Vick signs deal with Eagles

[tjw61]

Vick signs deal with Eagles

ROB MAADDI
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — By halftime, the Linc was buzzing: Michael Vick was an Eagle.

Suddenly, no one seemed to care much about the preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday night. All that mattered to most fans was that the disgraced quarterback had joined their team.

Agent Joel Segal confirmed the signing, shortly before the Philadelphia Eagles announced it in a text message. The team gave Vick a one-year deal with an option for a second year.

"We don't need another quarterback, especially him," longtime fan Donald Crispin said.

The 29-year-old Vick, once the NFL's highest-paid player, has been out of action since 2006. The former Atlanta Falcons star was convicted in August 2007 of conspiracy and running a dogfighting ring, and served 18 of a 23-month sentence in federal prison. He also was suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

Commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally lifted Vick's suspension on July 27, allowing him to sign with a team, practice and play in the last two preseason games. Once the season begins, Vick can participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19) at the latest.

The Eagles reached the NFC championship game last season under quarterback Donovan McNabb, and are still looking for their elusive first Super Bowl win.

McNabb has led the Eagles to five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl appearance in the last eight years, and was rewarded with a $5.3 million raise in the offseason. The Eagles tore up his old contract with two years remaining, and gave him a new deal worth $24.5 million over the next two seasons.

The team is a surprise landing point for Vick. It was among 26 clubs that said there was no interest in him, but that may have changed when backup Kevin Kolb strained a knee ligament earlier this week. Kolb's injury isn't serious and he's expected to return next week. The Eagles also have veteran A.J. Feeley.

When news of Vick's signing circulated in the press box during the first half of the Eagles' preseason opener against New England, even the team's public relations staff seemed surprised.

The crowd quickly caught on at Lincoln Financial Field. Fans standing on the concourse were in disbelief. One guy wondered how quickly he'd be able to buy a Vick jersey. Another asked if this was a joke.

"It doesn't make any sense," said Michelle Harlan, a mother attending her first NFL game with a young son.

In a "60 Minutes" interview set to air Sunday, Vick accepted blame for not stopping the illegal dogfighting operation he bankrolled.

Vick said he feels "some tremendous hurt behind what happened."

He said he should have taken "the initiative to stop it all ... I didn't."

Asked if he was more concerned about his playing career or the dogs he hurt, Vick replied, "Football don't even matter."

The animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wasted no time reminding people exactly what Vick had done.

"PETA and millions of decent football fans around the world are disappointed that the Eagles decided to sign a guy who hung dogs from trees. He electrocuted them with jumper cables and held them under water," PETA spokesman Dan Shannon told The Associated Press.

"You have to wonder what sort of message this sends to young fans who care about animals and don't want them to be harmed."

Since Andy Reid became the head coach in 1999, the Eagles have avoided players with character issues. The lone exception came in 2004 when Philadelphia acquired wide receiver Terrell Owens. That move paid off when Owens helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his first season. But T.O. quickly wore out his welcome, criticizing management over a contract dispute and feuding with McNabb. He was released midway through the 2005 season.

"I couldn't envision Mike being here," said former Eagles linebacker Ike Reese, a teammate of Vick's in Atlanta in 2005-06. "I didn't see where he fit in. I think most people in the locker room would accept it. Donovan is very secure in his position. He wants to see Mike get another opportunity."

[ken]

The team is a surprise landing point for Vick. It was among 26 clubs that said there was no interest in him, but that may have changed when backup Kevin Kolb strained a knee ligament earlier this week. Kolb's injury isn't serious and he's expected to return next week. The Eagles also have veteran A.J. Feeley.

there is no truth in sports. They are never honest with us. It will be very funny if McNabb has to sit on the bench because Vick is a better player.

[tjw61]

I'm with you ken......read this.......

Vick signing proves one thing -- believe nothing anyone says
Posted by Mike Florio on August 14, 2009 8:02 AM ET
We've gradually learned over the years never to take at face value anything that anyone connected to the NFL says when the cameras are rolling and the mics are hot.

We think that this dynamic arises from the reality that, in football, success routinely is premised on successfully deceiving the opponent. Whether it's the play-action pass or the draw play or the zone blitz, teams realize that the best way to accomplish something comes from persuading the opponent that something else is going to happen.

Off the field, where the media is viewed in many cases as an extension of the on-field opposition, the strategic value of not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth has been seen in various contexts. Like when talking about player injuries. Or when discussing whether a game plan will include heavy doses of the run or the pass.

Or when talking about whether a team is interested in Mike Vick.

So with everyone in Philly who has a vested rooting interest in seeing Armageddon not unfold in the locker room prepared to accept without reservation Donovan McNabb's assertion that he "pretty much lobbied" the team to sign Vick (something that, interestingly, the head coach didn't mention), we ask you this: Would you like to buy the Ben Franklin Bridge?

Reid lied, multiple times, about not wanting Vick. Why? To make the rest of the league (and everyone else) think Reid didn't want Vick until Reid decided he did.

That fact alone should prove to anyone who follows the NFL that nothing anyone says can be automatically believed.

McNabb, as we pointed out last night when explaining that he's actually pissed about the acquisition of Vick, had no choice but to sit there and smile and act like everything is fine, despite likely muttering internally all the while, "Serenity now."

As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." (Or something.)

In the NFL, the reality is that they're always trying to fool us. It's an accepted reality of the business.

And so the challenge of the discerning fan is to peel back the onion, and get to the truth.

In this case, we're convinced that the truth is that McNabb -- who in the past has been threatened by guys like Jeff Garcia and Kevin Kolb and who had a hissyfit when he was benched last season (ultimately wanting a "financial apology," reportedly) -- is threatened by the presence of Vick.

We're also convinced that Reid doesn't care, and that Reid will continue to do that which he believes is in the best interests of the team.