Player Profile

Michael Vick Will Need More Than Good Legs to Survive The Season

Yes you read that right. Two years ago Donovan McNabb was knocked out of game 1. Last year Kevin Kolb was knocked out of game 1. This year, prayer for the Eagles starting QB is needed more than ever. With the hodge podge Philadelphia has on its offensive line, not to mention a fresh-out-of-retirement offensive coordinator Howard Mudd, Vick will be lucky to survive the first couple blitzes.

Philadelphia media has reamed the Eagles front office and coach Andy Reid for 1. assuming 26 year old rookie guard Danny Watkins would be ready week 1 (he’s since been replaced, at least temporarily) and 2. For not making stability of the offensive line a priority given how important Vick is.

Count me among the folks who don’t understand why the offensive line wasn’t a top priority even more than solidifying the pass defense. I don’t begrudge the signing of Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers Cromartie, but Vick is the real centerpiece of the team. Without him the cards can come crumbling down pretty quickly.

The Eagles are like the Colts in the sense that they are supremely QB reliant. As panic sets in across Indianapolis at the thought that Manning’s neck injury means he may never play again –which is HIGHLY likely– other teams have to take note of the need for succession planning. As annoying as the Patriots can be, it’s one thing that they understand very well, and that has contributed to them being a solid team (if not a playoff team) pretty much every year since the late 90s. I’m glad the Eagles signed Vince Young as backup, but this deep team has high expectations and Vick is the only real present QB option that can meet them.

The Eagles are known to patchwork lines on both sides of the ball, but this year, with the front office saying they’re going “all in” it seems like protecting Vick would have been move numero uno. Make no mistake, this year he will be targeted more than ever:

With the Eagles boasting so many explosive offensive players, getting to Michael Vick might be the only sure way to slow down the Birds scoring. Expect the Rams to try, especially after surrendering nearly 224 passing yards per game last year.

The Eagles, meanwhile, counter with a rookie at center, Jason Kelce; a journeyman, Evan Mathis, at left guard; a right tackle, Todd Herremans, who has played one game at tackle since 2006; a right guard, Kyle DeVan, who first practiced with the team Monday; and left tackle Jason Peters, the only piece of continuity from a year ago.

Mathis did not play with the first team at all in the preseason and Herremans did not play at tackle in the Eagles dress rehearsals. Each will be facing live competition Sunday for the first time in their current roles.

The lineup change is partly a result of miscalculation – first-round pick Danny Watkins not being ready to start, for example – and partly a result of last year’s poor pass protection. The Eagles sought to overhaul their offensive line with new coach Howard Mudd after the team allowed 49 sacks last season, fourth most in the NFL.

But the change has been hampered by the lockout and a search for healthy personnel who can play Mudd’s style.

PRAYER NEEDED. Or else Michael Vick will be looking at a season full of injuries and…condoms.

For Vick’s part, he’s remaining his normal chirpy self:

Vick’s confidence in his abilities may be unparalleled.

“You can never have too much bravado, man,” the 31-year-old said. “Never.”

You can see it in the way he fearlessly plays, in the way he often carries his team, and in the way he frequently talks about himself. But isn’t it possible to have too much confidence and to lose sight of your limitations, even for a quarterback?

That very question could sum up the 2011 Eagles as they open their season Sunday at the St. Louis Rams. They are stocked with talent and equipped, in many ways, for a Super Bowl run. But the Eagles have holes that maybe not even Vick can cover.

Don’t tell him that, as reporters have tried recently in bringing up the Eagles’ patchwork offensive line. “I’m going to give defenses fits anyway,” Vick said a few weeks ago. His unbridled confidence may just be the Eagles’ best hope.

“I’m afraid to fail, and I think that’s what keeps me going,” Vick said late last month, just hours after he signed a five-year, $80 million contract. “I think that’s why I keep my confidence up at a high level, because I’m afraid to fail.”

I hope he can instill the same fear of failure in his blockers.

Terrell Owens Doing What He does

Former NFL Wide Receiver Terrell Owens made it his  business this week to inject himself into the contract situation the Philadelphia Eagles are having with Desean Jackson. As you all know, Jackson wants and deserves more money. And the Eagles, on a player shopping spree, have been mum on how much Jackson will get when his contract is restructured and whether it will be this season.

