subject: Philadelphia Eagles Tickets - Vick Takes The Backseat At Qb [print this page] Michael Vick never thought he'd slip from starting quarterback to third string backup, but that's exactly what's happening this season in Philadelphia as the former convict left prison earlier this year and headed back onto the football field for the first time since 2006. Vick's empire came crashing down after he was convicted of bankrolling a dogfighting ring while he was playing for the Atlanta Falcons, but now, after a hard-fought struggle to get reinstated into the league, Vick is getting used to life as a backup. He's got all-star Donovan McNabb and No. 2 QB Kevin Kolb sitting above him right now at the helm, but will Michael Vick ever start alongside the first-stringers?
Not this year, it seems. Vick has been used largely as a decoy in the Eagles' wildcat scheme this season, and while that's good enough for many players, it may be disappointing for No. 7. "This is not the exact scenario I thought would play out," Vick admitted in September. "I thought I'd be playing with a team and actually starting." Instead, the hoopla surrounding Michael Vick's addition to the Eagles earlier this season has been bigger than Vick's actual playtime, but this may not, after all, be a bad thing.
Vick signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia this year, and the Eagles will have to cough up a hefty $5.6 million for their third-string quarterback if they want him under their wing again next year. Will coach Andy Reid go for this to keep his favorite wildcat toy? It's not probable, but Vick likely knew this going into the whole situation. What the 2009-10 season is looked at for Vick is more of a PR year, as the QB is focusing on marketing himself to the other 31 teams around the league in hopes that he'll become a starter next year for another team, should he continue to stay out of trouble and keep improving his game.
As for now, football fans with Philadelphia Eagles tickets to games this season online will continue seeing No. 7 work his magic on the football field, but only in minimal settings. In the Eagles' game against the Tampa Bay Bucs in Week 5, in fact, Vick only posted 29 yards the entire game, playing on the field for just nine wildcat plays and ultimately hiding in the shadow of Donovan McNabb, who has made the return to playtime after recovering from an injury a few weeks ago.
Through everything, though, Michael Vick still seems grateful just to be playing the game of football again. On his stint with the Eagles, Vick recently said, "It's just going to vary from week to week, depending on the flow of the game, and that's something I totally understand. The important thing is for the offense to get into a flow, get into a rhythm-for those guys to build up with me, and we're comfortable, for whenever I get an opportunity to go out there." Vick still can't be ruled out for playtime with the Philadelphia Eagles this season, and surely he just feels lucky to be playing the beloved game of football again.
