Let the dogs out
Argh. To expand on what I said on Twitter, rooting for the Eagles is a lot like going to a bar with friends, randomly meeting an attractive woman, hit it off with her, take her home, start making out, she takes off your pants, and then punches you in the balls as hard as she can and takes your wallet and runs. Every year the Eagles rope me (and the rest of the Delaware Valley) in, and then they not only lose, they waddle out to mid-field, take a big dump, and roll around in it.
Now: I’m no football expert. I never played the game, because I value my knees and concussion-free noggin. (My son, who is conservatively predicted (by me) to grow to at least 6’5″, will be steered towards baseball, basketball, and soccer, sports that might wreck your knees, but which don’t appear to lead to Alzheimers setting in at age 47.) So my grasp of football strategy is tenuous. However, I have one very important question: if you have a guy who is probably the greatest pure athlete in the league, doesn’t it behoove you to play him a little more often?
Michael Vick is an above-average passer, and runs like an eight-point buck. If he’s on the field, he has to be accounted for. I’m envisioning an offense where he’s sort of an “offensive rover,” always in motion in the backfield, sometimes lined up in the slot, sometimes next to McNabb. If he lines up at wide receiver, they have to put a corner or fast linebacker on him, right? So then McNabb audibles, and Mike trots over and stands next to him. Now the defense has to account for the fact that he might actually take the snap, and then what? Will he take off? Will he drop back? What’s McNabb going to do in that situation? Every play’s a trick play! And don’t forget Brian Westbrook’s back there too. McNabb can fake a hand-off to Vick, and then lob it to a wide open Westbrook streaking through the flat with blockers. I think this would be routinely unstoppable.
And of course, Vick played, what, 100 snaps all season? Argh.
