on.

Vick was "symptom-free" earlier in the week, but the Eagles wouldn't confirm that he'd play, mainly because of the potential for regression and the possibility that he could display symptoms later.

With the Giants banged up, Andy Reid actually has an interesting quandary on his hands.

As Pat Kirwan notes in our preview below, Reid could always run backup Mike Kafka, who looked good in relief action against the Falcons, out as the starter this week and use Vick only if and win the Eagles struggled.


Of course as Pat also notes, Vick is very likely to start -- Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer correctly points out that Vick returning to practice as early as Thursday is a "clear sign" that Reid intends to play him against the Giants.

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Posted by Will Brinson

If you value your personal health, here's some professional advice: don't play football for the New York Giants. Tom Coughlin's squad suffered another season-ending injury today, when they announced that wide receiver Domenik Hixon would miss the rest of the year with a torn ACL.

Hixon, you might recall, made an outstandingly awesome circus catch in the end zone to close out the first half. Unfortunately, that's when he tore his ACL as well -- Hixon limped off the field and didn't return from the half.

It's the second-straight year his season ends with a torn ACL.

The loss is tremendous for the Giants, who use him on special teams and, obviously at wideout. With Mario Manningham suffering a concussion and Hakeem Nicks still banged up, Eli Manning's receiving corps looks dangerously thin at the moment.

Veteran Brandon Stokely and second-year wideout Victor Cruz (who had a crucial drop on a third down against the Rams) will have to step up as injuries continue to mount for the Giants.

The timing of Hixon's injury couldn't be worse, either, as they're slated to go against division rival Philadelphia this week. Yes, the same Eagles team that currently employees Steve Smith, one-time leading wide receiver for the Giants.

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Posted by Will Brinson

It's Wednesday, which means we're in the, ahem, neutral zone when it comes to the NFL week. We're far enough removed from Monday night and too far away from Sunday to really feel comfortable without our football, so we're firing up a live chat at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday with experts Pete Prisco, Clark Judge, Mike Freeman, Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson.

Want to know if Michael Vick will play? Can Tony Romo get on the field with a punctured lung? Why are the Giants such fakers? What's the deal with the Chiefs? Are the Bills for real?

All those questions, plus whatever else you want to ask, answered live below, starting at 1.



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Posted by Will Brinson

Following his departure Sunday night due to a concussion, there was much concern that Eagles quarterback Michael Vick might be absent.

As it is right now, though, things look pretty good -- Vick didn't show any symptoms of a concussion after taking the NFL's baseline test on Wednesday and participated in the Eagles walkthrough even though he didn't participate in practice. 

Still, that doesn't mean that Vick is necessarly cleared for Sunday's game against the Giants quite yet.

"It's hard to give you the future because you have to do things the right way and go through the process," coach Andy Reid said.

Additionally, just because Vick didn't show symptoms Wednesday doesn't mean they can't pop up in the future, as trainer Rick Burkholder noted, adding that Vick would visit an indepedent neurologist in the next day or so.

"Just because he doesn't have symptoms today doesn't mean he won't have symptoms tomorrow," Burkholder said. "You can't predict."

Beause Vick was absent, backup Mike Kafka reportedly took most of the first-team snaps during practice. It's also believed that Vince Young will be cleared to play sooner rather than later.

"We're pretty fortunate to have three quarterbacks who can play the game," Reid said. "My message to all three of them was: 'Get ready accordingly."'

Tom Coughlin, on the other hand, is just preparing for Vick. The Giants said on a conference call Tuesday that he fully expects to see Vick on the field come Sunday.

"I expect Michael Vick will play and if he can play, I am sure he will," Coughlin said.

The issue, of course, is whether Vick is even allowed to play. Before he can step foot on the practice field, the quarterback must clear a battery of concussion tests administered by an indepedent doctor, per the NFL concussion protocol.

If Vick doesn't show any further concussion symptoms, he'll have been clear since Wednesday, which means he can return to practice on Friday.

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Provided Vick has cleared the tests and provided he'll play, it's not surprising to anyone, especially the two coaches involved. Clearly Coughlin never thought about gameplanning with Vick not playing in mind, and it's highly unlikely that Andy Reid did either.

"He remembered everything," Reid said about talking with Vick after the game. "He recalled everything. I tried to quiz him and see where he was at. He was frustrated that he wasn't able to finish. He had a vested interest in finishing."

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

For a quarterback who likes to scramble and whose coach calls draws specifically because of that quarterback’s athleticism has to know he’s at higher risk for taking shots from the defense.

And as we’ve seen, quarterbacks are not immune from suffering head injuries, even if they never leave the pocket. So, wouldn’t it make sense for the quarterback who does so much running to wear a mouthpiece to protect himself from the dangers of a concussion that could keep him out of the lineup for weeks to come* (and, more importantly, help keep himself healthy in the long run)?

