"He's taking hits and spinning off tackles," running back LeSean McCoy said after Thursday night's 34-24 win over the Houston Texans. "He takes extra licks. That makes guys want to play with him."
During the ascending part of his career, McNabb was that guy. He turned sacks into inventive scrambles, big losses into long gains. He endured hits to deliver the ball. His fearless style of play made it impossible for his teammates to give anything but their own best effort.
It became all too easy around here to dismiss McNabb's achievements after those final few, disappointing seasons. The reality is, those final few, disappointing seasons were largely the result of McNabb's breaking down after five or six years of playing the way Vick is playing right now.
Blown knees, sports hernia, sprained thumb, busted ankle. The cumulative effect of all that punishment turned McNabb into the less-dynamic, but still more-than-competent, quarterback he was at the end here.
That's the lesson both Vick and Reid need to grasp now, before history repeats itself with the younger man.
Vick is faster than McNabb ever was. He has a very strong arm. In this, his back-from-the-abyss season, he has played the quarterback position with more awareness and maturity than in his first incarnation, in Atlanta.
"This young man is playing as good as anybody I've seen play in the National Football League," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "And I've been doing it for a while. He's special."
Kubiak was John Elway's backup in Denver and Steve Young's QB coach in San Francisco before returning to the Broncos as offensive coordinator for Elway's two Super Bowl seasons. He has seen some good quarterback play.
