Forget the dog−fighting puns, the prison jokes and the mocking laughs. The impossible has become reality and it's time to wake up from our disillusioned fantasy world of moral purity: Michael Vick is, once again, an elite quarterback in the NFL.
I know, I know. It's hard to comprehend. It seems only yesterday that the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback was marred in legal troubles stemming from a dog−fighting ring, becoming the most−hated athlete in America in the process. The mountain was an impossible climb. In order to become socially relevant again, Vick had to perform on the field, stay hidden off it and simultaneously transform his image as a blood−thirsty criminal to born−again football star.
I think he's off to a good start.
Cue the pundits burying their heads in shame.
It was only last week that NFL personalities were calling for Eagles coach Andy Reid's head after he announced that Vick would start over poster boy (and criminally clean — yes, that's relevant) Kevin Kolb. "Andy Reid makes a knee−jerk decision," one ESPN blog post read. John Clayton posted another, titled "Vick move a mistake by Eagles."
Whether these writers became blinded by the path to morality or suffered from a severe case of tunnel vision is unclear. Vick, however, went out and proved all of them wrong.
Again.
On Sunday in Jacksonville, Vick posted a 119.2 QB rating, throwing for 291 yards and three scores, including a 61−yard bomb in the first quarter to DeSean Jackson that let all the air out of the Jaguars' balloon. Vick later ran for a score in the third quarter, and ended up with 30 yards on the ground as well.
Not bad for someone who spent 19 months behind bars. And, perhaps more importantly, it wasn't bad for someone who had the whole world rooting for him to fail.
Suddenly, the impossible enters the realm of probability. Michael Vick is becoming a likable quarterback, a beacon of light for troubled stars looking for one last shot. What he did, of course, was horrific, and I won't pretend we can look past his criminal record. But Vick should be the starter in Philadelphia.
There's no way to defend the contrary view anymore.
The shame is that while Vick rises to near−stardom once again, Kolb is still on the sidelines. After three seasons as a backup to Donovan McNabb, the Eagles deemed it time to begin his era under center, trading their longtime franchise player down to D.C. But all Kolb defenders base their arguments off a very small sample size and, realistically, refuse to believe that Vick could ever be an effective player again.
Yes, Kolb became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 300 yards in each of his first two career starts. And yes, he was deemed one of the best reserves in the league. But this is 2010 and Kolb has rarely shown any sort of ability to carry the Eagles. He looked like a rag doll in the preseason and got hammered in Week 1, eventually leaving with a concussion. Vick nearly brought Philly back from a 20−3, third−quarter deficit, a deficit solely at the hands of Kolb, who finished with just 24 passing yards before leaving at halftime.
Vick, a player who the rest of the world refuses to trust, seems to have built up quite a strong reputation with his team. With Vick calling the shots, the Eagles look confident enough to — gasp — make the playoffs.
More will become clear in the next few weeks, especially when McNabb returns to Philly on Sunday and the Eagles welcome in Week 6 the Atlanta Falcons, Vick's former squad. For now, the obvious has come to fruition.
Michael Vick is the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback. And it should stay that way.
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Alex Prewitt is a junior majoring in English and religion. He can be reached on his blog at http://livefrommudville.blogspot.com or followed on Twitter @Alex_Prewitt
