On December 31, 2006, the Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the regular season finale at Lincoln Financial Field. The Falcons used two quarterbacks that day - Michael Vick and Matt Schaub.
It was the last time the two would play in a game together as teammates.
Now, almost four years, later, the two will meet on the same field as opposing quarterbacks. Vick leads the Eagles tonight against Schaub's Houston Texans.
Vick's journey since the end of that 2006 season has been well-documented. Schaub, the backup to Vick in that 2006 season, was traded the following offseason to become the man in Houston. Last season, Schaub enjoyed his breakout season with a league-best 4,770 passing yards to go along with a career-high 29 touchdowns. This season, thanks to a more balanced attack, Schaub is ninth in the league in passing yards with 2,752 and has 15 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
Schaub, a native of West Chester, Pa. and an Eagles fan growing up, has been keeping a close eye on this year's big story at the quarterback position - his former teammate.
"You can definitely see that he's a changed person and he's realizing what he can do putting in the extra time and the time spent getting ready for the game studying," Schaub told Philadelphia reporters on Tuesday. "It's really paying off this year and he's having tremendous success."
Schaub said that he could tell when he was in Atlanta that if Vick dedicated himself the way that he is now it was obvious just how special he could become.
As the Eagles try to firm their grip on the NFC East lead, the Texans are trying to sneak up from behind. At 5-6, the Texans are one game out of first place even after losing a stretch of four straight at one point this season.
"It's been a roller-coaster year coming out of the gates 4-2 and our bye week and then losing four straight, especially the way we lost a few of the games," Schaub said. "But that's the way this game goes sometimes and you can only bounce back and come back next week."
Schaub is looking forward to tonight - his first start at Lincoln Financial Field. Don't tell the fans in Houston that he praised the Eagles fans.
"It's a tremendous atmosphere up there. Growing up an Eagles fan and going to the Vet to watch the games, they're the best fans hands-down in the country," Schaub said. "Definitely down here in Houston, we have some great ones. But up there in Philly, it's going to be a raucous stadium and a fun atmosphere and we're looking forward to it."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 11:00 a.m., December 2
