Posts Tagged ‘Mike Vick’
PJ talks about his frustration with Mike Vick
Thursday, October 18th, 2012Philadelphia Eagles: Was Juan Castillo Used As a Scapegoat?
Wednesday, October 17th, 2012
Yesterday the Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid, fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, making him a scapegoat for the teams mediocre 3-3 start. In the Eagles last two games, the defense gave up leads in the fourth quarter and Sunday’s collapse forced Reid to make changes. But this is more of a indictment towards Reid and the reason why, if they don’t somehow turn it around and make a trip to the Super Bowl, he and this whole regime must go.
There is plenty of blame to go around when you break down why this team with all this “so called” talent is 11-11 in their last 22 games. We can start on defense if you like. It all started when Andy Reid hired Juan Castillo as the defensive coordinator when he has never coached defense in the NFL, let alone college. He had been the franchise’s offensive line coach since Ray Rhodes was here, and was one of the league’s best. He made a constant habit of taking late-round picks and undrafted free agents like Jamaal Jackson, Artis Hicks, and Hank Fraley, and turning them into serviceable starters in the league.
Moving a lifetime offensive coach to the defensive side, let alone in charge of the defense was unprecedented and downright foolish. It showed me that Reid thought and knew he was teflon and wasn’t going anywhere. The defense in 2011 was horrible, probably the worst I’ve seen in 27 years of watching Eagles football. After the play of last year’s defense, which was for the most part a direct result of Reid giving Castillo the job, they all should have been fired.
The players on defense also need to be held accountable for their play. Juan Castillo can call the right defense for a certain situation, but if the players don’t execute out there on the field, there is nothing he can do. The defensive line has been a flat-out disgrace, 7 sacks in 6 games (on pace for 18 for the season), after leading the league with 50 last year. They weren’t able to pressure the QB with the down four, so Castillo was left no choice but to blitz. Trent Cole, Jason Babin, and Cullen Jenkins have been complete no-shows vs the pass this season.
Okay an obvious target is Mike Vick and the offense as a whole. He’s turned the ball over 13 times in just six games, often costing the team points and constantly putting the defense on the field and in tough spots. The Eagles rank 31st in the league in scoring at 17.2 ppg, but is ranked 11th in total yards, which tells me that obviously Vick’s carelessness with the ball is a huge problem, and two, the red zone offense stinks and hasn’t gotten any better since last season.
The offensive line is a glaring problem, losing the best left tackle in football and your starting center is going to leave you short handed. I’ve watched the coach’s film and they aren’t as bad as most say they are, but the line definitely isn’t playing to the level that they were in 2011. Guards Evan Mathis and Danny Watkins, honestly have been mediocre at best this season and I don’t expect much from backup center Dallas Reynolds.
Finally, Andy Reid, the one who has put this team together. He picks the players, he picks the coaches, and he has final say scheme-wise as well. The bad play calling, his inability to adjust on game day, not using Shady McCoy (who is one of the top 3 running backs in all of football), and the fact that he had the gall to appoint an offensive line coach as the defensive coordinator, should have been grounds for dismissal at the end of last season. Instead, owner Jeffrey Lurie brings him back and we have more of the same mediocre play from last season.
It’s no coincidence that the Eagles are 11-11 over their last 22 games, but a win in two weeks over Atlanta could give the Eagles confidence, momentum, and start a winning streak, but the downside of it is that it could also give Reid another year. We will see how it plays out. Football is a funny game.
Mike Vick the First to Go If Philadelphia Eagles Don’t Make Playoffs?
Monday, October 15th, 2012
A few hours before kickoff on Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter cited an NFL source as saying that the Eagles would cut Mike Vick if Philadelphia didn’t go deep into the playoffs this season.
Anyone who pays attention to Eagles football knows that this was something that was already understood.
Since it was signed, we have known that Vick’s $100 million contract tied the team to the quarterback for at least two years. This is year 2. In the third year, Vick is due $16 million. If he remains on the Eagles roster three days after the Super Bowl, he will be owed a guaranteed $3 million. If the Birds release him, however, then Philadelphia will have no further obligation to the quarterback and take no hit on their salary cap.
What will determine if Vick gets to stay on the roster? Whether the team gets deep into the playoffs.
The Sunday morning, pre-game timing of the report seemed premature. But after seeing the Eagles unravel against the Lions, it suddenly took on a more ominous tone.
Let’s be clear: it’s still early in the season. The Birds still have ten games left to play. No one is giving up on the season or on this team (well, I’m not, anyway). However, the coming week needs to involve some soul searching on the part of the Eagles. We know they have the talent. We know that they can correct the errors they’re making that largely result from a lack of discipline.
But they’re not doing it. Six weeks in, you expect teams to find their rhythms and begin to reveal what they are truly made of. What we saw in Week 6 from the Birds looked uncomfortably like the start of 2011 and a team that had regressed. Heading into the 4th-quarter with a lead and not being able to hang on to win the game. Sound familiar?
