NFC East: Michael Vick's Broken Hand Means the Eagles Are No Longer Favorites

The Philadelphia Eagles were the most overhyped team coming into the 2011-2012 NFL season. 

After the lockout ended and Philadelphia gave Michael Vick a six-year contract worth somewhere between $100 million and $11 million depending on whom you ask, football pundits around the country anointed the Eagles as the best team in the NFC east and a legitimate Super Bowl contender. 

What everyone who jumped on the Eagles bandwagon failed to realize is that Vick has never led a team to consecutive playoff appearances during his NFL carer.

Vick is the most electrifying athlete this planet has seen since Michael Jordan, but he is too small and gets hit too often to play at a high level year after year.

He's only played an entire 16 game season once, and at 31-years-old he is always one big hit away from suffering a serious injury. 

The proof is in the pudding: in just three games Vick has suffered a concussion and a broken hand. He ranks first among NFL quarterbacks in debilitating injuries. 

Prior to the season, I predicted that the Eagles would miss the playoffs and that the Washington Redskins would win the NFC east. There's still a lot of football to be played, and it remains to be seen whether the 2-0 Redskins will continue to play like a contender or revert to the bad habits that have plagued the franchise in recent years. 

But Vick's inability to stay healthy after just three weeks should cast more than a shadow of doubt on the notion that the Eagles are an elite NFL team. It's unclear how many games Vick will miss due to his broken hand, but the more salient point is that it is highly unlikely he will start every game under center. 

Without Vick the Eagles will be forced to rely on rookie quarterback Mike Kafka or the unpredictable Vince Young. Neither of those players currently inspires much fear in the hearts of opposing defenses.

What's more surprising is that it looks like Philadelphia will need to put a significant amount of points on the board every week in order to win games. Despite adding star cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha to an already talented secondary, the Eagles currently rank in the bottom half of the league for total defense. 

When Vick is at the top of his game, the Eagles are one of the most explosive teams in the league as illustrated by their comeback from a 31-10 fourth quarter deficit against the New York Giants last December. But Vick's productivity will decline as the season drags on and his body wears down. It happened last year, and it is already happening this year. That means the Eagles are a long shot to make the playoffs.