In 2009, when the Philadelphia Eagles signed superstar quarterback Michael Vick fresh off of his 21-month visit to prison, the City of Brotherly Love did not know how to react. Since the first time he stepped on a football field, Vick has been a spectacle unlike any the game of football has ever witnessed. With a cannon of an arm and the speed of a wide receiver, Vick left Virginia Tech as a sophomore and became the first African-American quarterback to be selected first overall in the NFL Draft, joining the Atlanta Falcons in 2001. During six dazzling seasons in Atlanta, Vick showed the world a new way to play quarterback as he filled highlight reels with jaw-dropping runs and led the Falcons to two playoff appearances. However, Michael Vick’s life took a sudden turn in 2007 when he was caught in the midst of an illegal dog fighting operation and faced federal felony charges. With Vick to serve nearly two years in prison during the prime of his career, he lost his contract and filed for bankruptcy. Needless to say, he instantly became one of the most hated men in the history of sports.
Upon his release, Vick agreed to a deal with the Eagles as the third-string quarterback behind Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb. Vick worked endlessly, said all the right things, and patiently waited for his opportunity to rebuild himself as a new man. The Eagles traded McNabb and named Kolb the starter in 2010. However, Kolb suffered a concussion in Week 1 and in stepped Michael Vick. He quickly reminded the world what he can do, and by week three Eagles’ head coach Andy Reid named Vick the starter. The season took off from there and Vick had easily his best season yet, finishing 2nd in MVP voting while winning the Comeback Player of the Year. The Eagles’ offense seemed virtually unstoppable, featuring Vick, running back LeSean McCoy, and wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, all of whom are considered stars at their respective positions. They won the NFC East, but due to defensive issues lost to the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the playoffs.
Andy Reid knew he had found a gem in Vick and wanted to capitalize on it. As the longest tenured head coach in the NFL, Reid entered the 2011 season as his 13th with the Eagles. During the previous twelve years, Reid led the Eagles to nine playoff appearances, five NFC Championship games, one Super Bowl appearance, the most total wins, playoff wins, and the best winning percentage in team history. However, almost all Philadelphians will tell you a different statistic about Reid: zero Super Bowl rings. In fact, the Eagles as a franchise have never won the Super Bowl. As a Philadelphia native and die-hard Eagles fan, I know that my city loves and respects Andy Reid. We respond well to winning, and Reid has won many games; however, Reid knows that he was hired to win the Super Bowl, and until he succeeds, his job is in serious jeopardy.
That being said, Reid attempted to make 2011 his Super Bowl year in which he would become a Philadelphia hero for eternity. The Eagles dominated headlines for the entire off-season, signing big names daily, including defensive end Jason Babin, defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, backup quarterback Vince Young, and star cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. As the Eagles added stars on defense to complement their stars on offense, Philadelphians saw that Reid and the Eagles organization essentially were going all-in. Management clearly believed that if they surrounded Vick with as much talent as possible, this team would deliver the Super Bowl victory that their fans have craved for so long. Needless to say, the Eagles created a buzz in Philadelphia and no one could wait for the season to begin.
Only a day after the Eagles signed Mike Vick’s backup, mentally unstable Vince Young showed Philadelphia the downside of winning big in free agency, as he fed the media a Thanksgiving-sized story in one phrase. When asked about the various acquisitions the Eagles had made, Young simply said, “Dream team.” As soon as he muttered those dreadful words, I could feel a chill go up my spine, and most Eagles fans felt the same way. The media, however, saw it as the perfect opportunity to treat the Eagles like the Miami Heat by implementing championship expectations that had be met…or else. With the fastest, most explosive team in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles suddenly caught themselves in a Super-Bowl-or-bust season.
The Eagles kicked off the season against the St. Louis Rams and quickly took care of business. They showed some weaknesses, especially at the linebacker position, but the Rams suffered key injuries and the birds capitalized to start the season 1-0. Next, the Eagles traveled to Atlanta for a primetime Monday night game and Mike Vick’s first start in his former team’s stadium. Everyone, including Falcons fans, expected to see the Mike Vick Show and for three and a half quarters they did. With the Eagles leading 31-21 in the fourth quarter, Vick suffered a concussion and had to leave the game. With Vince Young also injured, third-string quarterback Mike Kafka entered the game. All of the sudden, the Eagles’ defense could not stop a nosebleed as Falcons’ quarterback Matt “Matty Ice” Ryan led two touchdown drives, neither of which Kafka could answer, and the Eagles lost 35-31. The Falcons had finished 2010 atop the NFC and have been nearly flawless at home, so fans could understand the loss; however, with a 1-1 record and an injured quarterback, the Dream Team clearly had some work to do.
