Michael Vick Injury: Why the Eagles Should Sit the QB Through the Bye Week

It’s no secret that the “Dream Team” Philadelphia Eagles have not lived up to their preseason billing. Initially drawing semblances to the superstar-stocked Miami Heat, the hapless Eagles have looked more like the winless Miami Dolphins through three games.

To make matters worse, their brightest star now has a broken hand suffered only one week after a bruising concussion.

Currently last in the NFC East standings, the Eagles now face what could be their biggest decision of the season—roll the dice and continue starting a banged up Michael Vick or sit him through the bye week to heal up for a second-half push.

Though fans have a right to be concerned for Philly’s fate with Vick on the mend, I believe there are several good reasons to give him a good month’s rest.

To begin with, it’s not as if losing Vick makes Philadelphia a bad offensive unit. I know what you’re thinking—starting Mike Kafka at quarterback does significantly downgrade the offense. We all saw the pair of picks against the Giants—nothing more needs to be said there.

But while Kafka may not be the man for Philly, the Eagles have a much better option waiting in the wings.

By next week’s game, it will have been a full month since Vince Young pulled his hamstring against the Jets in preseason play. More importantly, it will have been three weeks since he rejoined the team in practice. Something tells me that VY will be ready to let it go when the 49ers come to town.

Philly fans should also keep in mind that with or without a top-flight quarterback, the rest of their offense is still very capable.

LeSean McCoy has shined despite Vick’s struggles and the DeSean Jackson-Jeremy Maclin wideout combination still lines up as one of the best in the NFL. And while the offensive line has not been great, one could argue that it would improve tremendously given consistent reps in practice with the starting QB.

If Vick played through a bum right hand, he would definitely have to miss a lot of practice—much like he did leading up to today’s game with New York—to avoid risking further injury. This would hurt both his rhythm with the line and his self confidence in executing plays on his own. Let’s not forget how much danger a healthy Michael Vick puts himself in every time he takes off running. 

Finally, the schedule from Week 4 to Week 6 leading up to the bye is good, but not great. Taking out the 49ers at home next week should not prove too challenging. Next up after that game are road matchups against two teams that have played surprisingly well in the Bills and the Redskins.

I think it’s fair to predict that Vince Young and company can come away with a split in Weeks 5 and 6, keeping the Eagles afloat in the division race while Michael Vick gets back to 100 percent.