Michael Vick: Why His Lack of Leadership Is Killing Eagles' Season

Sometimes you can't measure the worth of a player by stats alone.

Michael Vick is every fantasy player's best friend...but he comes up short in terms of intangibles.

I'm not sure if you've realized this yet, but Vick has absolutely no leadership skills. He doesn't bark (bad dog joke) orders at his teammates and is rarely seen with much emotion on the sidelines. He's the anti-Ray Lewis.

The most fired up I've seen him this season was in a press conference complaining about the refs.

This shouldn't be a big deal considering the team is chock-full of veterans and have one of the longest tenured coaches in the league with Andy Reid.

But it is, and the team is melting down before our eyes because of it. DT Cullen Jenkins admitted as much after his team blew a 20-point second-half lead:

"

The biggest thing we're missing in here is the attitude. There's not that fire, that mental toughness that makes you think you're going to make it happen. And we've got to get that. At some point, the man in you has to come out.

"

Read between the lines and Jenkins is practically begging Vick to step up. The lack of focus with the team once they compiled a big lead is very troubling. Strong leadership from your quarterback can change that.

Is Vick capable of doing as much? Or is he going to continue to find other ways to blame people?

It's going to be extremely interesting to see how Vick plays from here on out. Road games against the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins are on deck, and the Eagles season has reached a crossroad. Can Vick rally the troops? Or will he throw in the towel?

Throwing for over 400 yards is great—adding almost 80 yards of rushing is even better, but until he steps up his leadership skills, the team is going nowhere fast.

The 2011 season depends on it.