As for his role, Reid said, “We’ll get him back in the swing, and I’ll think of something for him.”

Every other team in the league should be thanking the Eagles. The distraction that is Vick is gone for them. The Eagles have brought him into their very stable fold and will help his transition back into the NFL. At their own peril, they’ve done this.

The press conferences, the questions, the practice reps, the extra coaching time, the need to create a role for Vick, the need to make McNabb not feel threatened, the worry that Vick might be just paying lip service to everyone so that he can get a job and start paying his bills again? It’s all on Philly now.

“We feel good about it,” Reid said.

And they should. They did a nice thing for a person who has done some not-nice things. They extended a hand to someone who’s down. Vick needs the Eagles more than the Eagles need Vick. Yet they took him on anyway.

So how does Vick respond now that he’s been thrown a lifeline? Remember, this is a person who has been coddled and enabled all of his adult life. Since he’s been on the planet, Michael Vick has been allowed to be all about Michael Vick. And although the Eagles’ intentions are good, this is another instance in which Vick is being told how very important he is. The inconvenience his presence brings to everyone relative to the contributions he’ll make this season, in fact, makes him the most important person in the organization.

Whether they realize it or not, the Eagles have put Project Redeem Vick at the forefront of their 2009 season. They’ve done so with all good intentions. So how does this improve an already very good football team? It doesn’t.

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