What to Expect as Michael Vick Makes His Eagles Debut

Dec. 31, 2006: This was the last time Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick played a game in the NFL.

Coincidentally, his last game happened to be the regular season finale at Lincoln Financial Field against the Eagles.

Now, Vick is set to make his return to the NFL at the same place he was last seen, only this time he will be playing for birds of a different prey in the Eagles as they square off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in their third preseason game, which is seen by some as one of the most important games in the offseason.

The third preseason game is a chance for most of the Eagles’ starters to play a significant amount of time since a good amount of them will sit during the preseason finale to rest up for opening week against the Carolina Panthers.

Head coach Andy Reid and the rest of the Eagles coaching staff will be very observant tonight to see which players perform well and which players struggle.

However, if you are the media, fans of football, or even just part of the Eagles fanbase, the only performance that will seem to matter tonight will be Vick’s.

Even though it’s only the third preseason game, the Eagles should expect an interesting night at Lincoln Financial Field.

What should fans attending the game expect tonight?

For starters, expect the usual die-hard Eagles fans tailgating and cheering their beloved Eagles on to victory. However, their tailgating scene may be filled with a different group of people Eagles fans aren’t used to seeing.

Ever since the signing of Vick, the city of Philadelphia seems to be torn on whether or not this was the right move by Joe Banner, Jeffrey Lurie, and the rest of the Eagles organization.

To bring in a player such as Vick to the Eagles after his involvement with organizing dogfighting will be an issue in the headlines for the entire season.

Not only are there a good number of fans unhappy with the signing, but members of PETA weren’t exactly thrilled with the situation either.

Vick’s debut will be the most talked about story in the media for the next couple of days whether people want to hear about it or not.

For his debut, there will be a fair share of fans who will welcome Vick with open arms, as they are willing to forgive him for his previous actions in hope that his talent will be part of the missing ingredients to help the Eagles win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

However, there will be another fair share of fans who will express their unhappiness with the Vick signing and will show it throughout the entire game. Considering Philadelphia fans, nobody will be shocked if Vick is judged for every play made in tonight’s game.

There will be protesters outside in the parking lot before the game, which could make the entire tailgating scene interesting. Even inside the stadium, the tiniest mistake could lead to the loudest set of boos from the fans in attendance.

Vick knew it would be a rough road making his return to the NFL. He is blessed to be given another chance to show the rest of the league what he is capable of doing on the football field and has waited years for this day to come.

Tonight begins the first official night of Vick’s controversial return to the NFL. He knows the road ahead is going to be rough, but there is no better organization to help him lead the way than the Eagles.

As far as the type of welcome he will receive in the City of Brotherly Love tonight...that’s a different story that should be interesting.

Dan Parzych is the Eagles Fan Voice on NFLTouchdown.com

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