*I mean, Dunta Robinson was playing in this game, for gosh sakes!

You’d think so, but according to Foxsports.com, which studied the videotape from the Eagles loss to the Falcons, Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick didn’t appear to have a guard in his mouth when he was hit after a throw and suffered a concussion while banging his head into his tackle, Todd Herremans.

And Alex Marvez writes that if Vick had been wearing a mouth protector, perhaps his concussion and his lacerated tongue could have been avoided (even though Marvez also writes, “There also isn’t a definitive medical link between mouth guards and concussion prevention although some studies and anecdotal evidence have strongly suggested this is the case.”).

The mouthpieces aren’t mandatory, because the NFLPA -- and really, the players -- don’t want them. They’re uncomfortable, at least until you get used to them, and they make it hard to breathe. Plus there is a question about how difficult it would be to call out signals and audibles if you’re wearing a piece of plastic around your teeth.

But if the players are serious about their own health (and they were awfully quick during the lockout to levy charges that the owners were not serious about it), they probably need to take away the option of wearing mouthpieces.

It probably shouldn’t, but it always astounds me when players don’t seem to care much about their own safety. Whether it’s specially-designed helmets or mouthpieces that could reduce the instances of concussions, players, for the most part, seem uninterested in trying something new that could help. The NFLPA should make them care by agreeing to make mouthpieces mandatory.

And you know who was wearing a mouthpiece during that Sunday night? Backup Eagles quarterback Mike Kafka, who probably will start in place of the concussed Vick next week.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Vince Young has an impersonator, and apparently, this wannabe faker has been acting like Young in public and fooling people who actually could use a little help from the real Vince Young.

That’s according to NBCWashington.com (H/T to Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner), which quotes the real Young about what the fake Young has been doing in the name of the real Young.

"I heard that he has been taking money, taking pictures with little kids at hospitals," Young said.  "It's been real sick."

According to EAG Sports Management, the fake Young -- also known as Stephan Pittman, via Vince Young’s verified Twitter account -- has been conning women and men into believing he’s the Eagles quarterback and collecting money for appearances in the name of the non-profit Vince Young Foundation. Oftentimes, the fake Young has collected thousands of dollars.

"I want to get it out there to the news and everybody to keep a watch out for this guy," Young said, "because he's not me."



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Posted by Will Brinson

On Sunday night, Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson repeated history by smashing Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin with a helmet-to-helmet hit that reminded everyone of a similar shot he dropped on Eagles wideout DeSean Jackson in 2010.

Robinson was fined $40,000 by the NFL on Monday for violation of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 (a) (2) of the NFL's official playing rules (you probably know it as the "defenseless receiver rule").

"It is a foul if a player initiates unnecessary contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture," the rule reads.

He was also alerted by NFL VP of Football Operations Merton Hanks that any future violations of player safety rules would result in a suspension.

"Future offenses will result in an escalation of fines up to and including suspension," Hanks wrote to Robinson in a letter.  Roger Goodell was informed of the decision, and said "we felt this was the appropriate discipline."

The $40,000 is the minimum fine available to repeat offenders -- Robinson classifies, per the NFL, because of his hit on Jackson in 2010. At that time, Robinson was fined $50,000, but that fine was later reduced to $25,000.

"Robinson hit was violation because Maclin was defenseless by rule-had 'not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a runner,'" NFL VP of Communications Greg Aiello tweeted Monday.

Our own Pete Prisco, who was on the scene for the Falcons-Eagles tilt -- notes that the "Falcons didn't feel it was cheap." Atlanta head coach Mike Smith said following Sunday night's game that he believed the hit was legal and "that's the way we teach it."

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"My opinion didn't change," Smith reiterated Monday.

If Robinson does appeal, his case will be heard by ex-NFL coaches Art Shell and Ted Cottrell and must be heard by the second Tuesday.

I wrote this morning that Robinson should be suspended by the NFL, and I still feel that way. He flagrantly went head-hunting on Maclin, and both players are lucky that the Eagles wideout didn't sustain a serious injury.

"Player safety is a priority and we will not relent on it," NFL VP of Football Operations Ray Anderson said over the summer. "Let me make it very clear, particularly in regard to repeat offenders, that egregious acts will be subject to suspension. We will not feel the need to hesitate in this regard."

Had the hit on Maclin resulted in the wideout being carted off the field (a la Austin Collie), would Robinson have been suspended? My guess -- which is, admittedly, a morbid hypothetical -- is that Robinson wouldn't be suiting up for the Falcons next game.

And that's a scary thought because it means the league remains reactive -- rather than proactive -- when it comes to player safety.

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