Blueprints For Vick Still In Progress

NFL News - September 24th, 2009 - Written by John

Michael Vick's long-awaited return from from the gallows this week begs an interesting conundrum. Has Michael Vick's availability Andy Reid's life easier or tougher? On the horizon of his first game in over two years, Vick has been scrambling around in practice, darting about in walk-throughs and gleaming like a thespian upon opening week.

He will undoubtedly make his debut this week against the Chiefs, and with a congested depth chart filled with egos and assets, his arrival will probably keep coaches swimming in their sheets until Sunday.

Including his own.

Reid has been mum on the situation so far this week, not giving any insight to how much Vick will actually play in the game and exactly what role he will fill (probably because he doesn't even really know). It appears he will be used since the Eagles have installed the wildcat offense in their two games so far, possibly a ploy to get the team warmed up by the time Vick became available.

Three different players took snaps last week against the Saints. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin ran sweeps, while Brian Westbrook was called on to air it out on the goal line. It fell incomplete, but here's thinking the coaches weren't heartbroken. Vick is obviously a better passing option and having in-game reps just make it easier for him to succeed in the formation.

For now the starter will be Kevin Kolb if Donovan McNabb can't go. Throwing for nearly 400 yards in your first game has a way of securing another look. But it will be interesting to see if Vick is his primary back-up, or if Reid goes with the more conventional Jeff Garcia.

It was a surprise altoghether when Garcia signed, seeing it is that he essentially shutdown when informed that he would be the back-up to JaMarcus Russell in Oakland. Despite telling the Raiders when he signed that he would accept what ever job they give him, reports swirled that Garcia felt Russell was inferior and tried to split the locker room into camps. Now, he's probably fourth in a three-horse race with the return of Vick and Reid hasn't confirmed who will back-up Kolb.

It probably won't matter. With his flexibility, Vick will probably be dropped in and out of the game as a curve ball. A better one than Westbrook, Jackson or even Ronnie Brown - who has probably benefited the most from the inception of the wildcat formation. Vick called himself the Wildcat Originator after going to three Pro Bowls as the Atlanta Falcons' signal caller, primarily because of his legs. He set records for most yards in a season by a quarterback and was the first to have eight 100-yard games.

As it seems, Vick is genuinely satisfied no matter what.

"One thing we do know is I'm going to be dressed up, so that's a great opportunity," Vick told reporters after Wednesday's practice. "This is Andy's team. He's a smart guy. He knows what to do and when he comes up with the game plan. If it doesn't include me, I'm cool. But, I will make sure that mentally I'm aware of what’s going on and I'm ready in case something happens. You never know what can happen."

Vick hasn't played since December of '06, missing 33 months of fine-tuning.

"I've been watching football from afar the last two years and this is a dream come true to me," Vick said. "To be there, in a game that counts, it's just surreal to me."

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