There is a lot of blame to go around but when you see the same issues popping up each and every game, the fingers have to point at Andy Reid and the coaching staff, who are on the hot seat to improve upon last season’s 8-8 record. Perhaps the heat hasn’t been turned up high enough.
After defying the odds for three games, reality has set in and the Eagles are no longer winning games with the turnovers, fumbles, and all-around sloppy play. The winnable games are not being won and the errors that are can be addressed are still occurring.
Tight end Brent Celek said it well following Sunday’s loss: “Yeah, it’s very fixable, but you can only say that so many times.”
The Philadelphia Eagles must find a solution to play a more consistent, fundamentally sound game before time runs out for the team to turn around their season. If they can’t, expect an ugly gutting of the current Eagles roster and staff come the end of the season.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.
Mike Vick On Philadelphia Eagles’ OT Loss To Detroit Lions: ‘I Don’t Know What To Say’
Sunday, October 14th, 2012
Disgusted and numb. That’s how I feel after witnessing the Eagles let this game slip away and lose to the Lions 26-23 in overtime. And that empty feeling you have in the pit of your stomach? You get to live with that for the next two weeks.
The defense did a hell of a job containing Calvin Johnson until the 4th quarter. Then Megatron did what he does best – be a huge offensive weapon for the Detroit Lions. The fact that the Birds lost two starters in the second half – Nate Allen left the game with an injury and Fletcher Cox was thrown out of the game – had huge implications for the outcome of the game.
But let’s be honest: It’s not like Eagles were playing that great of a game before then.
On offense, not only did we see that Vick’s issues with fumbles were not resolved, but his interception problem decided to make a comeback as well. For those keeping track, Vick has eight interceptions, five fumbles and has accounted for 13 of the Eagles’ 17 turnovers on the season.
There were flashes of brilliance thrown in with the moments of frustration that seem par for the course with Vick this season. But what you can’t deny about Vick is his toughness. Even though he took a beating behind this ragtag offensive line, he kept getting up and fighting. But he has got to play better when he’s standing.
Philadelphia, we have a problem.
How do the Eagles fix it? Can the problems even be fixed? We have two weeks to mull the issue. Now with a 3-3 record and facing the still undefeated Falcons after the bye, the future – at least in the short term – doesn’t look so great for the Eagles.
Mike Vick opened his postgame presser by saying, “I don’t know what to say.” We don’t either, Mike.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and onFacebook.
Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
Mike Vick Carries Football With Him Everywhere To Fix Fumble Issue
Sunday, October 14th, 2012
Holding on to the ball is one of the most basic concepts of football, yet it has posed very real problems for Mike Vick as of late.
How do you reinforce such a fundamental lesson to a professional athlete? Get him to eat, drink, and sleep with the football?
Pretty much. That’s what Vick has been up to this week to focus on being aware of hanging on the ball at all times. The quarterback revealed his tactics to the media on Friday to add to his preparation for facing the Lions today.
Where all did Vick carry the ball?
“Breakfast, to the meetings, lunch. Everyone thought it was funny, but I didn’t. That’s how much I care about this team and that’s how much I care about our success and winning on Sundays. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that I take care of my responsibilities.”
Teammates tried to knock the football out of Vick’s hands to test him. However, he decided to end the exercise when, he joked, things got too serious and a bounty was placed on the football.
In addition to focusing on the physical feel of ball security, Vick studied what happened during his fumbles in Pittsburgh to see where he needs to improve. And he is confident that his flak jacket is not contributing to the issue.
“I don’t think that [the jacket] had an affect on the ball coming out. The guy put his helmet right on the ball. With the second fumble, if I just go through my progressions, it would have never lead to that. I went back and looked at all of the film with the turnovers that I had and what I could have been able to do to correct it, and they are all things to do to prevent it. They are all things that could be corrected and it’s all self-inflicted. I just have to trust in what we’re doing.”
Vick was also mindful of how others in the league were hanging on to the ball as he watched games throughout the week.
“I’ve taken tips from some of the running backs who carry the football. I love football so much and with all the football I’ve watched – this entire week I’ve watched guys carry the football – and everybody has it high and tight. Even quarterbacks that I’ve watched. It’s something that I definitely need to do. There’s a comfort level that I’ve been able to develop when holding the football.”
To add to the work he’s already done this week in focusing on ball security, Vick should visualize a ’90s fade when thinking about what he needs to do to hang on to the ball: keep it high and tight, my man.
Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and onFacebook.
What If Brett Favre Were Black?
Friday, August 26th, 2011
Nike has once again signed Mike Vick
Sunday, July 17th, 2011Mike Vick isn’t the only redemption story!
