Vick Not Making an Impact

After being the center of the media circus for quite some time, things have settled down for Michael Vick.

In mid-August, Vick signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.  While the Eagles already had a Pro-Bowl quarterback in Donovan McNabb, we all figured that anything Vick brought to the dinner table would just be gravy.

But Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and the mashed potatoes are looking awfully dry.

To say that Vick has struggled would be a severe understatement.  His participation in the Philadelphia offensive scheme has been limited to the Wildcat formation – a scheme that took the NFL by storm after the success that the Miami Dolphins enjoyed with it last season.  But there’s one big problem with the Wildcat – - – it’s not for every team.

Vick says he's not a fan of the Wildcat formation.

And it’s not for every player.  Vick has made a mild expression that he’s not a fan of the Wildcat:

“I won’t be a Wildcat guy. I can’t. It’s a different style of play. It’s almost like a hit-or-miss type of thing. My position is quarterback. That’s what I was born to do.”

But even with the fact that Michael Vick is playing a scheme that he claims is not for him, he has looked like a very average NFL player since he has come back from his stint in the big house.  There’s almost certainly some degree of rust that needs to be knocked off after a couple of years out of the league.  Vick has not illustrated any bit of the explosiveness that we were accustomed to seeing during his ‘pre-prison’ football career.

Here are Vick’s stats so far this season (7 games):

Passing: 2-7, 6 yards

Rushing: 12 carries, 27 yards

Philly is going to have to decide if they want to exercise the second-year option for Vick’s services next year.  It’s a $3.6 million decision that would seem unlikely.  With only 33 yards of total offense, that would be more than $100,000 per yard.

Hey Philadelphia – I’m available at a much cheaper rate…