But right now, all signs point to Jackson getting a new contract. Vick reworked his contract, cuts were made, and salary cap space is there. That doesn’t mean the Eagles have to do it this season, in fact it might work to Jackson’s advantage if they wait (assuming he has a good season this year).

Owens was quoted as saying that Jackson shouldn’t show up for week 1 to play unless his contract is restructured. This is sage advice coming from a man who, on the last episode of his VH1 reality show, hit viewers with the Ralph Tresvantesque single-eye tear over the fact that he has ZERO income coming in and a friend has stolen a significant amount of money from him. The same Owens who allowed vh1 to write into the script a scene where he takes advice from some non-psychologist non-financial adviser named CUZZIN JEFF.

I guess if your life can’t get any worse, might as well help someone get down to your level.

As an Eagles fan I lived through the suspension and contract drama they dealt with after signing Owens. And I was so happy when the Eagles did what they do and cut his ass from the team. We don’t do a lot of drama and the like and such in Philadelphia. Wrong team. Wrong city.

I was surprised to see the guys over at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner Blog agree with Owens:

I know this won’t be something Eagles fans like to hear, but it’s not like there’s no logic to what Owens is saying. At $600,000, Jackson’s earning way less than market value for a player of his ability. Careers are short. Injuries happen. Market value is fair, and most of the time, holding out is the only leverage a player has.

Okay, here’s the thing. WR careers are NOT short when compared to other players. Yes Jackson is small, yes he could get hurt. And actually, if he did, that would be proof of why the Eagles are hesitant to make a commitment. The worry is that he will be perennially concussed (he’s already suffered some memory loss)or jammed at the line of scrimmage.  Jackson has very little leverage here, and holding out would help give the Eagles a pass from fans if he got cut. No one wants to see that, but there’s nothing Philadelphia fans appreciate more than patience and signs that you WANT to stay despite our fuckery.

Let’s look at the other side of this. Owens advice is not only bad from a team-player stand point (not surprising since Owens has always been more of a team cancer than a team player), but it’s dumb from a depth standpoint. What Jackson needs to be doing is proving his worth, not sitting out to give EXTREMELY CAPABLE wide receivers Jason Avant, Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper and newly signed former Giant Steve Smith an opportunity to eat up all the shine the Eagles will get on a the national stage. Since I’ve been watching football, no one has ever wanted to see the Eagles the play more than they do right now.

And Jackson should sit out, and miss the glory? If he stays healthy and performs well and the Eagles don’t pay him, someone else will. Ask Sidney Rice who waited his turn on the Vikings and got a big pay day with Seattle this year. For the record, I still think that the Eagles made salary cap moves in order to pay Jackson. I don’t think he should act hastily right now. If he has thoughts of doing so, he should watch Owens’ reality show. I’d hate to see Jackson on TV shedding sad man tears.

The Denver Broncos Continue to Treat Tim Tebow Like a Red-headed Step Child

It’s the last week of the pre-season and three teams are keeping up a ridiculous quarterback sham. The Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, and Washington Redskins are still telling everyone who will listen that they don’t know who the #2 quarterback is on their team. I have to be honest, I’m not here for that. I prefer when teams keep it real.

YOU LIE ANDY REID

The Philadephia Eagles have former Tennessee Titans STARTING Quarterback Vince Young as well as never-taken-a-snap-in-a-game-that-matters-but-definitely-seems-like-he-could-possibly-one-day 2010 4th round Eagles draft pick Mike Kafka. Young has a similar playing style to their starting QB Mike Vick and performed well enough to attend two pro bowls in the past. And before he was dramatically benched last year, he was having a pretty respectable season.

But the Eagles don’t know who their number 2 QB is? Oh okay, well let me tell you. IT’S VINCE YOUNG.

The ShanaSCAMS

The Redskins are just as pitiful with their situation. After benching a superior QB in Donovan McNabb for a spotty middling one–Rex Grossman–it seemed like the Shanahans were prepared to make a commitment to the QB (that most football watchers thought was exiled forever after leaving Chicago) until they could get a better veteran. But then the Shanahans (Head coach Mike and deeply offensive coordinator Kyle, his son) spent the entire lockout and first week of the pre-season raving about former Bringham Young QB John Beck. Beck, a man who 99.999999999% of football fans had never heard of. After no one took them seriously, the Redskins belatedly created some sort of “friendly quarterback competition” that is for all intents and purposes a complete sham.

