He threw the short touch passes.  He threw the medium strikes.  He threw the long deep balls.  He extended plays.  He ran for first downs.

But that only sums up the physical attributes that Michael Vick supplied the Philadelphia Eagles with in Sunday’s 27-20 loss to the visiting Green Bay Packers.  The most important thing that he supplied his teammates with cannot be measured, but instead, it can only be felt – - and that was the confidence of a quarterback with the ability to lead.

After watching the Philly offense sputter with the incumbent starting quarterback Kevin Kolb at the helm, the Eagles had to be silently happy to see him leave the game with a concussion.  Vick entered to game late in the second quarter, inheriting a deflated team that had – to that point in the game – been whipped on both sides of the football by a Green Bay team that many have picked to make a deep playoff run.

Kevin Kolb struggled to produce points for the Eagles on Sunday.

Kolb contributed very pedestrian numbers prior to his departure – 5-10, 24 yards passing, and only 3 points for the Eagles offense.  Comparing that with Vick’s 16-24, 175 yards passing and 11 rushes for 103 yards on the ground is almost laughable.

We’ll try to refrain from laughing, because Andy Reid is simply following the politics of professional football. 

Ever since Vick was acquired by Philly last year, Reid was orchestrating a clear cut plan.  After the despicable nature of Vick’s crimes, the heat following what he did occurred while he was serving his time in prison.  Surely, Reid was paying attention to this, and decided to gamble and pick up Vick.  Seeing that the public reaction to Vick’s re-entry into the NFL was not overwhelming, Reid’s gamble had paid off – assuming that the former 3-time Pro-Bowler could steer clear of any off-the-field infractions.  For the most part he did so, and that cleared the way for Reid to slip Vick into the equation.

Now, after the phenomenal performance that number 7 orchestrated, how could he still remain relegated to the bench?  Let’s look at this thing from Andy’s perspective.  Before Vick’s arrival into the Philly organization, Kolb was firmly entrenched as McNabb’s backup.  He was also unofficially labeled as the Eagles’ QB of the future.  Obviously the Eagles picked up Vick, but Kolb did nothing to drop himself on the depth chart – while Vick was still warming himself back up to the NFL game.  Time and time again, Reid has made it clear that Kolb is the starter…and why shouldn’t he be?  Kolb paid his dues, and served his time as a backup in the organization.  So, coach Reid is going to give him a fair shot at this thing. 

But deep down, Reid knows that Kolb is not the natural leader that Vick is.  Reid also has the feeling that if he gives Kolb enough rope, he will probably seal his own fate as the eventual backup to Vick.  The important piece here is that Reid is not going to yank Kolb’s opportunity from him.  He’s going to be careful with this because he needs to maintain the respect of his players.  Every player wants to feel that he can and will be given a fair chance to make an impact if they wait their turn.  Kolb has patiently waited for his time to come, but there’s no doubt that he ‘s feeling the heat from a brilliant outing by Vick.

It’s clear Vick’s presence lifted the play of the players around him – a trait that coaches cherish in their team leaders.  LeSean McCoy ran with increased ferocity in the second half.  Receivers DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant were busy and active after Vick came into the game.  The players certainly responded to Vick’s leadership.

Beware Kevin Kolb.  Your weeks are numbered, indeed.

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