The Michael Vick Debut

Let me say this up front: I HATE pre-season games! Well, at least the home games that I'm forced to pay for as part of my season ticket package. To have to pay full price for a game that is meaningless and doesn't count is just criminal. You can't GIVE these tickets away, especially since they're on Thursday nights and unless you can leave in the afternoon you get stuck in traffic the minute you get to the end of the Northeast Extension. This season, for the first time in years, I attended BOTH preseason games. The first was to be there when Tom Brady stepped out on the field for the first time since the beginning of last season (I AM a Patriots fan) and last Thursday I went so I can hear for myself the crowd reaction when Michael Vick stepped on to the field for the first time in midnight Eagles green.

Since I refused to pay the Personal Seat Licence fee to help them build Lincoln Financial Field (I figured if I own a piece of it, I should be able to go in and use it whenever I want, no? NO!!!) my reward for being a loyal season ticket holder with seats in the 5th row behind the Eagles bench in the Vet is to now sit 3 rows from the roof of the stadium. I DO get to help them change the light bulbs when needed, but other than that it provides me with a sweeping view of the field and crowd, so I had a pretty good position to judge the Vick reaction... and it was overwhelmingly positive. I heard a few boos and saw a few anti-Vick shirts and passed a handful of protesters on the way in, but for the most part, the crowd seemed to feel like I did: Let's see what Vick can do. I wasn't expecting much, and he didn't do much, and after a while Michael Vick's return took a back seat to the continued ineffectiveness of the Eagle's offense in the red zone. I was all for the addition of Michael Vick because I think he brings an "X" factor for defensive coaches to deal with. Once Vick comes onto the field the defense starts adjusting their coverage depending on where Vick lines up. My thinking is you hope there's a lapse somewhere and the quarterback (whether it's McNabb or Vick) takes advantage of it. The very first play of Vick's Eagle's career he lined up at QB and McNabb lined up on the right side as a wide receiver. After the snap, Vick shoveled a pass forward to LeSean McCoy for a 4 yard gain. What you didn't see on tv was the fact that NOBODY COVERED DONOVAN McNABB!! HE WAS WIDE OPEN!! Oh well, so much for that "X" factor. I'm sure Andy Reid said his usual "we have to work on that" during his post-game press conference which I missed as well as most of the second half since I tried my friend Jake's mode of transportation to the game- taking the SEPTA train/subway combo to and from Lansdale. It saved us the hassle of dealing with traffic on the way down, but we ended up taking the longest subway/train ride of my life with loud, obnoxious eagles fans. It would of been less painful and time-consuming to walk home.

We'll reportedly see more of Mike Vick tonight against the Jets as both a "Wildcat" option and as a QB....and the best part is, I won't have to endure the public transportation ride from hell and spend $70 to watch it.