Eagles Wake-Up Call: Tension Between Vick, Assistants?

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Update: Michael Vick and Andy Reid responded to this report.

From earlier:

Before the Eagles held their players-only meeting last week, Andy Reid and Michael Vick had a lengthy sit-down, two team sources told Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports.

The pair cleared the air on a variety of issues, but perhaps the most noteworthy item in the report was this:

One of the internal issues was tension between Vick and the coaching staff, with the quarterback believing some of the assistant coaches were pushing to have him benched, according to a source familiar with the situation.

If true, this would at least partially explain why Vick told reporters following the Falcons game that he thought Reid was considering benching him.

In the past, confidence had never appeared to be an issue for Vick. But going into Monday night’s game against the Saints, it’s fair to question where his head’s at. During the offseason, the Eagles were rumored to have interest in both Peyton Manning and Robert Griffin III. And until this past Thursday, Reid had hesitated to give Vick a vote of confidence.

During the bye week, he said he’d evaluate everything, including the quarterback situation. And just last week, Reid was compelled to release a statement confirming that Vick would still be the starter.

On the field, Vick’s shown improvement in some areas (like against the blitz) and struggled in others (eight interceptions, nine fumbles). Because of issues along the line, the Eagles have gone from a big-play offense to more of a conservative attack and are averaging just 17.2 points per game, 28th in the league.

One way or another, you get the feeling something significant is going down Monday night. Either the players will rally around each other, the offense will get on track, and the Eagles will get back to .500. Or the wheels will fall off, and Reid will be one loss closer to the end.

WHAT YOU MISSED

It appears that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is coming out of his shell. Tim’s got the details.

Listening to coaches and players talk, it’s clear that the Eagles face an identity crisis on offense.

T-Mac’s got the injury update. The Eagles get a break with Darren Sproles not playing for the Saints. But Nate Allen might be out for the Birds.

For now, Nick Foles is secure in his bubble.

How could Mike Patterson’s return affect the roster and the DT picture? Here’s a look.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Bill Simmons of Grantland takes a look at Vick’s legacy:

Michael Vick’s career is like football Play-Doh — an amorphous hunk that you can shape however you want. You could craft a Vick-centric essay about redemption just as easily as one about squandered potential. You could unleash a “Vick was totally and tragically underrated!” argument with the same gusto as a “Vick was the most overrated football star ever!” rant. You could borrow certain statistics to plead his case as an elite quarterback, and other numbers to bury that same case. You could declare with complete authority that “nobody is ever winning a Super Bowl with Michael Vick,” or you could veer the other way and say, “If Michael Vick finds the right team, maybe he could thrive like Steve Young did in San Francisco.”

ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer took to Twitter to defend Vick:

 

 

COMING UP

The Eagles practice at Novacare. We’ll get injury updates from Reid and continue to preview Eagles/Saints.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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