Eagles' McNabb doesn't mind sharing with Vick

THERE ARE PEOPLE out there who don't want to believe that Donovan McNabb lobbied to bring Michael Vick to the Eagles, because that doesn't fit their view of McNabb.

In the absence of time-and-date-stamped video, or notarized documents, we'll probably never know for sure exactly who first brought up what, even though McNabb, the Eagles and Vick have said McNabb played a role in last week's surprising decision. McNabb provided more details at his news conference yesterday, telling of phone calls with Vick in the wake of Vick's conditional reinstatement by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. McNabb said he spoke with Eagles coach Andy Reid about Vick "in July, before Mike got away from house arrest, before July 20."

The real McNabb-Vick issue, though, isn't how Vick got here, it's what happens down the road.

You don't need a talent for the perverse to imagine how Vick's presence as a backup could backfire on McNabb. No, not so much the blah-blah you've been hearing all over that fans will be chanting Vick's name, should McNabb hit a 3-week rough patch, as happened last season. The upshot of McNabb's contract sweetening in June seemed to be a pledge from management that he would be allowed to work through any difficulties this time around.

But what happens if McNabb suffers, say, a 4-to-6 week injury in November, Vick takes the controls, and the team plays way better? Or, less far-fetched, what happens next offseason, if the Eagles still haven't won the Super Bowl with McNabb, Vick is completely recovered from his long absence, and all Marty Mornhinweg's drilling on mechanics actually shows signs of harnessing Vick's amazing potential?

McNabb said yesterday he is willing to take that risk, that he didn't see it as being so different from having Kevin Kolb, or previously, Jeff Garcia looking over his shoulder. (But, uh, Donovan, the Garcia thing, him leading the team to the 2006 playoffs after you tore your ACL, fans preferring Garcia - you and your family didn't much like that, remember? "Bittersweet" ring a bell?)

"I've been through many situations throughout my career where if I got injured or someone wasn't liking the way I was playing, they cheered for the backup . . . It happened with Garcia, it happened with Kolb, it happened with [A.J.] Feeley. So I'm used to that," McNabb said.