The Philadelphia Eagles want to put the 2012 season behind them as fast as possible. But while the Eagles’ search for a new coach in 2013 has all the headlines now, the wounds of 2012 won’t go away if the coach doesn’t have better players. Michael Vick -- who likely won’t be allowed to play under the new coach -- made that even clearer on Dec. 31.
Vick told Comcast SportsNet’s John Gonzalez on Dec. 31 that the Eagles showed a “lack of effort” which led to Andy Reid getting fired. He claimed he hasn’t played with guys who are “willing to better themselves week in and week out” and that “this locker room” could have saved Reid if things had been better.
The Eagles lack of effort was already evident in their 42-7 loss to the New York Giants on Dec. 30 in Reid’s last game. Yet if Vick was the one player who actually fought for Reid, it didn’t show in his momentum-killing interception on the day’s first drive, or in the next 57 minutes after that.
Not trying seemed to doom the Eagles, but by Vick’s less than stellar example in 2012, trying didn’t really help either. As such, despite how the other players may have deserved to get thrown under the bus, Vick is less than the ideal driver to run them over. However, given that Vick has gotten his share of blame for ruining the end of Reid’s tenure, he probably wanted to deflect the blame somehow.
Bashing his teammates does make it less likely that they will continue to be his teammates in 2013. The Eagles are expected to cut Vick right after the Super Bowl, yet their options for his replacement don’t appear to be strong right now. If they hire a new coach that could plausibly work with Vick to rebuild his career, perhaps Philadelphia would be better off keeping him for a while.
Yet with all the money the Eagles owe Vick in 2013, it wouldn’t make much financial sense to keep him. And after he attacked his teammates, most of the locker room might not want him around anymore either.
As such, Vick may have done nothing more than put the last nail in his coffin -- and overshadowed how much the rest of the Eagles need to be overhauled along with him.
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