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011Andy Reid: Yeah, But…
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
In the words of Roy Jones Jr. “Y’all Musta Forgot”, but I damn sure didn’t. Those who know me best can attest to my glass-half empty personality. With that being said, let me commence to raining on the parade of the Philadelphia Eagles and Coach Andy Reid. As an Eagles Fan, I am ecstatic about Sunday’s win against the midgets. But I haven’t forgotten about the things that pissed me off though.
(1) Andy Reid’s gross misuse of the red flag makes me want to scream. We witnessed this dude challenge a play in the first quarter of a game because he didn’t like the spot, yet on Sunday he didn’t challenge a play where DeSean Jackson was clearly down before he fumbled. That play led to the Giants’ final touchdown. I don’t get it. It has bothered me for years. We all know that if the Eagles had lost that game, Birds fans everywhere would have been calling for everyone’s job, especially Big Red. Everybody says, it’s not his fault. He has someone up there looking at it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Andy Reid the H.N.I.C., The Lord and Savior, and The Alpha & Omega in the organization? That means he had to hire whoever the chump is telling him when to throw the flag or not. Andy Reid is a hell of a coach, I won’t deny that, but when it comes to that challenge flag he makes me want to throw things at him.
(2) Dimitri Patterson. It’s still hard for me to say his name without cursing. After the game and celebrations ended, Dimitri Patterson should have visited the nearest police station to file assault charges on Mario Manningham for the abuse he endured during that game. Towards the end of the game, Eli stopped looking for open receivers and started throwing wherever Patterson was positioned on the field. It was embarrassing. The Eagles defense has been depleted and it seems they lose another key player every week. Therefore, we get left with the Dimitri Patterson’s of the world. He played better in the second half than in the first (that ain’t hard to do but still…), but if this is what they’ll be going into the playoffs with, I hope the offense is ready to light up the score board.
(3) Why no adjustments? When Dimitri Patterson was getting burned, toasted and scorched by Manningham, did it ever occur to Andy Reid to make an adjustment?
(4) Mike Vick and DeSean Jackson are making plays that are out of this world, but can Shady and Maclin get some love? While Jackson is an electrifying player, Maclin is more consistent. He leads the team in touchdowns. The speed of Jackson makes Maclin look like a pedestrian, but he is fast as well. The Eagles have long since been identified as a passing team, but McCoy has been playing well in the running game. Now he won’t be mistaken for MJD or Jamaal Charles, but he’s doing what’s asked of him and in my opinion, he is the Co-MVP of the team.
(5) The Eagles have given up an average of 24 points per game, that‘s more than the 4-10 Detroit Lions. If the playoffs began today the Eagles would be a (3) seed and they would face the Midgets who would be the (6) seed. Based on what I saw during the two match ups between these teams, big mistakes by the Giants have been the difference. As a Birds Fan, I want nothing more than to party on Broad Street, but as I said before, I have a glass half-empty personality and on top of that, I haven’t forgotten the first 3 ½ quarters of Sunday’s game…have you?
Monica Pierce, Guest Blogger for War Room Sports. Read more of her writing @ monicasthoughts.com.
Out From the Shadows
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
"The Phour Aces", "The Phour Kings", "The Phour (insert noun here)"
If you are a Philadelphia sports enthusiast like myself, then you are on a serious high right now. First the uniting of the four kings, (Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, and Hamels), and now this? The Miracle at the Meadowlands part II? Only one word can describe it; unbelievable.
ANOTHER Miracle in the Meadowlands!
Can you feel it in the air or am I just riding the hallucination train thinking we might go-all-the-way? First, a little arena football team called the Philadelphia Soul brought home a championship, much needed in the city of drought. This little team won and challenged all the major league teams to do the same. Then the boys in red pinstripes rolled through Milwaukee, LA, to Tampa to bring home a much-needed World Series that sent this City into a euphoric state. The Flyers, the ultimate Cinderella story, made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last year when nobody thought they would even make it out of the first round.
Phillies Win the 2008 World Series!!!
I don’t know about you, but I can smell the polish they use to make that Lombardi trophy shine. In my life, I have never seen anything like what I saw on Sunday and I have been watching football for a long time. I could be naïve in thinking that we are going to the Superbowl, but what I saw Sunday gave me something that I haven’t had in a long time; hope.
2009-2010 Eastern Conference Champions!!!
There were so many blunders in Sunday’s game, a fumble here, an interception there. It seemed like the Giants had Vick’s number and yet he still found a way to make it happen. I love you Donovan, but you would have never been able to make this happen.
Mike Vick Never Says "Die"
We may finally be getting out from the under big brother’s shadow. For now, we have the bragging rights over the Big Apple. The only thing they can say is that the New York Knicks are slightly better than the 76ers and I’m okay with that. All I know is that on a Sunday afternoon in December, I became glued to the television. I watched history happen. I watched Michael Vick turn an impossible to a possible. I saw the speed of young man lift an entire city from its somber state. I saw that same man celebrate in a way that I would usually frown upon, but this time he earned it.
Stephanie C. Curry, Guest Blogger for War Room Sports
