Grading Michael Vick’s Performance Against the Jaguars
Posted on 27. Sep, 2010 by Mike Burke in Eagles Related
Yesterday was Michael Vick’s second start for the Eagles, but it was a different scenario than last week. When he started against the Lions, he was the replacement for the injured Kevin Kolb. This week, he was known as the starter from here on out. With his first start as “the guy” for the Eagles, he did not disappoint. Accounting for all four of the Eagles touchdowns in one way or another, Vick led the Eagles to a 28-3 victory.
Running the ball
We did not see Vick run the ball as much as we have in the last two weeks. He only registered four rushes on the day for a total of 30 yards, but had a very nice touchdown run in the third quarter to seemingly ensure a victory.
It sure is fun watching Vick run the ball, but I was glad to see his carries be limited. As the 2010 starter now, you don’t want to see him running the ball all day and putting himself in danger of taking a big hit. He’s not the type of quarterback who’s going to slide at the end of the run, and we have seen him take some pretty big hits so far this year.
Although you want to see him be cautious when he runs, his feet are too big of a threat to not be taken advantage of. He did the right thing against a terrible Jaguars secondary, but I don’t want to see him be overly cautious throughout the season.
Throwing the ball
Personally, this is what I wanted to see out of Vick the most against the Jaguars and think everyone else did too.
Talks throughout the offseason were about our offense not being the same big play offense we were when Donovan McNabb was around. Nobody thought the Eagles offense wouldn’t be successful, but believed it would happen more through Kolb hitting his receivers with a lot of short passes.
With Vick in the lineup, the big play ability seems to come right back. We saw this yesterday with him hitting DeSean Jackson on a 61 yard touchdown, and hitting Jeremy Maclin on a 45 yard strike. Both plays came on beautifully thrown balls where his receivers weren’t wide open but he put the ball where he needed to.
The thing that does worry me is his ability in the short throws. On the day, he completed 17 of 31 passes for a percentage of just under 55%. This is definitely a number you would like to see improve. Overall, I’d like to see him be more efficient with his short throws. You can place some of the blame on the offensive line, but there were a number of short throws that he simply didn’t make.
Demeanor and decision making
Although he connected on some big plays and played well overall, he seemed to be very focused throughout the course of the game. You could see him being critical of himself on some of the short throws that he made. I like this attitude, and think that he’s a much different quarterback mentally then he was in Atlanta. He’s realizing that he’s getting an opportunity that many didn’t think he’d ever have, and I truly believe he wants to make the most of it.
One thing I’ve heard people talk a lot about is the fact that he hasn’t turned the ball over. Turnovers can absolutely kill a team and Vick has been doing a good job of protecting the ball. He was sacked three times on the day and did see a lot of pressure. This is something he’s probably going to have to stay used to all season, because there’s still a lot of issues along the line. However, he’s done a good job of protecting the football and not making mistakes when the line collapses on him.
Overall grade
For his efforts against the Jaguars, I’m going to give Vick a B+. I’m sure that people may think he deserves a better grade, but he played a very poor Jacksonville team. He has some things to work on and will have to improve these aspects of his game to pick up wins against the better teams the Eagles will see this season.
10 Responses to “Grading Michael Vick’s Performance Against the Jaguars”
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Josh
28. Sep, 2010
I think your grade and analysis is spot on. I happened to be at the game Sun. Vick looked very good. But, also, the Jags secondary looked REALLY bad. Blown coverages and CB’s looking completely lost in the backfield. So, it’s really hard to grade Vick too high. I think B+ is as accurate of a score as you can give. You show respect for Vick’s performance while acknowledging the fact that he was going against one of the worst (if not the worst) secondaries in the NFL.
[Reply]
Mike Burke Reply:
September 28th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Thanks for the comment Josh.
The grade is definitely not to downplay what Vick has done the past couple weeks. However, he has played well against two terrible teams.
It’s not to say that he can’t play that way against better teams. He just hasn’t had the chance to do it yet.
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no
29. Sep, 2010
B+? Did you watch the game?
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Terrill
29. Sep, 2010
I was at the game sunday, Vick looked 2x as fast and quick as anyone on the field. Both long td passes looked like he didn’t throw them hard enough, but he’s so strong with just the flick of the wrist he launches it. I understand your B+, but everyones forgetting he torched the Packers in the second have of their game. The team everyone is picking to go the Super Bowl. Im not saying your grade isn’t accurate I’m just saying the Packers game might push that up to a A-. He’s torching teams he’s suppose to torch, isn’t that what good quarterbacks suppose to do. And he’s doing that better than any other QB in the league right now. Manning, Brady, Brees,…. they all been struggling against teams they are suppose to beat. A- please!
[Reply]
Mike Burke Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 11:40 am
He went into the Packers game down by 17 points. They didn’t game plan for him and were running in a prevent defense.
He did some nice things with his feet but the Packers would have played him much different if he played the whole game.
[Reply]
JR.
29. Sep, 2010
First of all the NFL made the Football schedules. If we were talking about Peyton Manning or Brett Favre playing the same game he would have giving them A+. But I’m going to keep it real and give Mike Vick an A+ for coming off a two year lay off and playing not one but three great games. So lets call it as we see it open your eyes please.
[Reply]
Mike Burke Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Even if he threw for 3 TDs, I don’t think people would give Peyton Manning an A+ for completing 17 of 31 passes.
I like the way Vick has played, but I still want to see him play at that level against a better team for an entire game.
[Reply]
no
29. Sep, 2010
VIck made maybe two bad throws the whole game. All of his other incompletions which has somehow dropped his grade to a B+ were forced from pressure or bad plays by the receiver. Vick deserves an A at the least. Truly a great all-around performance.
Yeah, it was against the Jags. But you’re rating the performance, not the circumstances. And like one of the previous posters said, he dominated a team he was supposed to dominate. You can’t fault him for that.
[Reply]
Mike Burke Reply:
September 30th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Two bad throws? That would mean there were 12 of the “other” instances you described.
I think you’re taking this too much to heart. He had a good performance but there was room for improvement.
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ROBERT MOORE
30. Sep, 2010
VICK DID A GREAT JOB I GIVE HIM AN A THANK GOD THE EAGLES GAVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE HE IS GOING TO SHINE NOW GET READY WORLD
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