• Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles.
I've spent some time thinking about whether or not this is an overstatement, and I feel pretty confident that it's not: Michael Vick's fourth quarter Sunday was the best quarter of football I've ever seen anyone play. It was that sick. I know I have never seen another football player who can do the things he did.
In the fourth quarter alone, Vick had 139 yards passing, 63 yards rushing, and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). The runs were the real backbreakers. This one was the biggest: a third down, backed up deep in their own territory, in the face of pressure. And this one was my favorite, for the "it's insane that a human being can do that" factor.
• Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles.
It's kind of a shame that DeSean Jackson took that punt back for a touchdown. I don't want to take anything away from it, because to me, it was the biggest "leave your mouth hanging open" moment of the season.
Vick was so electric in the second half, though, and in the end, he wasn't really even the story of the game. People were talking so much about Jackson, Matt Dodge and Tom Coughlin that Vick's performance got overshadowed a little bit.
• Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles.
Why does that matter? Because the battle for the MVP is a two-man race between Vick and Tom Brady, and that award is based so much on the amount of media attention a guy gets. If the Giants could punt competently and the game ended in overtime in a more conventional way, the media make-out session with Vick on Monday morning would have been intense. And rightfully so.
Just for the record, I don't think you can go wrong with a vote for Brady, either. He's been unbelievable. Vick's performance swayed my MVP opinion back in his favor, though, and I think it would have done the same for more people if DeSean Jackson hadn't blown up the game at the end.
• Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles.
Another reason Vick's performance is so memorable is that the Giants were so good at shutting him down in the first half. Vick was on pace for his worst game of the year, and Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was on his way to being the MVP of the week.
But Vick decided that he wouldn't be locked up anymore, because he's just better than everyone else. The Giants secondary was magnificent in blanketing Jackson and Jeremy Maclin -- combined, they had six catches for 44 yards through three quarters -- and pressure was in Vick's face all day, too.
He responded by killing them with his legs. That might be as good as a defense can play Vick, and in the end, he still found a way to dominate a quarter of football and eviscerate a football team.
• Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles.
As a side note, I disagree with Chris Chase. I thought this headline/picture was lame, bush league, childish sour grapes. I mean, I get it -- that's what the Post does, it amuses people, and maybe Vick never should be able to live down what he did. But at a certain point, you're no longer sticking up for dogs or chastising a bad guy -- you're using the pain and suffering of those animals to take a cheap shot at a guy because he beat your football team.
Kasey Chambers Megan Ewing Kristanna Loken Aubrey ODay Drew Barrymore
No comments:
Post a Comment