Philadelphia Eagles: Michael Vick's Play Clearly Not the Biggest Issue

Anyone who watched the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football saw quarterback Michael Vick struggle yet again in defeat. On the surface it would be easy to point the finger solely at Vick, as he committed yet another red zone turnover and couldn’t get his team into the end zone. There’s a lot more to the story in Philly, however.

The real question on my mind: how bad is the Eagles’ offensive line?

This is the root all of the team’s offensive problems to me. How can you expect a guy to make all the correct throws when he has little or no time to throw every time he drops back? Vick was sacked seven times Monday, and if it was anybody else, they would’ve probably taken 10. The New Orleans Saints blitzed the living crap out of Philadelphia all of game long, and there wasn’t a thing Vick could do about it the majority of the time.

Considering the circumstances, I think Vick played a pretty decent game. Furthermore, I was really impressed with his effort. Yes, he’s paid to win football games, but even after taking a pummeling and down by two scores, Vick’s effort never wavered. He brought the Eagles within striking distance late in the fourth quarter, only to have his tight end Brent Celek fumble the ball and his team’s chances away.

I don’t care what you say about Michael Vick, his heart is in every play, and that’s something we certainly couldn’t have said about him several years back. The Eagles are struggling as a collective unit right now, and while they’re down, they’re certainly not out. If the offensive line can get its act together, things will turn around in Philadelphia.

It’s unfair to blame everything on Vick, and going to backup Nick Foles is not the answer.

If Andy Reid is going down, he should take Michael Vick with him. They are two of the main pieces to the Eagles’ franchise, and they’ve at least earned the right to play out this season and see what happens. If they fail to make the playoffs, then yes, they both should be gone next season. Until all 16 regular season games are in the books, talk of dismissing the two should cease.

Follow Andrew Fisher on Twitter @the_realfish