Why? Because John Beck actually has a chance to be the Redskins QB for years to come. Grossman doesn’t. Everyone knows what Grossman can do. I can’t name a team in the league that would want to sign Grossman to a long term contract as a starter even given the dearth of talent that exists right now. You can’t rely on him to be a starter based on history and you can’t use him to train a new QB. Barring injury, the Redskins should be giving Beck the start, giving him intensive EXCLUSIVE tutelage, and figuring out what the hell he can do. Not having him split snaps and engage in some dumb ass competition with somebody who likely will spend the rest of their career as a backup.

The league is full of rookie quarterbacks and guys who have never been a starter before. They all will be learning the hard way this season. Perfect time to test out a newbie. You know what you (don’t) have in Grossman, might as well see what the deal is with Beck and stop confusing the hapless Washington media.

Ladies and Gents, Your Denver BRONCnos

Finally, the Broncos have made a mess of this entire quarterback situation. To be clear, Tim Tebow probably never should have been drafted as a quarterback in the first place. When I watch Tebow play, I feel like I’m watching a guy in a vicious battle with genetics. He knows what he needs to do but his body just won’t let him. He not only struggles with his throwing motion, simply dropping back with any sort of speed and fluidity is a test for him. The Broncos gave him the ultimate insult when they leaked to the press that Tebow just has “no football sense.” HOW LOW CAN YOU GO.

Just a few weeks ago, fans in Denver were SO TEBOW-CRAZY, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd said that the Broncos would probably HAVE to start Tebow just to keep the peace. Now here we are a short time later and Kyle Orton is the clear starter. And the Broncos are telling us that they just haven’t decided who would replace Orton if he goes down (which, he will–I’ve already put him on “ankle watch 2011″).

Brady Quinn is their number 2 and Tebow won’t be with the Broncos next season. In fact, I’d be surprised if he’s still in the league. Quinn was highly touted and then fell completely off the radar. From all accounts, Quinn has regained some confidence and looked more promising than Tebow in the professional system. This is not to say that Quinn is the Broncos QB of the future–or anyone’s QB of the future. But Quinn isn’t fighting with his DNA just to get the ball of out his hands. And if the Broncos want Tebow to be number two breaking him down publicly like this is not the way to ensure his best performance. And Quinn can definitely tell Tebow a little bit about fan hype and disappointment.

Long story short, all these teams know who their number 2 is and I’m not in the mood to play dress up with them. Have at it.

Michael Vick Should Be Able to Pay off His Debts and Have Something Left Over (I hope)

Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick just signed a 6 year deal with the team that is worth 100 million dollars with about 40 million of it guaranteed. If you remember, back in 2004 Vick signed a 10 year 130 million dollar deal with the Atlanta Falcons. It made him the richest player in the NFL at the time. Before he was found to own a dogfighting business, it was assumed that he would play out the rest of his career in Atlanta.

Barring any further foolishness he should be ending his career in Philadelphia. If his legs don’t hold up, they can always cut him after a few years.Before this latest contract was signed, Vick was due to make $16 million from the Eagles for this season. This deal should take Vick’s cap number from 16.2 million to 14.4 million. That means he will make less for the season freeing up a room in the salary cap for wide receiver Desean Jackson, who held out of most of training camp, to get a pay increase.

Now we’ll have to wait and see how the signing bonus pans out to really have an idea of what Desean can get. Signing bonuses are prorated against the cap over the length of the deal. Either way this restructuring helps the Eagles cap. Philadelphia media is sold on the Eagles cutting corner back Joselio Hanson which would give them another 2.4 million in cap space (estimated). It is kind of crowded on the team at that position these days! If they do cut Hanson, that will help Desean’s case as well.

For context.

Peyton Manning’s was reported 5 years, $90M with $54.4M guaranteed. Tom Brady’s was 5 years, $78.5M with $48.5M guaranteed.

Congratulations to Vick and here’s lookin at you Desean.

