Reid gives Vick vote of confidence
PHILADELPHIA — Trying to extinguish the firestorm he ignited, Andy Reid gave the embattled Michael Vick a vote of confidence Wednesday.
“Michael is our starting quarterback,” Reid said.
Why Reid didn’t say that Monday rather than leaving the door open for a change is an example of how the Eagles do things. There is the easy way and the Eagles’ way.
The day after Vick and the Eagles were beaten up by the Arizona Cardinals, Reid sounded a lot less onboard with No. 7, who has nine of their NFL-high 12 turnovers this season.
“Right now, we’re with Michael,” is the way Reid put it. “And that’s where we’ll go and see. We will evaluate as we go.”
What a difference a few days and a chat with Eagles media relations chief Derek Boyko make. Reid intimated his words were twisted. He might as well have said the opinions are his own and don’t necessarily reflect the Eagles or his boss, Jeff Lurie.
“It was the way it was interpreted,” Reid said. “I mean that’s not what I had in mind. Derek explained to me how it was interpreted so I’ve talked to Mike. I made sure I mentioned it on my radio show. You guys are very good at what you do so I made sure we clarified. I added semantics there.”
What Reid did was ring the bell. And you can’t un-ring the bell.
While Reid said he explained what he really meant to Vick, his quarterback wasn’t worried about it.
“The comments weren’t directed that way and he knows that,” Reid said.
With the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants on deck, Vick did his best to sidestep the flare-up. He was aware of the controversy but didn’t think the vote of confidence was necessary.
“I heard it but I really don’t pay attention to what’s being said unless I hear from Coach himself,” Vick said. “Other than that we talked about it. And it’s all about me going out and getting ready for this game this week against New York.”
That will be a tall order for Vick and the Eagles as they take on the Giants Sunday evening at Lincoln Financial Field.
With two victories in three games, the Eagles and the Giants are tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the NFC East lead.
The Eagles easily lead the circuit in giveaways with Vick throwing six interceptions and fumbling the ball away three times this season. The Eagles are minus-6 in turnover ratio. The Giants are plus-4, the Cowboys minus-3, which is only half as bad as the Birds.
“I cut back on interceptions last week,” Vick lamented, “and had two fumbles. It’s something I know I can get corrected.”
Next, there’s the war in the trenches.
Eagles-Giants games always start up front. In the loss to the Cardinals the Eagles showed how vulnerable they are on the offensive line without center Jason Kelce and left tackle King Dunlap.
Kelce is out for the season. Dunlap was unable to practice Wednesday.
Demetress Bell is the left tackle. But Dennis Kelly, the 6-8, 321-pound fifth-round choice out of Purdue, is getting some quality practice snaps.
The strength of the Giants defense is the front seven, among others Jason PierrePaul, Jason Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka and Osi Umenyiora. Collectively they apply incredible pass rush pressure.
Amid those inequities in the trenches the Eagles have to find a way to to rally around Vick, whose play has been consistently inconsistent.
“I think the big thing is we’ve got to protect him,” tight end Brent Celek said of Vick. “We’ve got to do a better job of protecting him. He’s got to protect himself. We’ve all got a hand in that. It’s not just Mike. It’s not just the O-line. It’s everybody. Execute better and he won’t be on his back as much.”
Execute better, and Andy Reid won’t have to backpedal, either.
All of that said the Eagles are at a crossroads. They’re 1-point favorites at the Linc on the night they’re retiring the number of a legend – Brian Dawkins. Dawkins would tell you the same thing as Celek.
“We’re always behind Mike 100 percent,” Celek said. “It’s a team game. It’s not just one thing that he’s doing out there that’s making us lose a game. It’s all of us. And it’s obvious if you watch the film. It’s not just Mike.”