The Eagles just haven't looked the same without their leader Michael Vick. The star quarterback suffered a set of broken ribs just less than a month ago in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles went 1-2 with Vick out of the lineup the last three games.
Despite his injury, the 10-year veteran from Virginia Tech has been itching to get back on the field. Finally, his time has come. Vick took every single first-team rep this week in practice and will get the nod from head coach Andy Reid when the team travels down to Miami to face the red-hot Dolphins.
"This week went really well," he said. "There were times when I felt good out there and others when the ribs sort of wore down on me, but I finished the week strongly. I feel good, and I'm excited to get out there Sunday."
The 2010 Comeback Player of the Year knows that even if the Eagles cannot put together a miracle postseason run over the next four weeks, building momentum will be important to the future of the club.
With Vick on the field, the Eagles instantly become a much better football team. Anything is possible with No. 7 on the field and you better believe that every player in the locker room feels that way, too.
"My will to win and my desire to give each play everything I've got gives the guys around me confidence," said the NFL's all-time leading rusher at quarterback. "Trying to finish this year strong will be a challenge for all of us. After such a rough start, we have to focus on one play at a time, one week at a time, and try to end the season on a good note.
"We're just going to go out and have fun for the next four weeks. We just want to play the game that we are so blessed to play, the game that we love. We've let everything else distract us thus far, so our focus is to just go out there now and be the best we can be."
The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback knows this team has underachieved all season long, noting that the team has "played a lot of good football," but that it has "turned the ball over too much" and has "left too many plays on the field." He wants to prove to every doubter out there that he is still the same Michael Vick who was an MVP candidate just a year ago and that the Philadelphia Eagles are still the Super Bowl contender that many thought they were before the season began. He'll get that chance Sunday in Miami.
