It seemed Vick was making better decisions under pressure earlier in the year, before he had taken so many big hits. But it also seemed, for a while there, that the offensive line, the tight ends and the backs were sorting things out, picking up the blitzes, not making Vick play under constant siege. Lately, that progress has vanished. Blitz pickup was a rumor against the Vikings, who sacked Vick a season-high six times; right tackle Winston Justice said afterward that the Vikings hadn't blitzed much on tape, so the Eagles weren't prepared, didn't make the right line calls.
Memo to the o-line: Every team you play from now through the Super Bowl, should you be so fortunate, is going to blitz every able body it has. Doesn't matter what they've shown on tape. What matters is what you've shown on tape, which is that you can't handle it. And what your quarterback has shown on tape, which is that he is the most dangerous, multifaceted weapon in the NFL. The season is in your hands.
"We just have to be more aware of where and if they bring an extra man," Andy Reid said yesterday. Well, no kidding. Yeah. A decent running commitment might help keep defenses honest, as well. "There are going to be certain games where teams are going to bring extra guys, and it's just a matter of getting [the ball] out of your hands and not taking the hits that he's taking right now."
It seemed fair to ponder, after the details of the quad injury were revealed, whether Reid might have been wise to sit a hobbled Vick in favor of Kevin Kolb. Kolb hasn't played since October, but he has been NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice in six career starts; it's not like Reid has Koy Detmer standing there beside him.
