Michael Vick: What Is Your Confidence Level in the Quarterback Moving Forward?

Although it’s not very surprising, reports surfaced this week that the Eagles will definitely place the franchise tag on Michael Vick, bringing him back for the 2011 season.

Vick really impressed people this season, showing off his ability as a passer after being known mostly for his ability to make plays with his feet. However, like most quarterbacks in the NFL, Vick suffered ups and downs.

Early in the season, Vick seemed unstoppable. He ran over the Lions and Jaguars before being knocked out of the Redskins game with a rib injury. After missing the next three games, Vick came back after the bye week and led the Eagles to a big win over the Colts.

Against the Redskins, he had a once in a lifetime game where he simply couldn’t be contained. He threw four touchdown passes and added two rushing touchdowns in his most dominant performance of the season.

He continued to produce wins and was a huge factor in the Eagles miraculous come from behind win in the Meadowlands. However, his final two games would be much less impressive.

In a Tuesday night matchup with the Vikings where the Eagles needed a win to have a chance for a first round bye in the playoffs, Vick had his worst game of the year.

On the night, Vick went 25-43 throwing for a touchdown and an interception. Vick threw many other passes that should have been intercepted, but the Vikings secondary had issues catching the ball. Right before the half ended, Vick also coughed up a fumble which was returned for a touchdown and tied the game at halftime. He also suffered a thigh injury early in the game and played through it. After the game, he downplayed the affect that the injury had on him during the game.

With the Eagles locked into the third seed, Vick sat out the season finale to rest his injury before returning the following week against the Packers. When the Eagles played the Packers in their opener, Vick was quoted after the game saying that he believed he could have led the Eagles to a victory if he played the whole game. In the playoffs, he’d have a shot to prove his statement correct.

In this game, Vick went 20-36 throwing for a touchdown and ending the game on an interception. When asked about the interception, Vick said he didn’t regret the decision to go down field for Riley Cooper. Instead, he said that he had just put a little more on the throw. However, I don’t agree with the statement as he had DeSean Jackson wide open underneath on the play.

With Vick seemingly returning to the Eagles in 2011, the explosive quarterback has a lot to work on, and he has admitted this. The hype that Vick provided Eagles fans early in the season diminished a lot in his final two performances.

I do believe bringing Vick back is the right thing for the Eagles, but like he said, there are things he really needs to work on before the 2011 season begins.

One thing that I noticed happening to Vick a lot towards the end of the season, and even in the Pro Bowl, is that he gets a lot of balls knocked down at the line of scrimmage. At 6-0, Vick definitely isn’t the tallest quarterback in the league. Defensive coordinators will tell their lineman to keep their hands up when Vick is throwing, and he’s going to need to learn how to put more touch on his passes.

Also, with his emergence as a pocket passer, he’s going to need to work on reading defenses and making the right throws. He really did this well earlier in the season, and I loved the way he was progressing through his reads. However, it seemed like he may have lost confidence in the offensive line as the year went on (can’t really blame him), and he started to force passes that shouldn’t have been thrown.

The Eagles will work on revamping the offensive line this offseason, and hopefully be able to provide Vick more time to throw the football. He’s proven that he can progress through his reads and deliver the football, but I think he’s going to need to spend a lot of time in the film room looking at some of his games at the end of the season.

I think Vick has what it takes to be an elite quarterback in 2011, but he’s going to have to put in some during the offseason and develop more as a passer.