More Vick-Bashing From Analysts

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio was just the latest to lay claim that Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback, Michael Vick, has cooled off since his hot start and that he's even reverted back to some old habits he had while in Atlanta.

Statistically speaking, it's true that Vick hasn't played quite as well in his past 7 games as he did in his first 6. Over the first six games, Vick had a quarterback rating of 115.0, while it is 89.6 in the past six. That is a significant drop, but 115.0 is a gaudy rating that hardly anyone that doesn't have the name Tom Brady could maintain over the course of a season. If Vick maintained that 89.6 rating, that would still rank him 14th in the NFL out of 31 quarterbacks, still ahead of: Jon Kitna, Kyle Orton, Jay Cutler, Eli Manning, Jason Campbell, Carson Palmer, Kerry Collins, Alex Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Shaun Hill, Donovan McNabb, Sam Bradford, Chad Henne, Mark Sanchez, Matt Hasselbeck, Brett Favre, Derek Anderson and Jimmy Clausen. He'd also be within a couple points of: David Garrard, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub (who leads this group with an overall rating of 92.0). So even if we exclude Vick's unbelievable start this season in his first six games, he'd be a couple points away from being in the top 10 in quarterback rating, among the likes of potential MVP-candidates Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Peyton Manning. While numerically speaking, there has been a drop-off in Vick's passer efficiency, it's not as large a drop-off as Paolantonio and the like are making it out to be.

Also, let's keep in mind, that while Vick's numbers have been slightly down, this isn't solely on Vick's shoulders. The past six games include contests against: NY Giants, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, NY Giants and Minnesota. New York, Chicago and Minnesota post three of the four top defenses in the NFC, along with Green Bay. Vick fared admirably against the Giants the second go-round and Chicago. He was efficient, but didn't post gaudy numbers against the Giants the first time around and had his worst showing of the year against the Vikings, posting a rating of 74.1. But for the season, having 74.1 as your lowest rating for a game is pretty exceptional. Even the leader in that category, Tom Brady, has had two inferior games, posting rating of 72.5 and 69.5 against the NY Jets and Baltimore Ravens. So, let's not blow things out-of-proportion here. In those six games where Vick suddenly "lost it," according to some, he posted the following quarterback ratings: 83.0 (vs. NY Giants), 94.2 (at Chicago), 103.4 (vs. Houston), 90.2 (at Dallas), 97.6 (at NY Giants) and 74.1 (vs. Minnesota). If taken individually, these ratings would rank Vick: 19th (83.0), 7th (94.2), 2nd (103.4), 14th (90.2), 5th (97.6) and 28th (74.1). So, in these six games, he would have ranked in the top 10 in three of them, the top 5 once and the top half four times, with the only outlier being that 74.1 rating against Minnesota. Excluding that rating, Vick would have a rating of 93.7 in the other five games, which would rank him 7th among all quarterbacks, not far back from where he's ranked overall in the category, which is 4th (100.2).

Also, we have to look at other factors outside of Vick, the quarterback. For starters, the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive line is average, to be kind. One reason many analysts and Eagles' fans thought head coach Andy Reid should start Vick over Kevin Kolb earlier in the season was because of Vick's ability to elude the constant rush of the defense, because of the mediocre offensive line at their disposal. So, when the Eagles faced quick, stout defenses such as the ones the Bears, Giants and Vikings present, their line wasn't able to protect Vick nearly well enough and the Philly quarterback paid dearly for it, both in the game and after the game. Also, the play-calling was rather questionable on offense. Eagles' running back, LeSean McCoy, has been an extremely valuable asset to the Eagles' offense this year. In my opinion, he's the most underrated player on that team, as he's been highly effective in both the running and passing game. However, Andy Reid and company have not been consistent in handing the ball off to McCoy and against the solid defense they've faced in four of the last six games, that has cost the Eagles on the scoreboard and Vick physical well-being. Without the threat of a run, the Giants, Bears and Vikings were very aggressive on defense, blitzed Vick for 60 minutes and disrupted the offense's timing and rhythm. If the ball had gone to McCoy more frequently and he was able to do what he typically does and be productive running the football, the before-mentioned defenses likely would have not been so aggressive and that would have given Vick more time in the pocket to find an open receiver and in turn, keep the defenses off-balance. The Eagles have arguably the fastest offense in the NFL and the most explosive one at that, but I don't care how quick one's skill-position players are if a coach doesn't mix the play-calling enough to be even somewhat unpredictable. That predictability in play-calling has hindered the Eagles more than once this year and they'll need to alter that if they want to move beyond the first round of the playoffs. Like the Giants, Bears and Vikings, Philly's first-round opponent, the Green Bay Packers, have a very quick, aggressive defense, that doesn't shy away from putting pressure (and hits) on the quarterback. This will be their gameplan going into Sunday and unless Reid and company try to slow down that blitz with screens and hand-offs to LeSean McCoy, the Eagles may be one-and-done. However, if Reid is able to mix things up well enough, the Eagles could go as far as the Super Bowl. At this point, the play-calling has been so inconsistent, it's difficult for me to make a prediction on the matter.

But, enough with the bashing of the Eagles' quarterback. As I illustrated above, while his numbers in the past six games have not been as impressive as his first six, they're still very solid numbers and a vast improvement upon his numbers in Atlanta. Also, while the quarterback typically takes the blame when things aren't going well, more blame has to go around than to just be centered on Vick. One needs to look no further than the offensive line and the coaching staff's play-calling to see that. If I was Reid, I'd get the ball to McCoy early and often against Green Bay's defense, through both screens and rushes. If/When that succeeds, then open up the offense a little bit and allow Vick time to set up, go through his progressions and hit DeSean Jackson or Jeremy Maclin deep. If they're able to do this, Philly should win at home and move on to face the Chicago Bears at Solider Field.