When the Philadelphia Eagles daringly signed Michael Vick following his stint in prison, who could have ever fathomed that only a year later he would be an MVP candidate in the NFL? Vick hadn’t thrown a professional pass since 2006 and he lacked his superior speed when he showed up in training camp last year for Philadelphia. Now, 15 months later, he has finally emerged as the unstoppable force we envisioned he would become when he was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001.
Michael Vick is playing the best football we have ever seen him play (he probably dominated those prison games as all-time QB, though). His epic game on Monday Night Football was one of the most spectacular performances any of us have ever seen a quarterback play in the NFL. Vick went for six touchdowns, throwing for four and running for two others. He was 20/28 for 333 yards passing and he was the team’s second-leading rusher with 80 yards on eight carries. Vick dominated like he was at Virginia Tech and playing The Citadel, only he was actually playing the Washington Redskins who have three Pro Bowlers on their defense.
Vick connected on deep bombs and short dumpoffs. He ran for touchdowns and slipped defenders for first downs. His elusive nature and incredible speed allowed him to make plays last much longer than they should have, giving his receivers extra seconds to get open. Vick showed off his blessed arm strength but he also placed touch on the balls when it was required. There wasn’t a thing Mike Vick could not do against the Skins.
We already noted how Vick was tearing things up early in the season but unfortunately his season was briefly derailed by a ribs injury sustained in the first meeting with Washington. Even though he was knocked out of that game early and missed three others, no player has been as spectacularly dominant as he has this year. Antonio Gates, Arian Foster, Philip Rivers, Roddy White, Clay Matthews, and Brandon Flowers all have enjoyed fantastic seasons thus far. None of them however, have dominated quite the same way as Michael Vick has. Number seven has 11 touchdown passes and zero interceptions on the season to go along with 341 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Vick has taken his game to a new level, making himself an MVP candidate and the Eagles one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL. Now we know why he had this to say back in August.
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