As far as Vick’s debt is concerned, his creditors have to be smiling. Let’s take a look at his circumstances. First of all, he’s on a court-ordered budget until 2015:

Under the terms of the budget, he is permitted to spend $3,500 each month for rent in Philadelphia, with another $750 for “utilities and miscellaneous.” There is no provision in the budget for buying dinner for his offensive linemen.

He is also obligated to pay $3,712 per month on the mortgage for the only remaining residence he owns, an unimpressive house in Hampton, Va., where his fiancée, Kijafa Frink, lives with the couple’s two children, Jada and London. In a rare bit of extravagance, the budget permits Vick to pay $1,355 monthly for a private school for the children.

Although there is a budget provision for “living expenses,” his car allowance is only $472 per month, a far cry from Vick’s pre-arrest collection of F-450 pickups and $100,000 luxury automobiles.

Vick’s mother, who was on his payroll in his previous professional life, is limited to $2,500 per month under the budget, a significant reduction from the salary and gifts Vick once bestowed upon her. He is also required to pay $3,000 per month to support former girlfriend Tameka Taylor and their son, Mitez.

The budget provides more generously for Vick’s agent, Joel Segal, and for Vick’s team of bankruptcy lawyers. Vick will pay Segal $32,500 this year, another $104,000 next year, and then $160,000 each year through 2015. It’s a total of nearly $800,000.

The fees Vick will pay to the bankruptcy lawyers are scheduled to be $748,750 this year, another $1,058,080 next year and a total during the budget years of $2.6 million.

The budget is part of a plan that is supposed to allow him to pay off the debts he accumulated before his arrest. It’s based on Vick’s playing well enough to earn a bonanza free-agent contract at the end of the current season, and it provides for total payment to his creditors of more than $12 million between now and 2015.

As a “reorganized debtor,” Vick’s income will be distributed to his family and his creditors in accordance with a court-approved schedule. As his income increases, he pays more of it to the creditors. (See the accompanying table.)

Other People’s Money

The more Michael Vick makes, the higher the percentage that goes somewhere other than into his pocket. Here’s how it works

As Munstor points out, Vick could have filed Chapter 7 and never paid back the bulk of his debts. But he didn’t. And that’s commendable.

This might be the funniest headline I’ve ever written.

According to National Football Post, Carolina Panthers Tight End Jeremy Shockey saved fellow tight end Ben Harstock’s life when he almost choked on a piece of pork tenderloin in the team cafeteria.

It’s more of a story with a good ending than it is a funny one. Hartsock tried drinking some water to clear his throat and when that didn’t work it became evident to others in the room he could not breathe.

“He started to go to the bathroom and I don’t know if he collapsed, but he couldn’t breathe,” McCartney said. “Some new guy came and tried to give him the Heimlich. It didn’t work. Then, Shockey hit him in the back pretty hard and out came the meat. The Panthers told me it was really scary.

“Ben told me Shockey came over and gave me the Heimlich Maneuver and saved my life. He was in good spirits and he’s real thankful for Shockey.”

This has been a week full of heroics by NFL players.

If you didn’t hear, Baltimore Ravens rookie Wide Receiver Tandon Doss broke up a knife fight in Baltimore at Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Doss said he was not worried about his personal safety when he intervened.

“I mean, it was two dudes on one,” he said with a shrug. “I was trying to help the situation out. I broke it up.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he was not aware of Doss’ role in the fight.

“I’m not on Twitter,” he said. “I’ll be looking into that.”

Doss downplayed any description of his involvement as being heroic.

“I saw the guy on the ground bleeding, and I saw a guy on top hitting him,” he said. “So I stopped it.”

WELCOME TO BALTIMORE TANDON!!! As aggressive as the Ravens play, it’s good that Doss is already showing he isn’t afraid of a fight. I expect big things from him against the Steelers. That’s the real test.

And finally, some positive news about Bryant McKinnie. Not only did he sign with the Ravens after being cut from the Vikings for being out of shape, he also donated all the contents of his Minnesota home to charity rather than taking everything with him to Baltimore.

Former Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie has decided to donate the furniture and appliances from his Eden Prairie home to a local chartity, his publicist said today.

“All of my furniture in my old home is practically new and in decent condition, I look at this as a positive way to move to my new location, while still providing families in need of appliances and household goods,”