Michael Vick in the News
Posted: July 26th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 8 Comments »First up, I’m on the move again. This time I am out in Lake Tahoe for a wedding. Don’t worry, though. I’ll be able to keep posts going up. I am just here from today through Saturday morning. Short, quick trip. Then my attention goes squarely back to football, unless Katie Holmes gets trapped in the Funyons plant and needs someone to save her.
President Obama had a message for Michael Vick…”slide”. Regardless of politics, I think this is one message we can all agree on. We’ll have to wait and see if Vick takes this advice to heart.
I know many of you wonder about Vick and the talk of him playing more conservatively this year. Sheil Kapadia did a good piece for Eagles Almanac (have you bought 3 or 4 copies yet?) and talked about the fact that Vick got hurt in 2011 in the pocket, not on the move. That’s true. Vick did get hurt on the run in 2010 and missed games. He took some tough shots last year while on the run. I often wonder about the effect those have as they add up over the course of a season.
No one wants Vick to become a pocket passer. That would be dumb. The point with Vick is to run when you need to, but then to be smart about how you finish those plays. Get down rather than taking on a LB or SS in space. Go out of bounds rather than trying to get every last inch. If we’re in the NFC title game, Vick has my permission to play all out. When it is a game in September…be smart. Think of the old phrase that you want to win the war, not the battle. Giving up a couple of yards here and there while staying healthy and protecting your body is the smart way to go.
Now if Mike Kafka is ready to break out and be Kurt Warner part 2, Vick can do whatever he wants. Since I don’t think that is likely, I want to see Vick be judicious about when to run and smart about when to get down/go out.
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Vick is promoting his new clothing line and did so in a creative, funny way. Check out this video.
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I’m sure some of you saw that the Packers cut SS Charlie Peprah. Apparently he’s not healthy and that’s why they let him go. If things go disastrously bad for the Eagles at Safety, he could get a call, but don’t count on it.
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For my PE.com column, I wrote about some players that we can get answers on up at Lehigh. Some players we’ll have to wait for the regular season, but there will be more than a few who we learn about at Training Camp.
I’m still finalizing my plans for trying to get up to Lehigh. For now, Jimmy Bama is the man to rely on. There are no notes today. Veterans will be practicing tomorrow. Saturday is when hitting/tackling starts and we get to see some real football. Can’t wait.
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No TE update. I’m sticking with my guess that the team wants to see Clay Harbor in action at Lehigh for a few days. That’s when they’ll decided if they need to add a player or if he is past his mini-camp drops. Huge few days for Mr. Harbor. I wish him the best.
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My initial reaction was… oh crap another Eagle gets involved with the music industry. Then I realized it was “In the News” not “And the News” … whew … bullet dodged.
Sorry to Hi-jack the thread Tommy, but I made a FF league and I know some people wanted the details. (the password is at least in your honor)
Hope we can fill it here, feel free to invite friends.
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/register/tos?league_id=250092&password=PBR
League ID#: 250092
Password: PBR
I’m in, and good luck to all who join!
I’ll mention it in an upcoming post as well.
Thanks Tommy! (Already have five of ten slots taken).
For those who have already signed up, we can discuss draft times when the league is full. I picked a time convenient for me as the default, but it can always be changed!
People have been saying the same thing about Vick for a long time. He needs to avoid the big hits. He needs to slide. He needs to get out of bounds instead of trying for those extra few yards. All of those suggestions make sense, but the fact is, Vick has struggled to make the necessary adjustments. I think instead of focusing on just reiterating that message, the Eagles need to take a different approach. I just simply don’t believe Vick is going to all of a sudden play differently when he is on the run. I think Vick just has the mindset of competing on every play and getting every last yard he can get.
The one area I think may reduce the hits Vick takes would be to work on getting rid of the ball quicker. He can do that by making quicker reads and/or being willing to throw the ball away more often instead of trying to force a play that is not there. The coaches could also help him out at times by calling a few more plays that are designed to get the ball out quicker. Hopefully by having the ball out of his hands quicker, that will translate into fewer opportunities for defenses to put a hit on him.
Vick did run less in the final 4 games of 2011. He stayed healthy and the offense looked pretty good.
I agree. He’s getting most of his hits because he’s hanging back there waiting for big plays to develop instead of hitting shorter opportunities quicker, not because he’s taking off with the football prematurely.