Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick would look good in a Chip Kelly run-and-shoot offense. It’s a far cry from what Vick looks like now after going through the brutal beating opposing defensive units have laid on him this NFL season.
With head coach Andy Reid under fire watch as his days running the show in Philly dwindle as each day passes, it is clear that Vick can still play the game at a high level and wields the same fear he is able to inject into other team’s defensive schemes.
Kelly, currently the Oregon Ducks head coach, is already considered to be the hot pro coach prospect on the circuit, and has a variety of coaching vacancies to choose from, should he leave the college environment. Should the Eagles decides to part ways with Reid, Kelly would be the ideal choice for Vick. Kelly’s high-octane offensive system would be a perfect fit for the electrifying Vick, who wouldn’t have to worry about conforming into a pocket passer.
Kelly’s offense would allow Vick to be the same player who lit up Florida State 12 years ago in college football championship game, and became the rage of the NFL during his playing days for the Atlanta Falcons. Right now, Vick is just trying to survive the season, no thanks to a pitiful offensive line that probably couldn’t block my son’s high school football team.
Yet, Vick remain the center of media and fan scorn, usually taking the brunt of criticism for much of the season. The Eagles are not a good football team. And it is not Vick’s fault.
Since the beginning of the 2012 NFL season, it has been a running theme from many national football analysts- particularly on ESPN-that Vick was operating on a running clock this year. According to most of these experts, the four-time Pro Bowl player and the 2010 NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year had little room for error if he had wanted to keep his job.
In the past few weeks the heat got turned up several notches as the Eagles continued its woeful ways. Vick running, for his life on nearly every drop back pass he has attempted this season, has been a good sportsman, taking all of the unwanted and unfair criticism lashed upon him, especially by ESPN bozo Skip Bayless, who has repeatedly lamented Vick as a turnover machine.
Sometimes I wonder if the media’s propaganda against Vick has anything to do with some sort of quiet backlash from his dogfighting days, or is it because he has not fully conformed to being a pocket passer. I also wonder if the attention to detail about Vick’s turnover escapades has something to with Vick’s skin color. For weeks, ESPN and other national media outlets have gone out of their way to point out during the course of the first five weeks of the season to point out Vick’s early turnover woes.
Anyone who knows sports, particularly football, know that quarterbacks have episodes where they turn the ball over in bunches, and then at other times, they are very stingy in giving the ball away. The catcalls came immediately with Vick’s four interception effort in the season opener against the Cleveland Browns.
Despite the fact Vick overcame his early struggles to lead the Eagles to a 17-16 win, the chorus of haters began to chant for his job.
Here is where race becomes a factor regarding the saga of Vick. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and San Diego Chargers leader Philip Rivers each has had five turnover games this season, yet no one is calling for the removal of these players as starters.
Black quarterbacks have always had to live and play with the double-standard of race being at the forefront of their issues. Instead of rightly point the finger at the Eagles brass, including owner Jeffrey Lurie, who signed off on all of the million dollar checks, for bringing in all of the over-paid players, the center focus has been unjustly focused on Vick.
It took the media 10 weeks to discover Vick didn’t have an adequate line to protect him or they carefully chose not to report this fact. The bottom line is that Reid is the blame for the way the Eagles have performed this season.
All of this talk about how Reid have taken the Eagles to five NFC championship game and one Super Bowl is nothing but a invisible front that he has not gotten the job done. All of those NFC title games were with one quarterback-Donovan McNabb, whom Reid and the Eagles threw under the bus. Since the departure of McNabb, Reid has failed to win one playoff game.
The media this season has ruthlessly gone after Vick as if he is stilling running a dogfighting operation, going as far proposing questions continuously (ESPN) whether or not Vick should be benched in favor of third-round draft pick Nick Foles.
Down Goes Barkley!
USC quarterback Matt Barkley came back for his senior season to collect some serious hardware, including the Heisman Trophy and national championship. Neither are going to happen. Heck, Barkley and his USC teammates are not even the best football team in town anymore, thanks to a 38-28 beat down by UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Adding insult to injury, Barkley won’t get an opportunity to help the Trojans in their quest to defeat rival Notre Dame, a team undefeated and one game away from playing in the BCS National Championship game. Coming into this season, Barkley and USC were on one accord, looking to make history. Barkley was the Heisman front-runner, while USC was the No.1-ranked team in the country. It’s safe to say now that Barkley and USC came up short in both of those categories.
Dennis is the editor and publisher of News4usonline. He covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, racial and social justice, civil rights, and HBCUs. Dennis earned a journalism degree from “The Mecca” aka Howard University. “I write on what I am passionate about.”