Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid’s decision to make Michael Vick his starting quarterback for the remainder of the season is the right move, at the right time.
Sure, Reid stressed Sunday that Kevin Kolb was still his starter. Maybe he was just trying to get through his news conference and onto the post-game buffet.
Maybe he didn’t want to rip Kolb’s heart out just yet.
But bottom line, going with Vick is the right football move– reneging be damned.
Vick simply gives the Eagles a better chance to win. Layoff aside, he’s a three-time Pro Bowler with two playoff wins.
Kolb has exactly zero and zero of those. He hasn’t done much in the league other than sign-in plays and throw for 300 yards twice against suspect, unsuspecting secondaries. Vick looks better, more decisive now, than he ever did in Hotlanta. Not to mention he has much more offensive talent around him than he ever did in The A.
It’s the classic, “you can’t have the guy everybody wants to see on the field as the backup” situation. It will ultimately undermine the team, the starting quarterback, and the coach.
This way, Andy Reid only looks like an idiot for about 48 hours, as opposed to all season, if he were to he keep Vick on the bench while Kolb struggled. In Vick, he’s going with the hot guy, the right guy, and is fully justified in pulling Vick if he starts to struggle later in the season.
It’s in many ways the practical, predictable decision–contrary to the bombshell reaction the announcement generated on Tuesday.
A friend from Philly did bring up an interesting point, however: Is Philly really anything more than a 8 or 9 win team either way? Can they actually contend for a Super Bowl?
I say yes for a couple of reasons. One, the NFC East is surprisingly up for grabs after the Cowboys’ disastrous start. More importantly, Vick is difficult to stop and if he continues with his good decision making as a passer — and his maturity and increased pocket presence give every indication he will — that offense is as dangerous as any in the league.
And in today’s high-flying NFL, a dangerous offense goes a long way.
Free Mike Vick, indeed!
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