If you did not already know, the Eagles and the New York Giants do not like each other. Towards the end of the 2010 season, the archrivals played a game to virtually decide the division. The Giants dominated the Eagles as they led 31-10 with less than 8 minutes left and unveiled to the world the blitz-heavy game plan that could stop Michael Vick. Then, Vick led one of the greatest comebacks football has ever seen, later named the Miracle at the New Meadowlands, capped off by DeSean Jackson’s game-winning punt return touchdown as time expired, which dropped jaws around the world and caused the Giants many cold, sleepless January nights as they watched the playoffs from home. Clearly the G-Men wanted revenge. With a 16-14 fourth quarter lead, Vick once again left the game, this time with a thumb contusion. The Eagles’ defense folded, Kafka did nothing but throw interceptions, and the Giants won 29-16.
As Eagles fans began to see a trend, Vick complained to the league that teams were literally trying to hurt him. This certainly brings morality into question, as a man who plead guilty to the promotion of a vast dogfighting operation only a few years ago now felt like the dog himself. Vick has always had injury problems, but if he faces defenses that want his blood every week, he stands no chance of completing a full season. However, Vick dealt with his thumb contusion and started the next game against the San Francisco 49ers, one of the most physical teams in the league. The 1-2 Eagles looked fantastic, taking their 23-3 lead into the fourth quarter before disaster struck. Suddenly one of the most talented teams in the NFL turned into a high school football team, handing the game to the 49ers in the most painful way possible, as a 24-23 loss brought the Dream Team to 1-3 and proved the Eagles’ lack of toughness. After the game, 49ers’ stud running back Frank Gore, widely considered one of the toughest players in the league, said that the Eagles seemed to stop playing after halftime. Anyone who watched that game would agree. Eagles star defensive end Jason Babin then complained that the team was celebrating in the locker room at halftime as if they had already won. Eagles fans were outraged.
When Vince Young called the Eagles the "Dream Team," their expectations went through the roof.
The Eagles then lost to the Bills in a similar, boneheaded fashion and their 1-4 record made Philadelphians want to hide from the world. However, after a much-needed win over the Washington Redskins, the hated Dallas Cowboys came to town. After dismantling the Cowboys 34-7 and finally looking like the Dream Team, everyone gladly hopped back onto the bandwagon. The birds looked like they were gelling and ready to roll through the rest of the season. All of a sudden, a 3-4 record did not seem awful.
Not so fast. The Dream Team’s next two games featured two more blown fourth quarter leads against the Chicago Bears and the miserable Arizona Cardinals. At 3-6, the Eagles learned that Vick suffered two broken ribs early against the Cardinals, definitely contributing to one of his worst games ever. With the Giants up next on the schedule, Vince Young was about to see his first start in years. In a very strange game, the defense stepped up and Young led a late game-winning drive as the Eagles kept their season alive by beating the Giants 17-10.
Whenever anything has gone right for this team, they get cocky and blow it. Right on cue, Young and the Eagles looked terrible in their next two games, getting absolutely beaten up by the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. At 4-8, the Dream Team’s Super-Bowl-or-bust season has turned into a nightmare. They will not make the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and could finish with their worst record during Reid’s tenure. Nobody doubts the talent on this team as they have showed flashes of pure brilliance. However, they lack the discipline and fundamentals necessary to close games. It seemed from the start that the Eagles cared more about living up to Dream Team expectations than simply winning football games.
Needless to say, this has left Philadelphians miserable and empty on Sundays. Eagles fans have been consistently ranked the meanest fans in all of sports, but we are simply insecure. With so many great teams and playoff runs without a ring to show for it, we still cannot put our team in the same category as the Patriots, Steelers and Packers. We can blame Andy Reid, Mike Vick, new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, DeSean Jackson, or even Vince Young for his Dream Team curse. However, no matter whom we blame, we will still watch another team take our ring, and that is a fact we cannot escape. As we often say in Philadelphia, “there’s always next year.”•
