"The Eagle Has Landed"

After months of speculation and seemingly 24 hour coverage on ESPN the wait is over, Michael Vick is now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were a surprise team, but made the move after their backup quarterback, Kevin Kolb, injured his knee on Monday. Kolb should be back to game form in a week or two, but his injury might have shown a lack of depth at the QB spot in Philly. Now the question is, When will Vick be in game form (not to mention his first game)? Vick has a conditional reinstatement from the league, meaning he can work out with the team and even play in the preseason. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that he will fully reinstate Vick by Oct. 18th-19th, which means Vick could miss the first 6 weeks of the season. If Commissioner Goodell does keep him suspended for the first 6 games, then Vick will make his NFL return on Monday Night Football, Oct. 26th at the Washington Redskins. Until he steps on the field the questions will continue to swirl about why the Eagles signed Vick and what he can bring to Philadelphia.

In many ways Vick does make a lot of sense for the Eagles, and they make sense for him as well. Vick needed to go to a team with a established leader and quarterback. By all accounts McNabb is in his corner, which should help give him credibility in the locker room. Vick also needed to go to a team that was a contender and a well run franchise. Vick makes sense for the Eagles, because of his previous experience with the West Coast offense (though he wasn't exactly Joe Montana in Atlanta), and his raw athletic ability. Philly puts a premium on speed and agility among its skilled players. The idea of putting Vick in the same backfield with either Brian Westbrook or LeSean McCoy was too attractive to pass up. Vick should allow Eagles to run their own version of the "Wildcat" offense, and provide headaches for defensive coordinators around the league.

So on paper Vick and the Eagles look like the perfect fit for each other, but what happens on the field could be another story entirely. Vick hasn't played since Week 17 of the 2006 season. So there could be a considerable amount of rust on his arm (not to mention his legs). Also, Vick's production never matched the hype and talent surrounding him. His career QB rating is 75.7 (McNabb's by comparison is 85.9), and he's never thrown for more than 3,000 yards or 20 TD's. The other big issue for Vick and the Eagles is the fan response to him. Initially, the Eagles could lose some fan support with his signing, and down the road Vick's presence could open Pandora's box in Philly.

It will create a negative buzz (and press) that will follow this team around for the entire season. Animal Rights groups will unite against the Eagles, creating additional complications. Also, the Eagles gave Vick a 2-year deal (2nd year is optional) for nearly $10 million with incentives ($6.8 without). That is quite a bit of money to pay for a back-up quarterback who might play 10 plays a game. Finally, if McNabb struggles to start the season and Vick has some success in his specialty role, it could create a quarterback controversy when there shouldn't be one. Remember this is the same fan base that has pretty much wanted to replace McNabb from day one. Given that precedence, I think there is a chance that this could end up dividing the Eagles' locker room. While there is a chance the Eagles could catch lightning in a bottle with this signing, there is a much greater chance they just end up getting burned.