Instead, for the risk of trusting in the better angels of Vick's nature - and in the short-attention-span theater that houses public outrage - the Eagles have been rewarded with a smoother road than any could have predicted.
What have they gotten in these three weeks? Not much more than what accompanies the signing of any free agent, let alone a felon who did prison time for crimes that turn the stomachs of most Americans.
All right, they did get a minor controversy when Donovan McNabb said something a little wacky, claimed the media had blown it out of proportion, and then repeated the same wacky thing. But McNabb does that every season, usually seven or eight times, so that might not have had much to do with Vick's arrival.
Yesterday, the good times kept on rolling for Ookie's new team when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Vick would have to sit for only two regular-season games before full reinstatement. Speaking before last night's 38-27 exhibition loss to the Jets, team president Joe Banner said that seemed about right.
"He's been a model citizen at this point," Banner said, "whether we're talking about the plans we're putting together in the community, or talking about his work ethic at practice, or the hours he's put in coming to the office from early in the mornings to late in the evenings to make himself the best he can be. He's doing everything we could ask him to do."
Take all of that, roll it together, join hands in a campfire circle with the commissioner, Tony Dungy, Andy Reid, and Mother Teresa if you like, but none of it means the Eagles are really sure this will continue to work.
All of them have looked into Vick's eyes and listened to his words and agreed to take a shot. But it could still blow up at any time.
