Vick becomes Top Dog until he is pounded into oblivion behind a weak offensive line.

"Well, let me say it again. I know I'm using poor English here; Kevin Kolb is the #1 quarterback." -Andy Reid, 9/15/10

"Yes [Kevin Kolb will start at quarterback]." -Andy Reid, 9/19/10.

"We'll see how it goes [at quarterback]." -Andy Reid, 9/20/10

"Michael Vick will be the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles." Andy Reid, 9/21/10

I am absolutely shocked that Michael Vick has been named the new starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Shocked because Andy Reid, obstinate tyrant, has never reversed fields like this. Stunned, because the Kevin Kolb era was etched in stone on this year's player guide. Dumbfounded, because if Vick is the quarterback of the future, there is no future beyond this season when Vick's contract expires.

Like I said before, Vick gives this team the best chance of winning right now. But like I also said before, starting him is the wrong decision. To recap my reasoning:

1. Despite the early results in the NFC East, the Eagles do not have the talent to compete for a Super Bowl.
2. If the Eagles wanted to compete for a Super Bowl, they should have kept McNabb and not dismantled their defense, punting good players like CB Sheldon Brown (7 tackles and 1INT for his new team in two games), DE Jason Babin (10 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 sacks), LB Will Witherspoon (12 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 sacks). Also, a team that wants to win would have made hard runs at free agents in this uncapped season.
3. Since the Eagles don't have a Super Bowl in them, winning a few more games with Vick will hurt their draft position.
4. At age 30, Vick may not be long for this league given the punishment he takes as a rushing quarterback, and you have to wonder how many miles he has left in his legs. If Vick's accuracy hasn't improved from his Falcons days, he's a bad quarterback without his mobility.
5. Kolb needs seasoning and development, and he can't get that on the bench.

Speaking of Kolb, what does it do to his confidence to be benched for the season after 2 quarters? What does it do to his teammates confidence in him? Professional athletes in the NFL are all supremely talented physically; all things being equal, it is their mental state that separates them. It's very possible that Kolb's NFL career is cooked.

I have to wonder what made Andy Reid change his mind about starting Vick. Kolb is owed $12 million this season and Reid has stubbornly backed him from the offseason until yesterday. Did he see something on film? Did ownership pressure him? Is he fighting for his coaching job? Or does he really believe that Vick has returned to a "superstar" playing level and that Vick is going to have a better career than Kolb from this date forward?

This is pure hearsay, but I wonder if the Eagles motive in starting Vick is not to end the Kevin Kolb era, but to prolong it. Whoever starts behind the Birds' woeful offensive line is going to get pounded, and perhaps Andy Reid is benching Kolb to keep him from breaking in half. If so, Vick is cannon fodder until the Birds rebuild their O-Line over the offseason. And I may not be crazy in this suspicion. Check out this tidbit from ESPN:

"Team sources told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that in the early morning hours on Monday, Reid, general manager Howie Roseman and the rest of the Eagles coaching staff and front office started going through the game film of Sunday's win in Detroit and saw the severity of the problems on the Eagles offensive line.

The film study showed that Vick, who was sacked six times, was under constant duress because backup center Mike McGlynn had difficulty recognizing blitzes and then setting the protection. As a whole, the offensive line did not play well, and Reid realized then that Vick, with his mobility, would be a better fit to start -- not Kolb. There was also a concern that the offensive line play was so poor that Kolb would be exposed to another concussion, sources told Paolantonio."

More after the jump- be warned, there is press conference video that starts automatically.


Looking back at Andy Reid's press conference on Monday, after he had a chance to review the tape, it's clear that he looked, well, shell-shocked.



Though Andy does his usual dodging, it's apparent that he's worried about the offensive line. Something else to look at is how he responds to questions about Kolb. He's hedging, but nobody in the press notices it.

It's very hard to believe that Andy could change his mind so suddenly about Kolb. Ownership had to be dogging him about it, and there's evidence to that effect:
"It's hard to say how much Reid was pushed into this decision by the front office, but team sources clearly indicated to Paolantonio that Reid wanted to go back to Kolb -- he is loyal to a fault -- and had to be persuaded to give Vick another look."

Since this sudden change of direction is so uncharacteristic of Adamant Andy, I really feel like something happened behind the scenes to which we're not privy. At this point, my only conclusion is that Andy is concerned enough about his offensive line, and Kevin Kolb's brain trauma, to insert the more mobile Vick in until he can better protect Kolb, his treasured young gun. After seeing Brian Westbrook sustain two concussions last season, I bet that Andy knows Kolb's brain is very susceptible to re-injury after this recent concussion. Better to sit him for the season, retool the O-line, and save the QB savior for next season. I hope he told Kolb that very thing.

One thing's for sure. Andy is getting testy about all the questions: