Michael Vick vs. Vince Young: Which Mobile QB Gives Eagles Best Chance To Win?

The Philadelphia Eagles worst nightmare has come true and, at 4-7, the storyline behind their season has changed drastically. What was supposed to be an epic quest for the team's first ever Super Bowl win has been reduced to a five-game audition for next year.

Each and every player on the roster must now prove to the front office that he is an important piece of the Eagles' future, including freshly minted franchise quarterback Michael Vick.

In two starts in relief of the injured Vick, Young has played very well at quarterback, well enough that some are asking which quarterback gives the Eagles the best chance to win going forward. Here is a breakdown of each quarterback and an assessment of which gives the Eagles the best chance to win.

Mobility: Michael Vick

Let's be completely honest, Michael Vick would not be an NFL quarterback if it weren't for this particular portion of his skill set.

Since his days at Virginia Tech, Vick has rewritten the rules on what it takes to be a quarterback in the NFL. His electrifying speed and dazzling moves made him the most exciting quarterback in all the land before his stint in prison, and also landed him a second $100 million contract after prison, when he seduced the Eagles brass with a string of out-of-this-world performances last year.

It is Vick's speed and ability to escape the rush unlike any other quarterback we've ever seen that makes him a fan favorite and also, unfortunately for Eagles fans, enticed Andy Reid and Co. to enter this season with possibly the worst offensive line the Eagles have had in Reid's tenure, the thought process being that Vick's abilities would mask those deficiencies.

Mobility: Vince Young

Vince Young's reputation as a mobile quarterback rests heavily upon his performance in college, specifically his performance in one of the greatest National Championship games ever witnessed.

Since he turned pro, however, we've watched that dazzling running ability evaporate into a more pedestrian ability to escape the rush and force defenses to pay when they turn their back on the quarterback to defend the pass.

Young still possesses an above-average ability to run the football, but he is simply not in the same class as Vick. His ability to escape the rush does help to mask some deficiencies on the offensive line, but he also no longer possesses a skill set that forces defenses to maintain a spy on the quarterback at all times in order to prevent him from running wild.

Arm Strength: Michael Vick

There was a Powerade commercial, from before he went to prison, that featured Vick firing missiles that knocked receivers off their feet and ended with Vick tossing a bomb that almost cleared the very last row of seats in the stadium.

While it was obviously superlative, Vick's arm is that strong. He possesses a cannon for a left arm.

Evidence of Vick's arm strength was on full display last season when, against the Washington Redskins, Vick completed a long, beautiful pass to DeSean Jackson on the opening play of the game. The ball traveled well over 60 yards through the air with what only seemed like a simple flick of the wrist for Vick. Arm strength is not a question mark for Michael Vick.

Arm Strength: Vince Young

In his two starts for the Eagles this year, it has become apparent that Vince Young's arm strength is simply not there. There have always been questions surrounding his mechanics, however it is difficult to believe that a simple mechanical adjustment could fill in the lack of zip and distance on his ball.

On several occasions, Young underthrew a wide open DeSean Jackson, unable to put the ball far enough ahead of the receiver as to not break his stride. Young also seems to lose accuracy when trying to throw deep, a sign of overthrowing to compensate for a lack of arm strength.

Vince Young's arm does not allow him to take advantage of the most explosive element of the Eagles' passing game, the deep threat of DeSean Jackson. Without that element, teams are able to focus on controlling the line of scrimmage and then control what the Eagles are able to do offensively.

Accuracy: Michael Vick

Often, fans confuse accuracy with completion percentage. While being accurate will certainly help a quarterback to achieve a high completion percentage, there are far more intangibles in play than many realize.

For the sake of this discussion, it is important to realize that to say Michael Vick is an accurate quarterback is to say that Michael Vick has the ability to consistently throw the ball to spots where it helps his receiver to catch the ball, especially relative to Vince Young's ability to do the same.

Vick has proven that he has a good understanding of where to place the ball to make the receiver's job easier, and proven that he can throw it to that spot. His completion percentage suffers because he often misreads coverages or makes poor decisions in trying to pass to a covered receiver. Vick's incompletions are more a result of his head than his accuracy, and it is important to make the distinction between the two.

Accuracy: Vince Young

Unlike Vick, Vince Young struggles to put his receivers in good position to make a play after the catch. Just ask wide receiver Jason Avant.

Avant must be sore this week after Young, time and time again, put him in compromising positions with the placement of his passes. Passes over the middle sailed slightly so, while the ball was still very much catchable and thus technically accurate, it forced Avant go up high to get the ball, leaving him open and prone to monster hits.

Throughout his two games at the helm, Young has regularly located his passes in areas that have forced his receivers to break stride or turn around to catch the ball and miss the opportunity to rack up YAC, yards after the catch.

If Young is to be successful in the Eagles offense, this is something he must work on improving. The Eagles run an offense that relies heavily on YAC, their philosophy being to throw shorter passes that find receivers in space so they can make plays with their feet. If those passes don't put receivers in position to make plays once they have the ball, it defeats the purpose of the offense.

Young may complete as many passes as Vick statistically, but his inability to place the ball in spots that allow his receivers to make even bigger plays once they catch it is the crucial difference in his accuracy as compared to Vick's.

Intangibles: Michael Vick

Intangibles are difficult to measure for a variety of reasons. Obviously, as their name implies, it is difficult to quantify one's leadership ability, intelligence or even ability to step up and perform under pressure. Often, fans' perception of a player's intangibles are influenced by how the media portrays a specific player and his propensity to win a lot of games.

For Michael Vick, it has always seemed to be his intangibles that fail him. He is the most electrifying quarterback in the league in terms of his complete skill set and, when you analyze his measurable talents (speed, mobility, arm strength, accuracy), there is no particularly obvious reason that he shouldn't have had a wildly successful career to this point. But yet he really hasn't.

This is where intangibles come into play. By his own admission, Vick struggles to read blitzes, and he often misreads where to go with the ball when faced with a blitz. Vick's level of play doesn't seem to rise in the fourth quarter of games, particularly this season when he's missed a lot of fourth quarter action due to injury.

Vick needs to work to improve that image. He needs to work to improve his decision making so he doesn't seem to struggle at the ends of games or in the face of blitzes with the game on the line. It is the part of his game that is severely lacking this season.

Intangibles: Vince Young

Interestingly enough, Vick's biggest weakness is Young's greatest strength.

Despite all his flaws as a quarterback, Young always seems to pull through in the clutch. Last week against the Giants, Young managed a game-winning drive that was a thing of beauty, something Eagles fans have rarely gotten to see in the last few years. The drive featured seven third-down conversions, the bulk of them of the 3rd-and-long variety, chewed up a ton of clock, and most importantly, won the game for the Eagles.

Young is no stranger to coming through in the clutch. Going back to his college days, his performance in the 2005 National Championship game featured clutch play after clutch play, and in his time in the pros, he has engineered way more game-winning drives than you would expect a quarterback of his caliber to have engineered.

Young seems to have an ability to flick a switch when the going gets tough and morph into a completely different player just when his team absolutely, positively needs it. One must wonder just how good Young could be if he could sustain the level of play he finds with the game on the line throughout the duration of the game.

Summary: Who Gives the Eagles the Best Chance To Win?

Michael Vick and Vince Young each bring different attributes to the table that could lead someone to believe that either could be successful running the Eagles' show from under center.

Vick brings an explosive element to the team, an ability to turn nothing into something. His athleticism allows the Eagles to cover up some holes they have on the offensive line, and his mere presence opens the field for deep threats Jackson and Maclin, and running back LeSean McCoy.

Young, on the other hand, is a little bit better of a game manager than Vick. He lacks the same abilities as Vick, so the offense does lose some of its trademark explosiveness with Young under center, but he makes up for it with his uncanny will to win. Young's ability to perform well in the clutch is something that teammates can rally around, a unifying sense that the game isn't over until it's over.

Obviously, if somehow it was possible to combine Vick's measurable attributes with Young's intangibles in the clutch, one would have the perfect quarterback. But since that's not possible...

Conclusion: Michael Vick Gives the Eagles Their Best Chance to Win

Michael Vick gives the Eagles their best chance to win. Despite his occasional misread or unchecked blitz, Vick's legs give him the opportunity to make up for nearly any mistake he and his offensive line make.

Vick's abilities also put the rest of the offense in a better position to succeed. The Eagles have an explosive corps of receivers. Young's inability to give them room to run would essentially reduce them to possession receivers and be a total waste of talent. Vick, however, is able to give them room to run with his passes and, in turn, the explosiveness that comes on display as a result opens the field for LeSean McCoy and Vick to have success on the ground.

In the end, while Young has performed admirably in Vick's absence, he is just keeping the seat warm until Vick's return. With the playoffs out of sight, the team should continue to start Young until Vick is completely healthy, but once he is ready to return, there should be no controversy as to who is the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback.