Why Michael Vick Should Be the Philadelphia Eagles' Starter

All the offseason hype of Donovan McNabb's bitter departure from Philly, his arrival in D.C., and the beginning of the Kevin Kolb era is now over. In fact, it abruptly ended when Kolb struggled to get anything going during the Eagles' Week One matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Of course, he ended up being  knocked out of the game after suffering a concussion early on.

Kolb went 5/10 for 24 yards as the Eagles trailed 13-3 at the half.

Vick stepped in after the break and led the first team offense to a 17-point second half, including 10 unanswered in the final quarter of play. If it wasn't for Aaron Rodgers lighting up Philadelphia's defense for two third quarter scoring drives, Vick's comeback bid would have been successful.

Vick stole the show with 175 passing yards and a late touchdown toss to Jeremy Maclin. Vick also managed 103 rushing yards on just 11 attempts.

Despite falling short of a victory, Vick's performance prompted Andy Reid to start him against Detroit the following week with Kolb recovering from his concussion. Again, Philadelphia's defense allowed quite a few points—32 to be exact. But Vick kept up with Detroit's backup quarterback, Shaun Hill, leading the team to a 21-17 halftime lead.

The Eagles scored two, second-half touchdowns thanks to LeSean McCoy's pair of rushing touchdowns (4-yarder in the third, 46-yarder in the fourth). Vick finished the game with yet another stellar statline in his first start at QB since 2006: 21/34, 284 yards, two TD, zero INT; seven carries, 37 yards.

Known for his speed and ability to escape the rush, Vick made an impact on both facets of the offense, both through the air and on the ground.

When the Eagles signed Vick to a contract last season, he knew he was going to be on the bench quite a bit, only relieving McNabb every couple of series when Reid implemented the wild cat offense. And he gladly took that role, knowing it was what he had to do to make a breakthrough back into the league after serving his time in jail.

But personally, I think he has done enough to make up for his mistakes. He seems to be much more mature now after serving his jail time and I really think it's time he gets what he deserves: a shot to be a starting NFL quarterback again.

He has proven that he still has the ability to make an impact at the pro level, and it doesn't seem fair for him to be demoted just because Kolb, who hasn't really shown that he's ready for this responsibility, had sat behind McNabb for a couple of years.

Andy Reid should be doing what is best for his team, and at this point, it looks like Vick is what's best for this offense. Reid has been on a short leash for a while now, and if Kolb struggles in his return, Reid will be in the hot seat again, perhaps for the last time. Reid's job in Philly is certainly on the line this season.