Vick will answer many questions tonight
It's only preseason game, but QB will reveal what skills he still has left
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PFTV: Putting Vick on the fieldAug. 21: Mike Florio says the Eagles will need to justify their gamble with Michael Vick by using him in many games ... but not enough to anger Donovan McNabb. |
OPINION
By Albert Breer
updated 11:32 a.m. ET Aug. 27, 2009
Eagles coach Andy Reid isn't going to make it clear just how he plans to use Michael Vick.
That's better kept under wraps.
But what we -- the people outside the Eagles' organization -- might find out tonight in the preseason game against Jacksonville is just what kind of threat he figures to pose in the 2009 season, whenever the commissioner grants him full reinstatement.
Does Vick still have that game-breaking burst? Is he in football shape? How sharp will he throw the ball?
With Vick at 29, and two years on the shelf behind him, these are some of the answers we can expect tonight. Against the Jaguars, Vick should expect to see time both as a wild card and a conventional quarterback to simultaneously find him a role and accelerate his learning of Reid's offense.
As for what Vick has the potential to bring, Sporting News enlisted a defensive lineman, linebacker and defensive back -- each representing one of Philly's NFC East foes, who'll have to deal with Vick twice this season -- to describe the problems he poses.
Before the game
There are only so many hours in every week to get ready for the opponent, and Vick's mere presence will eat some of those away. And no matter what's on film, the idea of what's not yet will be every bit as much of an issue.
"It's not just Andy Reid's offense anymore, and that's tough enough on its own," Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot said. "You have to know how many ways he'll be able to incorporate Vick, and when he and Donovan (McNabb) are in there together in some packages, it's going to make things interesting.
"(Vick) is so dangerous it's going to be hard during that week to get ready. The thing is, as much as you do, you won't know what to expect."
Before the snap
Having to immediately locate Vick, and account for him, in the frantic seconds before a snap won't help the defense at all. Having to find him, and adjust accordingly, could well open up things for teammates.
"It's tough to describe the stress Vick put on us," Cowboys linebacker Bradie James said. "It's crazy. You know what he can do, but then on top of that, the Eagles will do so many things with him. They can put him in the Wildcat, they can put him at running back, they can split him out.
"There's so many things he can do offensively, and your antennae better be up the hold time. He's probably, outside of Steve Smith from the Panthers, the fastest guy I've faced, just an unreal athlete."
During the play
When Vick is at quarterback -- even if he never was a 60 percent passer -- his mere presence changes a defense's approach. Tenacious can, in some cases, become tentative. And discipline takes priority over destruction.
"You just need to play your keys," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. "Athletic ability will take care of itself. If you play your keys perfectly and he outruns you, it happens. But if you don't and you allow him to hit a certain hole, he's going to outrun everybody. Don't try to get outside yourself just because it is him."
And that's just the issue presented at quarterback. If he's lined up somewhere else, the defender has to be ready for anything.
"You have to know he's in the game for some reason, so you're hot -- and the ball could come your way, whether it's on a screen, or deep," Smoot said. "They're going to want to get him involved, and that'd be my mindset."
The overall affect
As much as players have to know what they're up against, overreacting to Vick's presence is what they really need to guard against.
"Just don't get to caught up in the fact that it is him, and you know they are going to try to get him the ball and how dangerous he can be with it," Tuck said. "Once you start thinking about all that, you lose sight of what your job is and that is when you can get hurt."
And if you really get hurt, if Vick can be what he was before, there'll be a game-changing element he brings to the Eagles.
"He's dynamic, because he can do a lot of things," Smoot said. "It's exciting. He's one of those guys that can energize an entire stadium, like Reggie Bush in college or Percy Harvin in college.
"You don't often see that at our level. And people have to adjust to the speed he brings. He's one of the only guys that can throw it 70 or 80 yards, and bring that threat. He's just very different."
Or, at least, he was. Tonight against the Jaguars, we should start to get answers on whether or not he still is.
© 2012 Sporting News
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